Salvage rights

> There is a lot more junk up there, some of it
> orbiting for decades
> already, from dead GEO satellites to spent Apollo
> stages. Notice
> the competition between various space agencies and
> private industry
> to salvage this stuff? None.

This is a hot topic in satellite industry and there
are many people looking into it. NASA has a whole
office dedicated to it at johnson
(http://sn-callisto.jsc.nasa.gov/). There is also
debate happening at the United Nations's Office for
Outer Space Affairs on this very issue.

I know ITT has been involved in supporting the
research. Orbital Recovery is a commercial company
that is making a business plan along these lines too
and a lot of people are watching to see if they can do
it (http://www.orbitalrecovery.com/). Orbital Express
(a DARPA funded project to refpair and refuel sats)
was pushed in part to provide the means for some
satellites to get the heck out of the way for newer
satellites.

Its been over a year since I last followed the debate
but it is a very hot issue in the commercial space
industry for a number of reason, the least of which is
the need for real estate.

Ryan Z