Stewardship cessation
[{{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nInjCgAAQBAJ&q=The+technology+underlying+the+product+(for+example,+that+of+a+uniquely+flavoured+tea)+may+be+quite+marginal+but+the+process+of+creating+and+managing+its+life+as+a&pg=PA91, title=Proceedings of IAC-MEM 2015 in Vienna, last=group of authors, publisher=Czech Institute of Academic Education z.s., 2015, year=2015, isbn=9788090579156, pages=91] is a concept useful in
system engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their Enterprise life cycle, life cycles. At its core, systems engineering uti ...
. Certain
systems
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is exp ...
remain hazardous for a considerable period after their useful life, and will usually be managed to ensure that the public and the environment is not exposed to the hazard. It is incumbent on the
systems designer
A by-election was held in the Bermondsey (UK Parliament constituency), Bermondsey constituency in South London, on 24 February 1983, following the resignation of Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP Bob Mellish. Pe ...
to consider the outcome should this stewardship be discontinued for any reason, and to design a system which is as robust as possible in the event of stewardship cessation.
Examples
Nuclear industry
The most obvious example is the
nuclear
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
* Nuclear space
*Nuclear ...
industry, and the
radioactive waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
it generates which will be a hazard for many centuries. In the present era, most high level waste is in still in currently managed facilities, but various methods are being considered for disposal. Most of the proposed disposal methods are designed to put the waste in a place so isolated from the environment that (it is hoped) immediate stewardship cessation would be safe and appropriate. However, many people are more comfortable with systems where the waste is still accessible, so that if there is an unforeseen problem with the disposal method, the waste can still be accessed to rectify the problem. These systems will still require some level of stewardship, but the system designer must consider that this may not be available for the hundreds of years required.
Satellites
Another example is when
geostationary
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...
communication
Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...
s satellites reach the end of their useful lives. Stewardship cessation will occur hopefully in a planned manner, where the operator will move the
satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
to a somewhat higher orbit to minimise the risk that the satellite will be a collision hazard to other satellites in the geostationary arc (graveyard burn). Unplanned stewardship cessation will occur if telecommand access to the satellite's systems is cut off due to a failure, for instance in the telecommand receivers.
Reasons
Reasons for stewardship cessation include:
*Illegal or inappropriate disposal by the last user
*Budgetary constraints from government or other body
*Total societal breakdown or partial sociocultural change leading to a reduction in the perceived need for stewardship or simply to negligence
*
Climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
putting the system beyond reach (under sea or ice)
*
Global war
*Other catastrophe (e.g. epidemic) reducing the number of available stewards below the threshold necessary to maintain a continuous stewardship system
*For remotely operated systems, loss of communication with the remote segment of the system.
See also
*
Technology life cycle
The technology life cycle (TLC) describes the commercial gain of a product through the expense of research and development phase, and the financial return during its "vital life". Some technologies, such as steel, paper or cement manufacturing, ...
References
Environmental conservation
Systems engineering