Pentagon weighs commercial satellite disposal options with three vendors
TL;DR
Three companies—D-Orbit USA, Firefly Aerospace, and Katalyst Space Technologies—have been selected by the Defense Innovation Unit and the Space Development Agency to study commercial satellite disposal options under a ‘deorbit-as-a-service’ concept. The awards, with undisclosed value, fund preliminary design and risk reduction to evaluate approaches for rendezvous, capture and deorbit of aging or non-cooperative satellites in low-Earth orbit, with SDA/DIU assessing technical maturity, schedule and affordability before any full on-orbit demonstration. This continues SDA’s push to offer commercial disposal solutions and builds on earlier feasibility studies from 2024, including Starfish Space.
Topics:businessmilitary#defense-innovation-unit#deorbit-as-a-service#deorbiting#military#satellite-disposal#space-development-agency
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- Firefly Aerospace Awarded Contract to Design Elytra Deorbit System for Defense Innovation Unit Firefly Aerospace
- US spacecraft to clear dead satellites from 3 major Earth orbits Interesting Engineering
- Pentagon Picks D-Orbit, Firefly, Katalyst In Deorbit-As-Service Push Aviation Week
- Plan to Deorbit Old Satellites Gains Steam with New Deals Air & Space Forces Magazine
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