2–4 Mar 2021
ESA/ESOC
Europe/Berlin timezone

Managing Space Debris with and for Society

4 Mar 2021, 15:12
10m
ESA/ESOC

ESA/ESOC

Virtual Event
Presentation Day 3 - A Future Scenario Talks - Day 3

Speaker

Clormann, Michael (Technical University of Munich)

Description

Space debris appears on the verge of triggering broader political and public debates on sustainable conduct in outer space. Simultaneously, the space sector undergoes profound transformations towards the paradigm of NewSpace – further strengthening its socioeconomic impact.
Both processes are interdependent and raise the question of society’s future role in spaceflight activities. Social studies of science and technology indicate that large-scale infrastructures such as satellite constellations often meet societal resistance once they establish significant socio-technical risks. Such resistance usually can be minimized by 1. better understanding risk perception mechanisms and 2. the early implementation of transparency and co-creative efforts.
This means going beyond traditional science communication efforts or politics of representative democracy: engaging stakeholders in development and risk management processes can provide previously untapped legitimacy for a future space sector.
The presentation outlines the potential for co-creative processes based on social science research conducted within the author's dissertation project.

Primary author

Clormann, Michael (Technical University of Munich)

Presentation materials