Titre : Inventing and innovating when no one wants to pay: Cleaning up space debris 

Auteurs : Dominique Vinck, Emilie Hertig, Lucile Van Box Som,  

Revue : Technology and Innovation 

Numéro : Issue 2</br> 

Volume : 5 

Date : 2020/03/19 

DOI : 10.21494/ISTE.OP.2020.0482 

ISSN : 2399-8571 

Résumé : The market incentive to invest in the invention and adoption of solutions would often be the driving force behind innovation, but when it comes to investing for the common good, it does not apply. This is the case with innovation in space waste disposal. The story of innovation in this field documents the engineering culture that accompanies the invention of a solution, which must also take into account a societal problem (the tragedy of the commons): how can we innovate when no one is willing to pay for the adoption of the invention? Using the Clean Space project as the focus, the article demonstrates that – far from being reduced to the business of a few heroes – innovation mixes different collectives that explore and interweave technical issues, the common good, financing, international standards, pedagogy and dreams. This paper begins with a teaching project based around a microsatellite; the result is a reversal of learning situations which enriches the technical culture of the collective concerned. 

Éditeur : ISTE OpenScience