Visit dead satellites in Earth orbit

NASA is advancing an innovative approach to enable commercial inspection of satellites that are out of service or inoperable in low Earth orbit, a step prior to capturing and repairing those satellites if they are usable, or decommissioning them if they are no longer usable.

The agency has awarded Starfish Space of Seattle, Washington, United States, a contract to complete its work on the SSPICY (Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection CapabilitY) project.

The ability to inspect damaged spacecraft and identify opportunities for repair or, conversely, to cause their controlled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and their destruction, is critical to maintaining a safe orbital environment for spacecraft and astronauts. Reducing the amount of orbital debris is an increasingly pressing need.

The mission that will be handled by Starfish Space includes using the company’s Otter spacecraft, a small satellite the size of an oven, designed to inspect satellites, dock with them and assist them, or remove them from orbit. Otter’s ion propulsion system will help it efficiently navigate to multiple satellites.

During the SSPICY mission, Otter will visit and inspect multiple dead satellites, whose owners, in the United States, have agreed to this visit and inspection. This is a delicate and challenging task, since satellites move at high speed and the closer a vehicle is to them, the greater the risk of collision.

Artist’s recreation of the Otter spacecraft in orbit of Earth. (Illustration: Starfish Space)

Otter will approach each satellite to within a few hundred meters and inspect it. During the inspection, Otter will collect key information about each of the objects, including their speed of rotation, axes of rotation, and current conditions of the objects’ surface materials.

The Otter spacecraft is expected to launch into space in late 2026 and begin inspections in 2027. (Source: NCYT by Amazings)