Michigan-based KMI partners with three universities for Orbital Prime program
WASHINGTON — Kall Morris Inc. announced Sept. 7 that it has won three research contracts for debris removal technology under the Space Force’s Orbital Prime program.
Michigan-based KMI is an R&D startup focused on space debris remediation.
Orbital Prime is operated by SpaceWERX, the technology arm of Orbital Prime. us space forceelected in May 125 industry teams The initial phase of the program aims to facilitate commercial development of the technology for orbital debris removal and other space services.
Valued at $750,000, KMI’s three awards are Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contracts that require small businesses to team with academic or non-profit institutions. Orbital Prime Phase 1 winners will be able to compete for bigger follow-on contracts.
The company uses a gluing arm (a technique known as gecko gluing) to capture debris objects such as inert satellites and rocket bodies flying uncontrolled and unprepared for capture. It sells the concept of debris removal that
For each of the three Orbital Prime Awards, KMI partnered with various universities. We are working with the Space Engineering Research Center at the University of Southern California to refine the adhesive arm concept. He worked with his Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Lab at Stanford University to explore other adhesive techniques, and with MIT’s Department of Aerospace Engineering to find out how to collect and analyze debris.
Troy Morris, co-founder and managing director of KMI, says the partnership between the private sector and universities improves the quality of proposals. “Universities provide technical support, extensive experience, and testing resources,” he said.“It helps small businesses, so we don’t have to go out and rebuild or buy something that’s already in the lab.”
Debris removal business case
Morris said companies participating in the Orbital Prime program hope it will lead to real debris removal missions and that the U.S. government will commit to purchasing cleanup services from the private sector.
A major hurdle for the industry, he said, is the lack of reliable estimates of what the removal will cost. tens of thousands of shard objects Space operations are becoming increasingly dangerous due to the danger of collisions.
Removing space debris is a huge technical challenge, and some companies are already working on it. demonstration It is possible. According to Morris, the hardest part is the business case. “We are getting the right signals from the Space Force, private operators and others to prove to investors that there is a real market that can solve the problem.”
According to Morris, the most worrisome piece of debris is the large rocket body that annihilates the spacecraft on impact. Most are upper stages of rockets launched decades ago, not designed to be captured or docked with other vehicles.
Used by companies in the space industry sustainability Plan to minimize debris such as deorbiting Morris said the satellite is not working, but the number of debris is still increasing.
Much of the space industry is focused not only on junk collection and removal, diversionMorris said, because the rocket body provides raw materials for manufacturing hardware in orbit.
