Japan, India startups to study laser-equipped satellite to tackle space debris

Orbital Lasers and InspeCity collaborate on in-space services, aiming to tackle orbital congestion with laser-equipped satellites.

Space startups in Japan and India said on Tuesday (December 17, 2024) that they had agreed to jointly study using laser-equipped satellites to remove debris from orbit, an experimental approach to the increasingly imminent problem of orbital congestion.

Tokyo-based Orbital Lasers and Indian robotics company InspeCity said they would study business opportunities for in-space services such as de-orbiting a defunct satellite and extending a spacecraft’s life.

Carved out from Japanese satellite giant SKY Perfect JSAT this year, Orbital Lasers is building a system that will use laser energy to stop the rotation of space junk by vaporising small parts of its surface, making it easier for a servicing spacecraft to rendezvous.

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Orbital Lasers plans to demonstrate the system in space and supply it to operators after 2027, said Aditya Baraskar, the company’s global business lead. It can be mounted on InspeCity satellites if the companies clear regulatory requirements in India and Japan, Baraskar added.

The companies said they had signed a preliminary agreement to initiate the collaboration. InspeCity was founded in 2022 and raised $1.5 million last year, while Orbital Lasers has raised 900 million yen ($5.8 million) since it was established in January.

A United Nations panel on space traffic coordination in late October said that urgent action was necessary to track and manage objects in low Earth orbit because of the rapid increase in satellites and space junk.