DIU Makes 3 Awards for Deorbit-as-a-Service

Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Update

DIU and the Space Development Agency (SDA) have made initial awards for the for the Deorbit-as-a-Service (DaaS) project. We have selected Firefly Aerospace, Katalyst Space, and D-Orbit to chart a path to deliver in-space transportation and logistics capabilities to the U.S. government on a managed-service basis — ultimately giving the government flexible, on-demand access to orbital logistics without the cost and schedule of owning and operating the mission spacecraft.

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 selected companies will begin with preliminary design and risk-reduction activities, after which SDA and DIU will together evaluate their technical maturity, mission approach, schedule, and affordability before deciding which solution proceeds to a full on-orbit demonstration.

Firefly will complete a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for a debris removal mission using the company’s Elytra spacecraft.

“Firefly is known for performing some of the hardest missions in space, and this mission is no exception,” said Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim. “In alignment with the White House order to prioritize orbital debris mitigation, our team designed a highly efficient, cost-effective solution for our Elytra vehicles to deorbit satellites nearing end of life. This dialable system can deorbit satellites of vastly different sizes and configurations to help mitigate the growing space debris challenge our industry is up against.”

During Phase I, Katalyst Space will mature the mission design through PDR. Phase II would advance the program to flight implementation using Katalyst’s NEXUS robotic spacecraft to rendezvous with, capture, and deorbit SDA satellites that were not originally designed for servicing.

“Rendezvous and proximity operations and robotic satellite servicing are foundational for the future of space operations,” said Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee. “These capabilities give government operators new options to strengthen the resilience and flexibility of space architectures. Through this effort we want to move these capabilities beyond one-off demonstrations and toward repeatable operational services.”

D-Orbit will be working with TransAstra to design its spacecraft. TransAstra said it would provide the Mantis Capture System as the soft-capture payload to safely encompass, constrain, and control debris and defunct satellites in orbit.