Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Gregory Campbell

Abstract

Space debris is a growing problem that impacts the ability to maneuver and conduct space missions, creates hazards for people on Earth, and has the potential for severe environmental damage. Clean-up efforts are not viable in the modern era due to a lack of viable, affordable, and safe technology conducive to such lines of effort. This leaves mitigative and preventative policy measures as the most effective way to proffer a solution to the problem. Public policy has largely failed to address space debris mitigation effectively due to the fragmentation of policies standards and a lack of horizontal integration of policies across levels of governance and multi-sector discoordination. As such, a unified policy framework that addresses space debris mitigation is extremely needed. The purpose of this study was to find the foundational elements of a unified policy, asking what are the shared standards, how are concepts operationalized, and who are the legitimized stakeholders. In this exploratory embedded single case study, stakeholder theory was used in conjunction with comparative analysis, descriptive coding, and emergent coding. In the analysis there were 17 total policies used from a variety of sources within eight participant entities. The key results included a unified framework for space debris mitigation through fine detail in response to the research questions. It was also concluded that spacecraft operators and the general public were not legitimized in present policies. Recommendations were made to create a more beneficial and inclusive policy framework for stakeholders. Impacts to positive social change are multiple, including the provision of a utilizable framework for future policy design.

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