Launchspace Technologies Expands Orbital Debris Mitigation and Spacecraft Shielding Work on the ISS Bartolomeo Platform

Launchspace Technologies Expands Orbital Debris Mitigation and Spacecraft Shielding Work on the ISS Bartolomeo Platform
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BOCA RATON, FL, UNITED STATES: Launchspace Technologies, Inc., is pleased to announce several milestones in the development of its innovative solution for orbital debris remediation and enhanced spacecraft shielding. The payload will be space qualified on the Airbus Bartolomeo external platform on the International Space Station (ISS). The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), manager of ISS National Lab, under a cooperative agreement with NASA, has awarded Launchspace a grant towards the on-orbit utilization of Bartolomeo. In addition, Launchspace is working with the NASA Glenn Research Center under a Space Act Agreement for the design, manufacture and testing of advanced materials that will be part of the company’s patented orbital debris remediation solution.

“I believe the traction we have seen in the market comes from our strong partnership with Airbus and our collaboration with NASA”, said Launchspace CEO, John Bauman. “Launchspace will use the Bartolomeo platform to test our technology for orbital debris remediation and enhanced spacecraft shielding by capturing small orbital debris and mitigating the creation of additional smaller and dangerous orbital debris.”

The Launchspace ISS payload consists of small orbital ‘Debris Impact Pads’, which house a series of sensors that record the impact, force and orbital location of orbital debris that impacts on the ISS.

“Combined with our planned sensor spacecraft solution to detect and track orbital debris, active satellites and threats from adversaries against our country’s space-based national security assets, we believe we have a comprehensive solution for detecting, tracking and remediating orbital debris,” added Bauman.

This in-orbit demonstration is a key step towards Launchspace’s plan to send Debris Collection Units into equatorial low-Earth orbits. Launchspace’s patented orbital debris solution maneuvers to avoid active satellites, spacecraft and large orbital debris, while capturing debris that is 2 cm and smaller. This orbital debris is typically too small to detect and track and can hence become an unavoidable risk for spacecraft and the ISS. This is why Launchspace also plans on developing a LEO sensor constellation to, among other things, detect and track orbital debris that is too small to be seen by ground-based solutions.

“This collaboration between Airbus and Launchspace is an example of the complementary relationship between Commercial Space Infrastructure Providers and cutting-edge technology developers coming together to provide significant advancement in low earth orbit technologies,” said Debra Facktor, Head of U.S. Space Systems at Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, Inc. “Our Airbus ISS Bartolomeo platform enables broad scale payload hosting capability with end-to-end payload services, along with any needed transportation, astronaut crew time and other ISS resources.”

Robert Walker, former House Science Committee chairman and former executive chairman of the Washington lobbying firm Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates, began working with Launchspace Technologies to gain support for the company’s work.

Now, Walker, who founded moonWalker Associates in 2019, has joined the Launchspace Technologies board. “Removal of orbital debris is one the most vital of space missions.
Billions of dollars could be made doing debris remediation and Launchspace’s technology with their NASA Space Act Agreement and planned ISS deployment is at the forefront of this opportunity.”