The space debris environment is highly dynamic. There are processes that cause an increase in the objectpopulation. The most significant is the fragmentation of spacecraft. Other processes lead to a reduction of theobject population. The most important influence is the residual drag of the atmosphere on Low Earth Orbits(LEO) which causes many objects to descend. It would be preferable if at least a balance between both processescould be achieved so that the number of objects in space may not increase further. Overall, however, acontinuous increase in the number of space debris objects is observed. Computer simulations show that the risingtrend will continue in the future due to two causes. On the one hand, the number of objects in space continues toincrease due to spaceflight activities. Particularly on sun-synchronous orbits (SSO), this leads to a highaccumulation of debris. On the other hand, the probability of catastrophic collisions in SSO increases. Due to thehigh collision velocities resulting from the particular impact geometry on satellites or rocket bodies in SSO,high-energy collisions are expected on these orbits. The resulting debris will lead to a further increase incollision risk. It is therefore advisable not to release any more debris on SSO. However, it is expected that evenin the case of a suppression of all future explosions, an increase in orbital debris generation will occur due toaccidental collisions. Therefore, the implementation of further mitigation measures like controlled de-orbiting oractive removal is reasonable. The implementation of mitigation measures is costly. The discussion ofpreliminary cost estimations is the subject of this paper.
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