Deorbit as a Service
End-of-life deorbit as a managed service, under contract to DIU and SDA.
Our space tug can support many services. It can:
Locate a target satellite, even if it is not communicating.
Rendezvous with a target satellite, even if it is tumbling and uncooperative.
Capture and secure a target satellite — even if it was never designed for this to happen.
Deorbit or move a target satellite to a new orbit.
Deorbit as a service.
The conventional approach to deorbiting a target satellite is to build a new spacecraft, fly it to the target satellite, and destroy both by burning both up during re-entry. That approach does not scale — not to constellations with hundreds of satellites.
Our space tug stays on orbit and can deorbit or service multiple target satellites. We focus on the lowest possible cost per deorbit.
“I have dead satellites I cannot move, right now.”
A failed satellite does not cooperate. It may be tumbling. It was not designed to be captured. We solve this.
“I have a deorbit obligation and I need a defensible path.”
Controlled deorbit and reentry against U.S. and international debris-mitigation standards, documented and delivered under contract. The obligation is met by a contract deliverable, not by an internal best effort.
“Building a deorbit spacecraft does not close.”
One vehicle written off against one object never closes. Ours is amortized across many. Time to first mission is a contract, not a program of record — and we carry the risk.
“We are not launched yet, and deorbit has to be in the architecture.”
Engineer end-of-life into the constellation before first launch, and reserve capacity against the retirement curve rather than negotiating for it after the first failure.
Location, orbit, timeline, and the compliance standard you have to meet.
A precision-pointing spacecraft derived from the flight-proven ION carrier approaches the object — including objects never designed to be captured or serviced.
Controlled deorbit and reentry meeting U.S. and international debris-mitigation standards. The slot is restored and the collision risk is retired.
The vehicle stays on orbit. One mission services multiple objects — which is what changes the economics.
End-of-life deorbit as a managed service, under contract to DIU and SDA.
Let a satellite run until its fuel is spent, then add working years rather than replacing it early.
Move a spacecraft to a new slot, plane or altitude without spending its own propellant budget.
Close-proximity imaging and characterization of an object you need to understand before you act on it.
Fly a payload on an ION carrier, or take a precise independent orbital slot. Three carriers are in Boulder today.
American payloads integrated onto ION in our Boulder clean room before shipment to the launch site.
High-resolution space intelligence and space domain awareness payloads hosted on the same platform.
Extending the service model beyond low Earth orbit.
The same capability stack, applied to propellant resupply.
Extra services available across the portfolio include mission analysis and design, platform engineering, software development, acceptance testing and transportation.
Four-meter Mantis capture mechanism for securing objects on orbit.
Rendezvous and proximity operations payload with autonomous capability.
D-Orbit Space, Inc. is prime contractor on the DIU and SDA Deorbit as a Service effort, and performs design, spacecraft, tug, platform, assembly, integration, test and mission operations.
Tell us the mission and the date you have to meet. We will tell you what it takes to accomplish it — and reserve the capacity to do it.