TAMPA, Fla. — Odin Space is preparing to start out detecting tiny but potentially dangerous pieces of orbital debris in the approaching weeks from a sensor on a recently launched space tug, in accordance with the British startup’s cofounder and CEO James Latest.
The enterprise announced June 27 that it had successfully powered up the demo sensor, integrated with D-Orbit’s small satellite-carrying ION orbital transfer vehicle that SpaceX launched earlier this month to low Earth orbit.
The sensor’s sensitivity is cranked up high to detect background vibrations from the host satellite to check core systems, Latest said, but will probably be tuned for detecting surrounding debris as small as one-tenth of a millimeter.
Sub-centimeter debris are too small to trace with current systems but can pack enough kinetic energy to break spacecraft they collide with in orbit.
Odin goals to record and analyze the dimensions, speed, and trajectory of tiny debris from the vibrations they generate as they perforate its sensor’s substrates. By launching a whole lot of sensors on third-party satellites, the startup goals to construct a dynamic, high-resolution map of the sub-centimeter debris environment.
While the demo sensor is designed to operate for about two months of D-Orbit’s expected two-year mission life, Latest said future sensors would collect data for the lifetime of the host satellite.
He said Odin can be working on upgrading its sensor technology to accumulate more data and increase compatibility with a wider range of satellite formats.
The enterprise plans to start out launching next-generation sensors in 2024 and deploy greater than 10 of them per yr across LEO and geostationary orbit as hosted payloads.
After securing greater than $500,000 in pre-seed funding and grants from the U.K.’s space agency, Latest said the three-year-old company is on the brink of search for more investments to expand its customer base and deploy the primary phase of this sensor network.