Speaker
Description
Space debris is today a constant threat to all space activities. According to recent requirements and guidelines, operators of space missions have to ensure that space vehicles do not become space debris at the end of their mission. It becomes compelled to design all new space missions considering End of Life requirements in order to ensure a sustainable use of space orbits.
In addition to Space Debris Mitigation good practices, several actors of, or related to the European space industry have identified Life Cycle Assessment (ISO14040/44) as the most appropriate methodology to measure and minimize their environmental impact. However, the space sector deals with strong particularities which complicate the use of LCA. Strong efforts still have to be done in order to fully characterize the complete life cycle of space systems, particularly the on-obit stages which include the interactions with the orbital environment.
Given this context, a priority has been given to the integration of space debris related impacts on the orbital environment into the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) framework. To address space debris issues in a comprehensive way, a causal chain (i.e. Impact pathway) linking orbital occupation to environmental mechanisms (midpoint) and damages (endpoint) has been already defined considering the near-Earth orbits as a resource. Consequently, the Endpoint characterization shall be performed considering socio-economic damages into the orbital resource asset caused by the potential emission of space debris.(1,2)
A preliminary work dealing with the valuation of orbitals regions has been achieved focusing on the revenue generated by satellites into the Sun Synchronous Orbital (SSO) region (3)(as a proxy for the valuation of the resource for human’s activities). Broadening this approach, we propose a new methodology to encompass the whole satellite’s population in the LEO region. We define several archetypes for space missions in order to perform a systematic valuation of the orbital asset: Communication, Earth observation, Technology demonstration satellites etc. Our work focuses on the assessment of the economic value (especially the direct and indirect use value seen from an anthropocentric point of view (4)) of communication satellites as well as Earth observation satellites as they both cover 75% of the whole population of the active satellites.
The presentation will highlight the relevance of applying economic valuation to the orbital resource for the complete life cycle of space missions. We will focus on Communication and Observation satellites depicting the potential cumulative economic value of the orbital bins based on the 2018 reference year. It’s a first step to consider the global loss of value for the society allowing a damage characterisation at the Endpoint level for LCA of orbital systems. Further work could be envisaged covering the whole current population of active satellites but also anticipating the future trends in term of launches. In this way, we will have a more accurate overview of the orbital resource valuation particularly taking into account the mega constellations expected for the next years.
1_Verones, F., Bare, J., Bulle, C., Frischknecht, R., Hauschild, M.Z., Hellweg, S., Henderson, A., Jolliet, O., Laurent, A., Liao, X., Lindner, J.P., Maia de Souza, D., Michelsen, O., Patouillard, L., Pfister, S., Posthuma, L., Prado, V., Ridoutt, B., Rosenbaum, R.K., Sala, S., Ugaya, C., Vieira, M., Fantke, P., 2017. LCIA framework and cross-cutting issues guidance within the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. J. Clean. Prod. 161, 957–967. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.206
2_Sonderegger, T., Dewulf, J., Fantke, P., Souza, D. M. De, Pfister, S., Stoessel, F., … Hellweg, S. (2017). Towards harmonizing natural resources as an area of protection in life cycle impact assessment. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 22(12), 1912–1927
3_Esteve, R. (2017). A Valuation Framework for the Orbital Resource.
4_Bontems, P. & et Rotillon, G. L’économie de l’environnement. La Découverte, 2013
