DebrisPayload Pioneers 2023Startups

Payload Pioneers 2023: Joanna Hon

When Joanna Hon was growing up in Canada, working in the space industry seemed like just a fantasy. Now, the 27-year old director of R&D at Turion Space says she is working to inspire others to chase their seemingly-impossible goals as well.

CivilDebrisMilitary

Exclusive: Turion Space Wins Six NASA and USAF Contracts

Turion is announcing a slew of wins in its efforts to design, build, and deploy its on-orbit mobility and debris removal infrastructure. The Irvine, CA-based space sustainability startup has notched six recent contracts from NASA, the Space Force, and the Air Force, each supporting a different area of its product stack. “We’re trying to grow […]

BusinessDebrisEquitiesVC/PE

Benchmark Clinches $33M, Launches Autopilot for Satellites

Benchmark Space Systems, the Burlington, VT-based propulsion systems provider, is keeping busy. This week, the company announced a $33M Series B funding round, unveiled new digs, and debuted a brand-new satellite autopilot product called SmartAIM. Benchmark’s Series B Benchmark announced this morning that it’s closed a $33M Series B to speed up the process of […]

CivilDebris

IARPA Launches Space Debris Tracking Initiative

IARPA, aka the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, is getting its feet wet in space awareness.  The advanced R&D arm under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced Tuesday that it is launching a new program called SINTRA (Space Debris Identification and Tracking) to find, track, and characterize the millions of tiny pieces […]

Debris

Astroscale, Wind River Team To Clean Up in Orbit

Astroscale’s space vacuum is getting a boost.  The company is partnering with space software startup Wind River to provide the on-board computer for ELSA-M, a mission to remove multiple pieces of debris from orbit, according to a joint announcement Wednesday. “Our ELSA-M service strives to solve satellite operators’ end-of-life disposal challenges,” Stephen Wokes, director of […]