Comment by abirch
The question is how to deal with all of the space debris. It seems like they should factor in the total cost (retrieving anything that goes up) and not only the cost to launch it.
The question is how to deal with all of the space debris. It seems like they should factor in the total cost (retrieving anything that goes up) and not only the cost to launch it.
Sattelites in LEO without the ability to boost their orbits back up will fall out of orbit in a few years due to natural atmospheric resistance. Exactly how long it takes depends on the shape and mass of the sattelite. It's of very very low Kessler syndrome risk.