Related papers: The Space Sustainability Paradox
The rapid cost growth of flagship space missions has created a crisis for astronomy and planetary science. We have hit the funding wall. For the past 3 decades scientists have not had to think much about how space technology would change…
Sustainability has been defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. But what are the needs of the present? And are they met? From the poor performance of the…
Advanced space technology systems often face high fixed costs, can serve limited non-government demand, and are significantly driven by non-market motivations. While increased entrepreneurial activity and national ambitions in space have…
This paper addresses: Evolution of the space systems environment, including space system proliferation and space systems as critical infrastructure Cyber threats to, and vulnerabilities of, space systems Alternative approaches to meeting…
A significant opportunity for synergy between pure research and asteroid resource research exists. We provide an overview of the state of the art in asteroid resource utilization, and highlight where we can accelerate the closing of…
Security and safety are intertwined concepts in the world of computing. In recent years, the terms "sustainable security" and "sustainable safety" came into fashion and are being used referring to a variety of systems properties ranging…
It is still common wisdom amongst economists, politicians and lay people that economic growth is a necessity of our social systems, at least to avoid distributional conflicts. This paper challenges such belief moving from a purely physical…
Telecommunication networks have become as critical to the 21st century development as were railways, roads and canals, to the 19th Century developments and is now seen as enabler to a more sustained business, environment and society as a…
Recent years have seen both a revival of space programs, mostly propelled by private industry's increasing interest, but also the emergence of strong resistance to human space activities on several levels. This is partly a manifestation of…
The shell bound by the Karman line at a height of 80 to 100km above the Earth's surface, and Geosynchronous Orbit, at 36,000km, is defined as the orbital space surrounding the Earth. It is within this region, and especially in Low Earth…
October 1957, and the successful launch of Sputnik 1 into Earth orbit, marked the dawn of the Space Age. The first of the 'fellow travellers' - humanity's first artificial satellite - orbited for a mere three months before re-entering the…
Space debris is a major threat to the satellite infrastructure. A collision with even small particle, e.g. 1 cm of size, can cause a catastrophic event when the parent body, spacecraft or upper stage, will break up into hundreds of…
Astrophysics and planetary science are in crisis. The large missions we need for the next generation of observations cost too much to let us do more than one at a time. This spreads the science out onto a generational timescale, inhibiting…
During the New Space era small countries are becoming important players in the space business. While space activities are rapidly increasing globally, it is important to make operations in a sustainable and safe way in order to preserve…
Recent years have witnessed an exponential growth of the commercial space industry, including rocket launch, satellite network deployment, private space travel, and even extraterrestrial colonization. Several trends are predicted in this…
Orbit-use management efforts can be structured as binding national regulatory policies or as self-enforcing international treaties. New treaties to control space debris growth appear unlikely in the near future. Spacefaring nations can…
Space-science programs provide a wide range of application to a nation's key sectors of development: science-technology infrastructure, education, economy and national security. However, the cost of sustaining a space-science program has…
A close partnership between people and partially autonomous machines has enabled decades of space exploration. But to further expand our horizons, our systems must become more capable. Increasing the nature and degree of autonomy - allowing…
Human space exploration and settlement of other planets is becoming increasingly technologically feasible, while mission concepts for remote and crewed missions to nearby star systems continue to be developed. But the long-term success of…
Our planet and our species are at an existential crossroads. In the long term, climate change threatens to upend life as we know it, while the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic revealed that the world is unprepared and ill-equipped to handle acute…