I think it is past time to make launchers publish their plan for lifecycle management, and perhaps post bonds against them, in case they go bankrupt.

Making sovereigns pay for trashing the commons is tricky for obvious reasons. But we don't have those problems with corporations.

US, through the FCC of all things, requires licensing applications (before launch) to address satellite lifetimes.

How are you going to get e.g. the Chinese Government to pay? (1)

And if you can get them to agree to pay, who is a suitable body that they can be convinced to pay it _to_ ? I'm pretty sure that any arm of the US government, or US parastatal body, would not be acceptable. It's an international governance problem.

1) https://www.space.com/3415-china-anti-satellite-test-worriso...

> How are you going to get e.g. the Chinese Government to pay?

Seize assets of nation-state entities (or entities controlled by the Chinese state) like airplanes and ships or bank funds, release them after payment.

But are there any serious, adult, workable proposals?

Yes of course. We did that over a decade ago in Germany - a construction company was owed 30 million euros from the government of Thailand, so our police seized the airplane of the king at the Munich airport, and in 2005 we did the same for a collection of debt against Lebanon [1].

[1] https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article13485097/Boeing-von-Th...

So to be clear, you would say that China's standing and general compliance to perceived hostile action against it is the same as Lebanon or Thailand? IMHO, that is very naïve.

China's "standing" is being a fucking bully that doesn't care about any rules.

That opinion is consistent with the link that I posted - smashing a satellite into debris for kicks. But it does seem to be inconsistent with taking your above "seize assets" suggestions seriously.

All well and good, until someone decides to lob a missile at a satellite and make a little Kessler syndrome, or launch missions with no reentry plans from a nation that hasn't signed your treaty.

I don't think it's a bad idea to be proactive about space cleanup, rather than reactive.

Throwaway LLC creates the debris and goes bankrupt from fines, main company does the cleanup.