The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded Starfish Space a landmark $52.5 million contract, signaling a pivotal moment in the ongoing efforts to manage orbital debris. This first-of-its-kind agreement tasks the Seattle-based startup with providing a critical disposal service for the agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) satellites once they reach the end of their operational lives. The move underscores a growing commitment to sustainable space operations and infrastructure.
Introducing the ‘Otter’: A New Era for Orbital Servicing
Central to this innovative solution is the Otter vehicle, a compact platform weighing approximately 300 kilograms – often likened to the size of an oven. The Otter is engineered to capture and deorbit satellites without requiring any prior modifications, a crucial capability given the diverse nature of modern constellations. Beyond disposal, the vehicle can also extend a satellite’s lifespan by serving as an external engine, offering unparalleled flexibility. This inherent adaptability allows it to service satellites acquired from various providers within the SDA’s ecosystem, ensuring vital interoperability.
Strategic Imperative: Cleaning Up Critical Orbits
The contract specifically outlines multiple disposal operations utilizing Otter vehicles, with embedded options for expansion based on the system’s on-orbit health and performance. Company representatives emphasized that this is not merely a research and development initiative, but a full-fledged operational contract of significant scale. The launch of the first Otter for SDA services is targeted for 2027, although the specific launch provider has yet to be manifested. The Otter’s unique ability to dock with „unprepared” satellites not only addresses the immediate needs of the SDA but also paves the way for broader commercial viability, a key criterion in the agency’s selection process.
A Track Record of Orbital Innovation
This recent award builds upon a previously successful competitive mission study contract that Starfish Space executed for the SDA throughout 2024–2025. The company’s expertise with the Otter vehicle is substantial: in May 2024, it secured a $37 million Strategic Funding Increase contract to build, launch, and operate an Otter for a pioneering docking mission, designed to provide two years of augmented maneuver capabilities for a national security satellite in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO). The following month, in June 2024, Starfish formalized an agreement with Intelsat (now SES) for the disposal of a GEO satellite into a higher „graveyard” orbit. Furthermore, September 2024 saw NASA award the company a $15 million, three-year contract to inspect defunct satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). Thanks to its robust propulsion system offering significant delta-V, the Otter is positioned as a truly „multi-orbit, multi-domain” platform.
