{"id":292,"date":"2026-04-08T12:24:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spacetimespod.com\/?p=292"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:24:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:24:57","slug":"paladin-space-is-proactively-de-orbiting-debris-to-make-space-safer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacetimespod.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/paladin-space-is-proactively-de-orbiting-debris-to-make-space-safer\/","title":{"rendered":"Paladin Space is Proactively De-Orbiting Debris to Make Space Safer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Paladin Space partnered with Portal Space Systems to launch their first satellite to capture multiple pieces of debris to clean up orbits
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On Earth we\u2019ve long recognized that tossing our trash in the street is not a sustainable waste management strategy, and the companies that handle it properly are quite profitable. In space, we seem to have not learned that lesson yet. Governments have improved restrictions on de-orbit timelines, but even then, would you be happy with garbage being left on your sidewalk for 5 years? In space it\u2019s not just a nuisance, but a danger. The warnings of Kessler Syndrome are a long-held argument for the need for a better solution to keeping our orbital environment clean, but even in less catastrophic scenarios, debris is still a very real and growing risk for satellites. Paladin Space isn\u2019t waiting for the worst case scenario, instead they\u2019ve partnered with Portal Space Systems to launch a satellite that\u2019s highly maneuverable and able to collect multiple pieces of small debris that are actively posing risk to our growing on-orbit infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of satellites in orbit five years ago was 4,000, today it\u2019s above 15,000, and with numerous constellations filed for launch we are headed for 2,000,000. Even before we reach millions of satellites in space, we\u2019ve already achieved millions of pieces of debris. Most of those are under 10cm in size, but so is a bullet, and they travel at much slower speeds than objects in orbit. The vast amount of debris and their high energies combine to create an increasingly risky environment for spacecraft to operate in. For a sense of scale the Starlink constellation had to perform 144,404 collision avoidance maneuvers from December 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025. Yet, even when collisions are avoided, we can\u2019t avoid events that generate more debris such as the destructive event of a Starlink this week that created tens of new pieces of debris. This satellite wasn\u2019t even one of the over 4,000 satellites that SpaceX lowered following the last destructive event in December. That dramatic mitigation strategy was intended to reduce the resulting effect of a collision by minimizing the on-orbit lifetime of the resulting ejecta, but it also reduced the lifetime of the satellites creating a significant reduction in profits. This is not a long term solution for the problem, since we can\u2019t just keep all satellites at low altitudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n