Question

In evaluating legal mechanisms to address the burgeoning crisis of orbital debris, legal theorist Claire Danforth proposes extending the maritime doctrine of constructive abandonment to defunct satellites in low-Earth orbit. Under Danforth’s framework, any satellite inactive for over five years would be deemed constructively abandoned, thereby immunizing private salvagers from liability when de-orbiting non-functional hardware. While this approach laudably cuts through the jurisdictional paralysis fostered by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty—which ostensibly preserves a launching state’s perpetual ownership—Danforth’s confidence in unregulated salvage incentives is premature. By overlooking the prohibitive capital expenditures of non-cooperative rendezvous and the acute geopolitical risks of misidentifying military reconnaissance platforms, her scheme presents an ingenious conceptual expedient that nonetheless remains practically precarious until multilateral verification protocols are codified.

Which of the following phrases best characterizes the author’s attitude toward Danforth’s proposed application of constructive abandonment to orbital debris?