Search

U.S. Space Force Wants to Harness Commercial Industry Ideas on Debris Removal

U.S. Space Force Wants to Harness Commercial Industry Ideas on Debris Removal
On March 22 last year, a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan launched the End-of-Life Services by Astroscale demonstrator (ELSA-d) by Japan's Astoscale company, which is focused on space debris removal by pushing space objects into the Earth's atmosphere where they would burn up. On Apr. 6, Astroscale said that it would abandon its mission to capture a space object, as four of the servicer’s eight thrusters had experienced technical difficulties and are non-functional. The company said that it hopes to capture space debris in a future mission (Astroscale Photo)

U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command (SSC) may hold an industry day to hear from commercial companies about possible technologies for space debris removal, the profit potential for such companies for that mission, and how Space Force could leverage commercial expertise. During a question and answer session with reporters at the Space Foundation's Space Symposium in Colorado Springs on Apr. 6, Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the program executive officer of assured access to space at SSC, said that space debris…

Subscriber-only content. Please log in below.

Not a subscriber or registered user yet?

Please contact us at clientservices@accessintel.com or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.

Congress Updates

Space Force PAE For Infrastructure Completing Move To Colorado Springs

U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) for infrastructure–a $4 billion contracting hub for SSC–is completing a move from Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. to […]


Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Urge Trump Admin Support For Marines’ JLTV Second Supplier Effort

Wisconsin’s GOP congressional delegation is urging the Trump administration to support legislative language enabling the Marine Corps to potentially bring in a second Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) supplier. The […]


Senate’s CR Has Ship Construction Exemption, Forgoes White House’s Battleship, Munitions Requests

The Senate on Sunday released a bipartisan stopgap funding proposal to keep the government open through December 11, which would also secure additional funds to support ongoing shipbuilding efforts and […]


U.S. Fighter Fleet Will Expand By 2040 But More Stealth Aircraft Will Mean Less Availability, CBO Says

The number of fighter aircraft in the U.S. military inventory will decline over the next few years before expanding to a greater number than currently, but their availability for operational […]