Designing the International Framework for Active Debris Removal Operations

抄録

The threat by the space debris in space activities has accelerating the necessity to take the measures against space debris, especially to remove the space debris, so-called, Active Debris Removal (ADR). The objective of this paper is to design the international framework to operate ADR from the systems engineering point of view, not only technical, but also economic, strategic, legal, or fairness etc. It is natural that ADR be operated under some international framework working together the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and/or the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC). In order to urge many space faring countries and/or parties to support this framework, some mechanisms have been built-in to let them find the merit regarding responsibility, compensation and cost of ADR.