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Abstract Recent advancements have significantly enhanced the capabilities for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM), to develop infrastructure in orbit and on the surface of celestial bodies. This progress is a departure from the traditional sustainability paradigm focused solely on Earth, highlighting the urgent need to define and operationalize the concept of “space sustainability” along with the development of an evaluation framework. The expansion of human activity into space, particularly in low-earth orbit, cis-lunar space, and beyond, underscores the critical importance of considering sustainability implications. Leveraging space resources offers economic growth and sustainable development opportunities, while reducing pressure on Earth’s ecosystems. This paradigm shift requires responsible and ethical utilization of space resources. A space sustainability assessment framework is essential for guiding ISAM capabilities, operations, missions, standards, and policies. This paper introduces an initial framework encompassing (1) pollution, (2) resource depletion, (3) landscape alteration, and (4) space environmental justice, with potential metrics (resources use and emissions, midpoint, and endpoint indicators) to measure impacts in the four domains.
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This content will become publicly available on July 1, 2026
Multi-Stakeholder Optimization for Identification of Relevant Life Cycle Assessment Endpoint Indicators
Endpoint indicators provide a concise representation of environmental impacts by aggregating multiple midpoint indicators into a single value. Traditional endpoint weighting systems, however, are often limited by biases introduced through panel reviews and a lack of robustness in scientific process models. Additionally, they typically fail to account for the preferences of key stakeholders, including industry, government, and the public. This work addresses these limitations by developing an endpoint indicator that incorporates stakeholder preferences and minimizes dissatisfaction. A multi-stakeholder optimization framework was formulated to achieve this goal, employing distance, downside risk, and conditional value at risk as objective functions. Stakeholder preferences were derived from emissions data for industry, federal spending on environmental issues for government, and public surveys for societal input. Results highlight regional variations in midpoint indicator weightings across Texas, California, Delaware, and the United States. Furthermore, the influence of public and government preferences reveals a prioritization of human health concerns over environmental impacts. This framework offers a novel approach to creating endpoint indicators that align with stakeholder priorities, promoting more inclusive and collaborative environmental decision-making.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2134471
- PAR ID:
- 10655655
- Publisher / Repository:
- PSE Press
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2013 to 2018
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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