École de droit de Toulouse

Space debris presents an emerging “tragedy of the commons”, posing hazards to the access, use, exploitation and exploration of space. We recommend a model addressing this issue and qualify debris as abiotic space resources and argue that it can be recycled and converted into fuel for other space ventures such as producing metal for on-orbit 3D printing. This could produce a commercially viable solution for incentivizing debris removal. We acknowledge mandatory property insurance and absolute third party liability insurance, both in orbit, to fund such operations through insurance salvage clauses facilitating title claim and sustain return on investment.

Discover the programme of the Conference