Sharing insights from decommissioning in the space and nuclear industries

Diletta Invernizzi; Harriet Brettle; Doug Kerr; Phillip Anz-Meador; Sion Edwards; Andrew Horner; Jayne Dale; Dominic Coy; Mark Chang

doi:10.1117/12.2605269

12 October 2021 Sharing insights from decommissioning in the space and nuclear industries

Diletta Invernizzi, Harriet Brettle, Doug Kerr, Phillip Anz-Meador, Sion Edwards, Andrew Horner, Jayne Dale, Dominic Coy, Mark Chang

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11888, Space, Satellites, and Sustainability II; 1188808 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2605269
Event: Space, Satellites + Sustainability (S3), 2021, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

The danger posed by human-created, orbital debris has been well documented and there is a broad consensus that, if unchecked, such debris poses a significant threat to the future of space activity. Besides, there has been much discussion on the difficulties inherent in trying to remove large, non-functioning satellites from Earth orbit. However, while the physical aspects of the space domain make this a unique technical challenge and never before has society had to face the problem of decommissioning redundant infrastructures on this scale, the issues faced by the space community in tackling the economic and legal difficulties of this environmental threat are not without terrestrial parallels. The nuclear industry is also well versed in dealing with the decommissioning of potentially harmful assets that have reached the end of their operational lifespan, and has developed considerably in the last decades across disciplines and approaches. Nevertheless, only very recently there have been some attempts to investigate decommissioning and develop lessons learned across sectors. In this paper, we address this topic, and we highlight the similarities that characterise these sectors, also presenting the magnitude of the nuclear and space decommissioning challenges. Moreover, we investigate to what extent the nuclear and outer space decommissioning industries can learn from each other. Results include considerations for the future such as: • the importance of promoting decommissioning as an exciting and socio-environmentally responsible industry for new generations; • the need for “design for decommissioning” to be implemented since the early stage(s) of a project; • policies specific to the end-of-life of assets and infrastructure that focus on financial obligations of the entities responsible for decommissioning.

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Citation Download Citation

Diletta Invernizzi, Harriet Brettle, Doug Kerr, Phillip Anz-Meador, Sion Edwards, Andrew Horner, Jayne Dale, Dominic Coy, and Mark Chang "Sharing insights from decommissioning in the space and nuclear industries", Proc. SPIE 11888, Space, Satellites, and Sustainability II, 1188808 (12 October 2021); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2605269

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