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The Space Force wants contractors to sweep decommissioned satellites out of orbit when their useful lives are over, and it\u2019s signed up three companies to advance its Deorbit-as-a-Service project: Firefly Aerospace, Katalyst Space, and D-Orbit.<\/p>\n
The Space Development Agency and the Defense Innovation Unit announced<\/a> the contracts for this growing niche<\/a> market Aug. 14. Historically, satellite operators would fly spacecraft into \u201cgraveyard orbits\u201d where they wouldn\u2019t cause any harm before they ran completely out of fuel.\t\t<\/p>\n Satellites could remain in those dead orbits for decades or even centuries before Earth\u2019s gravity would eventually draw them into the atmosphere, a process known as orbital decay. But with satellite constellations growing to include tens of thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit, new solutions are needed. Experts worry about collisions, given how long debris can remain in orbit, circling the globe at 14,000 miles per hour.<\/p>\n Deorbiting services would solve the problem, grappling or docking with a satellite when its service life is over, then pulling it down into a lower orbit where it would more rapidly descend and then burn up in the atmosphere. The deorbiter would then return to a higher orbit and seek out its next target. <\/p>\n The Space Development Agency has explored the topic for several years, recognizing that its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture<\/a> with some 450 satellites in low-Earth orbit would need to be refreshed over time. SDA tapped six companies<\/a> in 2024 for feasibility studies, then signed one, Starfish Space, to a $52.5 million proof-of-concept deal in January 2026<\/a>. Starfish plans to launch its Otter spacecraft for that mission in 2027, and the contract has options for more missions to follow.<\/p>\n In this new deal, SDA and DIU are expanding the scope of the effort; none of the three firms signed to new deals were involved in previous deorbiting awards. <\/p>\n DIU said in a social media post<\/a> that the Pentagon sees the deorbiting mission as a service it will buy, rather than execute on its own. A managed service, it said, would provide \u201cthe government flexible, on-demand access to orbital logistics without the cost and schedule of owning and operating the mission spacecraft.\u201d\t\t<\/p>\n After the three companies proceed through preliminary designs and risk-reduction activities, SDA and DIU will pick one for a \u201cfull on-orbit demonstration.\u201d<\/p>\n Firefly<\/a> said its contract will fund a preliminary design review for its Elytra spacecraft to exectute a future deorbiting mission. It said the spacecraft, which is capable of other missions as well, has the \u201chigh-thrust maneuverability, ample fuel reserves, and payload capacity\u201d needed for deorbiting work.<\/p>\n Katalyst, which is currently conducting a satellite servicing mission for NASA<\/a>, aiming to boost the orbit of a NASA observatory to extend its service life. <\/p>\n