Things are looking up for the satellite business. That is, things should shortly be coming down from space that no longer need to be there, and that is a good thing. And Starfish Space hopes to be the one to bring down those satellites.
Here is the story. Starfish Space has created the electric-propulsion Otter Pup prototype spacecraft to act as a tug boat in space that can safely nudge old satellites and debris out of orbit. This will be the basis for the commercially-available Otter spacecraft in the near future. The mission of this spacecraft could also be expanded to serve as a “robotic repair crew.”
It sounds so promising that NASA has awarded the company with a contract to expand its work in this area.
This is good news for anyone concerned about the growing amount of traffic and debris in low-Earth orbit. We have no problem tossing things into space, but we have not given enough thought to what happens later. The Otter Pup is a step in the right direction.
Note: You can see a July 2022 Starfish Space presentation to NASA about the Otter spacecraft here.
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