QUEEN’S BUSINESS SCHOOL INFORMATION TECHNOOGY, ANALYTICS & OPERATIONS (ITAO) SEMINAR SERIES

Wednesday 19^th November

3pm

“Sustainability of Satellite Operations around the Earth”

Atanu Chaudhuri

Durham University

Abstract

The rapid growth of satellites, especially in low Earth orbit, has created new operational, environmental, and strategic challenges for maintaining long-term access to orbital resources. This study examines the issue of satellite sustainability, focusing on how stakeholders across the satellite value chain are adapting their practices, strategies, and technologies to mitigate space debris, extend asset lifespans, and address regulatory fragmentation. Based on interviews with 20 experts from satellite operators, manufacturers, service providers, and regulators, we identify a range of emerging responses, including modular design, end-of-life servicing, orbital risk mitigation, and shared ground infrastructure. These practices highlight tensions between immediate operational goals and long-term sustainability objectives, particularly in an environment characterized by uncertainty, interdependence, and limited regulatory enforcement. Our findings connect sustainable operations and closed-loop systems in the literature to the specific context of orbital infrastructure, where physical retrieval is challenging and global coordination remains in its infancy. The orbital setting presented in this paper provides a timely and important platform for research that can also serve as a testing ground for advancing theories of sustainable operations, system interdependence, and resource stewardship. Consequently, this work adds to the growing body of operations management literature examining sustainability in high-tech, rapidly expanding sectors.

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