A Proposed Taxonomy for Space Policy and Operations Applied to Orbital Debris Mitigation

The rapid increase in space activity has introduced significant regulatory and sustainability challenges, driven by declining launch costs and an expanding satellite services market. As the number of Anthropogenic Space Objects (ASOs) grows, so does the complexity of regulatory interest and overlapping jurisdictions. Understanding the relevant stakeholders and policies, as well as their goals, is useful when investigating new policies for modeling or recommendation. The current US framework for space policy is fragmented and complicates this process. This work proposes a taxonomy for space operations intended to help map relevant policies and stakeholders for specific sustainability challenges. The structure provided is intended to help researchers visualize the policy landscape for certain issues and identify possible gaps as well as the relevant policy stakeholders. A demonstration of the intended use is conducted with the chosen goal of minimizing orbital debris from the commercial sector. The demonstration identified possible overlaps in the FAA and FCC jurisdictions over disposal policies, as well as gaps in policies defining maneuvering responsibility.