The U.S. Defense Innovation Unit and the Space Development Agency selected three companies to study options for providing commercial satellite-deorbiting services, reflecting the U.S. Department of Defense’s search for a commercial alternative to a dedicated government capability for disposing of aging spacecraft. D-Orbit, Firefly Aerospace, and Katalyst Space received contracts of undisclosed value under a project called “Deorbit as a Service.”
The project focuses on satellites that were not designed to receive servicing and may be unable to cooperate with an approaching vehicle. The agencies want to develop a scalable commercial capability that can safely approach these satellites, capture them, and then remove them from orbit.
From Initial Study to Orbital Demonstration
The companies will begin preliminary design and risk-reduction activities. The Space Development Agency and the Defense Innovation Unit will then assess each solution’s technical maturity, mission-execution approach, schedule, and affordability before selecting the solution that will advance to a full in-orbit demonstration. This means that selecting the three companies does not yet represent a final award or a decision to purchase an operational service.
These contracts expand an earlier Space Development Agency effort to develop commercial options for disposing of satellites within its low Earth orbit architecture. In 2024, the agency awarded six companies, including Starfish Space, feasibility studies to examine on-demand deorbiting services. Starfish later received a $52.5 million contract to remove up to seven satellites from orbit.
Different Solutions and Varying Levels of Experience
Firefly proposes using its Elytra orbital maneuvering vehicle to rendezvous with a satellite nearing the end of its life, conduct approach and inspection operations, and then perform the maneuver necessary to dispose of it. Elytra has not yet flown its first space mission, but it incorporates hardware and software derived from Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar program.
Katalyst, meanwhile, is working on a test directly related to capturing an unprepared-for-servicing satellite. Its robotic satellite-servicing vehicle, Link, was launched on July 3 as part of NASA’s Swift Boost mission. It was planned to rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, secure it using robotic arms, and then raise it to a higher orbit. Link experienced attitude-control problems during the initial operational phase in late July, but the company said it uploaded new flight software that restored attitude control using the remaining actuators, allowing mission preparations to continue.
D-Orbit enters the competition with a substantial commercial record in orbital transportation; the Italian company launched its 23rd commercial mission in July using an ION Satellite Carrier. However, its robotic servicing technology is less mature, and it is developing the GEA vehicle, designed to autonomously rendezvous with, dock to, inspect, and reposition satellites. The company says these capabilities will be demonstrated during the European Space Agency-supported RISE mission, scheduled for 2029.
Deorbit-Service Requirements
The agencies said a viable service must combine several activities in a repeatable process:
- Delivering the servicing vehicle to the correct orbit.
- Autonomously locating and approaching the target.
- Determining the satellite’s attitude and motion.
- Capturing it without causing space debris.
- Providing sufficient propulsion to dispose of the combined mass.
These steps must also be performed at a price that makes purchasing the service from commercial companies an attractive option for the U.S. government.