Moriba Jah, lead for the Space, Security, and Safety Program at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law and associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin, provided a fascinating perspective regarding Space Sustainability in his article titled “We Have Landfills in Space, but We Don’t Have To,” for Aerospace America. The article primarily discussed the problem of how “many anthropogenic space objects are adrift in low-Earth orbit and will eventually reenter” and how “the root cause remains our stubborn tendency to continue to treat LEO like an open landfill of abandoned space hardware.”

“The United States considers itself the leader in space. Establishing proper disposal techniques by law would provide incentives for others around the world to join in creating a thriving, circular economy in space.” 

Moriba Jah

If you would like to read more about Jah’s criticisms and the proposal for this new policy for space sustainability, the article can be found here.