Speaker
Description
Orbital debris, coming in different sizes and orbits, amplifies the risks of orbital collisions with crewed and robotic spacecraft. Unexpected fragmentation events similar to the Resurs P break-up in highly populated low earth orbits threatens the EU space infrastructure.
There is a long-term need for green, interoperable and affordable space debris mitigation and remediation technologies. Very soon, satellite owners will be exposed to complex mission scenarios and high costs for space operations facing an increased technical, operational and market risks.
In order to understand, prepare and mitigate these risks for satellite owners, cross-cutting pro-active portfolio management can potentially contribute to risk mitigation.
The space debris sustainability pillar part of the EIC space portfolio contains a number of “bottom-up” projects proposed by space SMEs, universities and research centers for debris mitigation and remediation. The objective of this paper is to present the sub-categories of space debris sustainability pillar and showcase synergies within the portfolio.
For example, companies planning to design and develop in-orbit-servicing vehicles, including innovative deorbiting, propulsion and capture technologies, may benefit from the advanced capabilities developed by other companies on space debris detection and recognition services. Through pro-active portfolio management, it will be possible to find solutions to address the growing complexity of space mission operations and, in the long-term, prepare new capabilities to mitigate the technology, operational and market risks.
[1] Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Innovation Council (EIC) and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). The Authors are not liable for any consequences stemming from the reuse of this publication
