Posted on 01/23/2002 3:23:53 PM PST by Brett66
Most of the problem you describe is in Near Earth Orbit, where most of the stuff does decay and burn up in the atmospher over time. A whole lot of the junk that is up there is because we keep sending up one time shots, without provisions for repair and replacement, which would almost certainly be high on the list of space pioneers.
There is a high economic incentive not to "throw stuff overboard" in space, because it can be reused, and it cost an enormous amount to replace.
Capitalists have an incentive to be efficient: They want to make money. Government bureacracies have an incentive to be inefficient: They want to build their empires, so the more they can spend of other people's money, the better.
Most of the problem you describe is in Near Earth Orbit, where most of the stuff does decay and burn up in the atmospher over time. A whole lot of the junk that is up there is because we keep sending up one time shots, without provisions for repair and replacement, which would almost certainly be high on the list of space pioneers.
There is a high economic incentive not to "throw stuff overboard" in space, because it can be reused, and it cost an enormous amount to replace.
Capitalists have an incentive to be efficient: They want to make money. Government bureacracies have an incentive to be inefficient: They want to build their empires, so the more they can spend of other people's money, the better.
"The crew members of the seventh main mission to Mir (1990) threw the shower cabin into space."
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