Emerging orbital debris market

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It’s a sad irony, but irony nonetheless, that this week announced by the European Space Agency That piece of space debris — which was left in orbit after the launch of Arianespace’s Vega rocket in 2013 and was the target of the removal mission — appears to have been hit by other space debris.

The ClearSpace-1 mission aims to demonstrate the process of “active debris removal” by capturing the discarded rocket part with a spacecraft equipped with robotic arms. The spacecraft is developed and operated by Swiss startup ClearSpace, which is backed by the European Space Agency and investors such as OTB Ventures and In-Q-Tel.

Separately, NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch the Crew-7 astronaut mission to the International Space Station. But the International Space Station itself You may have to dodge space debris this afternoonwith the station controllers considering changing its altitude.

The threat posed by space debris is not a new problem for the industry, but it is more pressing than ever. Brian Weeden, director of the Secure World Foundation and one of the leading experts on the subject, said he was “not too surprised” to hear that the ClearSpace-1 target had been hit, “because we honestly don’t have good statistics on that.” Collisions with very small pieces of debris.”

“We’re pretty sure there are over a million additional pieces of debris…1 to 10 centimeters in size…but they are too small to be tracked right now, so we can’t predict where they are. We just can’t avoid them,” Weeden said. “.

Satellites and space debris are largely tracked via ground-based radars and telescopes. Weeden noted that the US military, through Space-Track.org, has the “most complete public catalog” of things. Europe, Russia, and China all have their own tracking networks, too. Japan, Korea and India are working on it.

Meanwhile, companies are working on commercial tracking services. Weeden called LeoLabs a “big leader” and noted that other companies such as ExoAnalytic, Slingshot Aerospace, HEO and NorthStar are also building networks.

“We’re doing pretty well, just not good enough,” Weeden said.

Debris removal is an emerging part of the broader scope satellite services market (Also known as Aerospace Service, Assembly, and Manufacturing, or ISAM). But Weeden noted that there are some sticking points that remain theoretical, as “no company or government has ever claimed damages for damage to a space satellite as a result of a collision or debris.”

While there are easing measures for commercial satellite operators — such as FCC requirements on how long satellites can remain in orbit after service ends — the “big question” for Weeden revolves around governments, which he says are Biggest offender: “How do you do that? Are we incentivizing governments to clean up their waste?” Followed shortly by: “How do they do it?”

Weeden envisions something like NASA’s commercial cargo program, where the government would help fund research and development and then hold a competition to award service contracts to companies.

“But someone in government has to say, ‘We’re going to put money in there to do this,'” Weeden said, “and we’re talking hundreds of millions or billions” of dollars.

• US agencies warn space companies of espionage threats: In a bulletin from the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the FBI and the Air Force, the US government warned “foreign intelligence entities” against seeing US space companies “as potential threats as well as valuable opportunities to acquire critical technologies and expertise.” Incoming threats in the form of cyberattacks, strategic investments and supply chain targeting. – NCSC
• India lands on the moonWith the country’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landing safely on the lunar surface. This achievement makes India the fourth country to land on the moon, and the first country to land near one of the moon’s poles. The Indian space agency also carried out the mission at a remarkably low cost, with ISRO’s overall budget a fraction of the size of NASA’s. – CNBC / CNBC
• The Russian Luna 25 spacecraft crashes into the moon The country’s first lunar attempt in nearly half a century failed after the spacecraft spun out of control. – Reuters
• red wire Sierra and Sierra Pharmaceuticals are collaborating in space on the LIFE Habitat demonstration mission: The former company will include a biotech test bed on the last space station’s first mission. Biological and pharmaceutical research and production are seen as the primary customer market for microgravity platforms in space. – CNBC
• SpaceX is launching for the 58th time this year with a Starlink mission. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket launched its booster for the 13th time and carried 22 satellites into orbit. – space flight now
• Rocket lab Launching the 40th electron, with the first repurposed engineThe launch carried Capella’s Acadia satellite into orbit, with an electron booster falling as the company develops the rocket’s reusability. – Rocket lab
• Jared Isaacman’s Polaris Dawn mission will likely be delayed to 2024: And in an interview with CNBC’s “Manifest Space,” Isaacman said that although Polaris and SpaceX are “making a lot of progress” and “still hope” to launch by the end of this year, he thinks it will likely be pushed back to the early 2010s. Next year. Since it is a test programme, he noted that such delays “should be expected”. – CNBC
• North Korea’s latest attempt to launch a spy satellite failed: Chollima-1 rocket crashes in the country shortly after takeoff. – Space news
• Colorado startup True Anomaly has opened a spacecraft manufacturing facility. While the company is developing its own Jackal vehicles. – real anomaly

• Axiom Space raises $350 million from Saudi and Korean investors In a tour led by Al Jazeera Capital and Boryeong. Nayef Al-Misnad, Managing Director and CEO of Aljazira Capital, said Axiom’s support “is in line with the transformative approach of Saudi Vision 2030”. – CNBC
• Australian startup HEO raises $7.7 million (AU$12 million) in a round led by Airtree Ventures and joined by Salus VC, Y Combinator and In-Q-Tel. – Hugh
• SDA awards a $1.5 billion contract for the T2TL Beta satellite to Inc Lockheed Martin And Northrop GrummanAs part of the growing Pentagon agency constellation. – CNBC
• The Space Force awards “PLEO” satellite service contracts to companies including OneWeb, Echo Star Hughes, Capella and Iceye. The Space Force has added 16 companies to the “pervasive low-Earth orbit” initiative, which has a cap of $900 million over five years, with options for an additional five years. – One Web Technologies / Echostar / Capella / Icy
• mainari It was awarded the $3 million SDA ground station development contract Which will see the company use its laser stations to demonstrate communications with SDA’s PWSA constellation. – mainari
• Umbra awarded a $1.25 million contract to the Air Force To demonstrate the ability to use satellite radar to track moving targets on the ground. The California-based company currently operates a constellation of six (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites. – Shade
• satelologic Sign a data agreement with the Saudi Quant Company For an undisclosed amount. – satelologic

• Momentos It performs a 1-for-50 reverse stock split, as the company has condensed about 98 million shares of common stock outstanding to just under 2 million shares. The stock traded for just over 20 cents a share before turning around $12 a share. The stock has since fallen more than 20% and is trading at less than $10 a share. – Momentos