Orbital space isn't a limitless resource.
, including fishing-like nets, harpoons, laser blasts, de-orbiting tethers, solar sails and grappling by spacecraft outfitted with robotic arms.
, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate on Sept. 12. The bipartisan bill seeks to"establish a demonstration program for the active remediation of orbital debris" and"require the development of uniform orbital debris standard practices in order to support a safe and sustainable orbital environment."
"The changes being made seem to be in the right direction," said Don Kessler, a now-retired NASA senior scientist who has done pioneering orbital debris research. Indeed, the— a feared cascade of space debris collisions that would generate ever more orbital clutter — is named after him. "We need to change people's attitudes about the space environment," Kelso told Space.com."While it seems a somewhat ambiguous goal, we can't really effect change without getting people to change their fundamental view of what should be done. Not how it could be done."