Will a major city launch an orbital debris-tracking public service by 2029?

Urban Eyes Turn to Orbit

Municipal governments have always extended their attention upward—first to weather, then to communications, and now toward the silent confetti swirling above the atmosphere. My view is that the race for orbital awareness is no longer the realm of national agencies alone; cities crave visibility into what could one day threaten their infrastructure, their transportation networks, and even their economic forecasts.

What I predict is a hybrid civic-tech initiative, where local administrations partner with academic labs to create a dashboard offering residents and industries real-time orbital clutter updates. As satellites multiply, the need to track the orbital neighborhood becomes too pressing to ignore.

Before 2029, I expect at least one major city—perhaps one already branding itself as a "smart city"—to formalize such a service. It may start small, but its symbolic value will be enormous. The sky, after all, is becoming a crowded district of its own.