Space junk threat -- the instability point

Rising orbital debris levels


This is a REALLY pessimistic article. It says this:

"Given existing space situational awareness capabilities, over 20,000 objects are now tracked. "We catalog those routinely and keep track of them. That number is projected to triple by 2030, and much of that is improved sensors, but some of that is increased traffic," Shelton said. "Then if you think about it, there are probably 10 times more objects in space than we're able to track with our sensor capability today. Those objects are untrackable … yet they are lethal to our space systems -- to military space systems, civil space systems, commercial -- no one’s immune from the threats that are on orbit today, just due to the traffic in space."

and then this:

"The good news is that no immediate action is necessary in terms of removing debris objects, Kaplan advised, as experts estimate that the situation will not go unstable anytime soon.

"But, when it does, operational satellites will be destroyed at an alarming rate, and they cannot be replaced. We must prepare for this seemingly inevitable event," Kaplan said. While there are many options for debris removal that have been proposed, he feels that none are sensible."

but then almost immediately after it says THIS:

"The proliferation is irreversible. Any cleanup would be too expensive. Given this insight, it is unlikely spacefaring nations are going to do anything significant about cleaning up space," Kaplan said. "The fact is that we really can't do anything. We can't afford it. We don't have the technology. We don't have the cooperation. Nobody wants to pay for it. Space debris cleanup is a 'growth industry,' but there are no customers. In addition, it is politically untenable."

Sounds pretty bleak, doesn't it? I remember when a satellite went out and I couldn't use my debit card at a gas station for a day. We take a lot for granted (communications, entertainment, national security) that relies on satellites in space -- if they start dropping the monetary expenditures to replace them will go $ky-high. And if there's too much debris up there, the operational lifetimes will plummet, making it even more expensive to KEEP replacing them.
This is NOT good.