It's a pretty exciting time for the commercial space industry. SpaceX and Blue Origin are competing to offer the best space transport services. Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries are racing to mine asteroids for rare and valuable minerals. And the potential for space tourism - orbital and suborbital flights for ordinary, if wealthy, people - looks bright with companies like Virgin Galactic on the job. But while the future is promising for creative commercial entities looking to blaze the final frontier, existing space companies - particularly those with a focus on aerospace and communications - have more mundane concerns. Operating communications satellites isn't as romantic as mining asteroids. But it's essential for the use of technologies we utilize and take for granted every day. It increasingly looks like the growing problem of space debris will threaten these operations.
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