Debris
Stories about the problems posed by trash in orbit, and initiatives from both governments and industry to clean it up.
NASA, Starfish Partner on SSPICY Debris Inspection
NASA is kickin’ it up a notch on a SSPICY mission to check out a defunct sat in LEO. Starfish Space will work on the program—formally known as the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability mission—under a Phase III SBIR contract from the space agency worth $15M over three years, NASA announced on Wednesday. A…
Satellite Break-up Experiment to Help ESA Learn How Satellites Die
The Destructive Re-entry Assessment Container Object mission, or DRACO, will be the first demo of a fully controlled break-up during its return to Earth.
BlackSky Expands Non-Earth Imaging Capabilities with HEO Deal
Intel collected by non-Earth imaging (NEI) provides greater space domain awareness for defense and commercial assets on orbit.
Astroscale Wins Next Phase of UK’s COSMIC Mission
Astroscale’s UK branch announced it had won a contract on Wednesday to continue working on an active debris removal mission that will take two defunct British sats out of orbit.
Slingshot Tracks Centaur Break-Up in HEO
The second stage of a ULA rocket that sent a NOAA weather satellite to orbit in 2018 broke apart dramatically in orbit last week, generating a debris cloud first tracked by Slingshot Aerospace.
China’s Long March 6A Leaves Behind 300+ Pieces of Debris
China’s plans for greater connectivity in LEO are coming with a price—a large amount of space debris.
ESA Report Shows Unsustainable Levels of Orbital Debris
Congestion has gotten so bad in LEO that ESA warns the future of space travel could be in jeopardy.
Asteroid Watchers Fret About Politicians Facing Dangerous NEOs
“I know what I would prefer [to do], but Congress will tell us to wait,”
Kayhan Space Releases Satcat Space Intelligence Tool
The Satcat database catalogs 60,000+ objects in orbit, from active satellites to drifting debris
Astroscale Shares Surge in Market Debut
Astroscale’s IPO proves there’s value in junk stocks—space junk stocks, that is.
A Satellite Conjunction Scare Marks an “Inflection Point” in Collision Risk
This is just the sixth time in the last two years that two non-maneuverable space objects have come so close.
Astroscale’s ADRAS-J To Rendezvous With Orbital Debris
The company’s inspection satellite will approach the abandoned upper stage of a H-2A rocket that’s been floating aimlessly in space since 2009
