WASHINGTON - In a move that will surprise absolutely no one who has ever watched a satellite outlive its useful life, the U.S. government is exploring whether it can simply pay commercial companies to haul away its aging spacecraft instead of building a dedicated space garbage truck. The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Space Development Agency (SDA) have tapped D-Orbit, Firefly Aerospace, and Katalyst Space for a “deorbit-as-a-service” study - contracts of undisclosed value, because why let transparency clutter a perfectly good procurement process?

The project focuses on relocating spacecraft that were not designed to be serviced and may be less than cooperative when a space tow truck shows up. “Through this effort, SDA and DIU are developing a scalable commercial capability to safely rendezvous with, capture and de-orbit unprepared or non-cooperative satellites,” the agencies said, presumably with a straight face. The selected companies will start with preliminary design and risk-reduction activities, after which the agencies will evaluate their technical maturity, mission approach, schedule, and affordability before deciding which solution proceeds to a full on-orbit demonstration.

This expands an SDA effort to find commercial options for disposing of satellites in its low-Earth-orbit architecture. In 2024, the agency gave feasibility studies to six companies, including Starfish Space, to examine on-demand deorbit services. Starfish later snagged a contract worth $52.5 million to deorbit up to seven spacecraft - a bargain, if you consider the alternative is leaving them to become high-speed space shrapnel.

The three new entrants bring varying levels of flight experience and different approaches to the central problem of reaching and moving a spacecraft that may not have been built for docking or servicing. Firefly, for instance, proposed using its Elytra maneuvering spacecraft to rendezvous with a client satellite nearing the end of its life, conduct proximity operations and inspection, and perform the necessary disposal maneuver. Elytra hasn't actually flown yet, but it does incorporate hardware and software derived from Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar program, so at least it's not starting from scratch.

Katalyst is pursuing perhaps the most directly relevant test of capturing an unprepared spacecraft. Its Link robotic servicing vehicle launched July 3 on NASA's Swift Boost mission and is intended to rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, secure it with robotic arms, and raise it to a higher orbit. Link hit a snag during commissioning in late July with attitude-control problems, but the company says it uploaded new flight software that restored attitude control using the spacecraft's remaining actuators, allowing preparations to continue. Because nothing says "trust us with your orbital debris" like a spacecraft that almost lost its cool.

D-Orbit enters the competition with a substantial commercial record in orbital transportation - the Italian company launched its 23rd commercial ION Satellite Carrier mission in July. Its robotic servicing technology, however, is less mature. D-Orbit is developing GEA, a spacecraft designed for autonomous rendezvous, docking, inspection, and repositioning of satellites, with capabilities to be demonstrated through the European Space Agency-backed RISE mission, scheduled for 2029. So, you know, just a few years away.

DIU and SDA have said a viable deorbit service would have to combine several activities into a repeatable operation: getting a servicer into the correct orbit, locating and approaching a target autonomously, determining its attitude and motion, capturing it without generating debris, and supplying enough propulsion to dispose of the combined mass. It would also have to do so at a price that makes commercial procurement attractive. In other words, they want a space janitorial service that's reliable, affordable, and doesn't make a bigger mess. Good luck with that.