Space Is Filling With Junk. Who Cleans It Up?

from Thinking On Paper · host Mark Fielding and Jeremy Gilbertson

Space junk is becoming one of the biggest risks in low Earth orbit, from satellite collisions and Kessler syndrome to the millions of debris fragments already moving above Earth. This episode looks at how we got here, why deorbit rules have struggled, and whether active debris removal companies like Astroscale can turn space cleanup into a real market. The second half asks what happens when the same space economy depends so heavily on SpaceX, Starlink, launch access, satellite networks, and a private monopoly that governments increasingly rely on.Please enjoy the show--🎧 Listen to every podcast⁠📺 Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠🏠 Follow us on ⁠X⁠🏠 Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠To suggest guests or sponsor the show, please email: [email protected](00:00) Space junk (06:21) Kessler syndrome (10:57) Space Insurance (13:50) Government intervention(20:26) Active debris removal(22:37) Astroscale(24:53) Who pays (26:26) Is SpaceX a monopoly (29:08) NASA Administrator(33:04) Space governance