Space startups in Japan and India said Tuesday they have agreed to jointly study using laser-equipped satellites to remove debris from orbit, an experimental approach to the increasingly looming problem of orbital congestion.
Tokyo-based Orbital Laser and Indian robotics company Inspatiity said they will study business opportunities for services in space such as de-orbiting decommissioned satellites and extending the life of spacecraft.
Orbital Lasers, built this year by Japanese satellite Giant Sky Perfect, is building a system that will use laser energy to stop rotating space junk by vaporizing small sections of its surface, allowing servicing spacecraft to meet It will be easy.
Aditya Barskar, the company’s global business head, said Orbital Lasers plans to demonstrate the system in space and supply it to operators after 2027. Baraskar said it could be deployed on Inspatiity satellites if companies meet regulatory requirements in India and Japan.
The companies said they have signed a preliminary agreement to begin cooperation. Inspacity was founded in 2022 and raised $1.5 million last year, while Orbital Ledgers has raised $5.8 million since being founded in January.
In late October a UN Panel on Space Traffic Coordination said that urgent action was necessary to track and manage objects in low Earth orbit due to the rapid increase in satellites and space junk.
Nobu Okada, chief executive of Japanese debris mitigation pioneer Astroscale, said earlier this year that there are already more than 100 companies in the space services market due to the expansion of satellite constellations.
The project is the latest example of cooperation between Japan and India, whose governments are working together on a joint lunar polar exploration (LUPEX) mission, which could launch as early as 2026.
Indian rocket maker Skyroot and satellite maker HEX20 are also working with Japanese moon exploration firm iSpace on a future lunar orbiter mission.
The two countries’ commercial space alliance has been driven by Japanese satellite data solutions for India’s disaster management and agriculture, and could expand into more sectors such as manufacturing, said Masayasu Ishida, chief executive of Tokyo-based nonprofit SPACETIDE. , which has hosted the Space Business Conference since 2015.
“The key thing is where and how to create complementary relationships” that are consistent with national policies like Make in India, which aim to boost local production, Ishida said.