Incentivizing Responsible Space Practices through the Debris Offsetting Fund and Space Sustainability Rating

Kurzfassung

The unprecedented growth in space activities has led to critical congestion in Earth orbits, with space debris posing a significant risk to satellites, manned missions, and future space exploration. While technical solutions for debris removal exist, their implementation has been hampered by limited funding initiatives and economic incentives. While space actors are aware of their responsibility, the current system creates financial disadvantages for actors with high debris avoidance efforts. This paper proposes the Debris Offset Fund (DOF), a financing mechanism that creates a level playing field for space actors to act responsibly in space. It is designed to hold satellite and launch providers accountable for potential debris generation, incentivize responsible space practices, and address the legacy of derelict object orbit. The concept foresees that space operators contribute a fund based on a sustainable rating which is used for debris removal. The DOF could be added to existing or future space policy frameworks, including the European Union (EU) Space Act. Based on quantitative analysis, we show that the DOF is effective in limiting the space debris level and achieves up to 37 % savings on mission costs for the space operators in the long term. Globally, a return on investment of 10.6 x is achieved.