Japan, India startups to study laser satellites to combat space debris

Space startups in Japan and India said on Tuesday 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. 

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. 

There are already more than 100 companies in the space servicing market as satellite constellations expand, Nobu Okada, chief executive of Japanese debris mitigation pioneer Astroscale , said earlier this year. 

The project is the latest example of collaboration between Japan and India, whose governments are working together on the joint Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, which could launch as early as 2026. 

Indian rocket maker Skyroot and satellite builder HEX20 are also working with Japanese moon exploration firm ispace on a future lunar orbiter mission. 

The two countries' commercial space tie-ups have been driven by Japanese satellite data solutions for India's disaster management and agriculture, and can expand to more fields such as manufacturing, said Masayasu Ishida, chief executive of Tokyo-based nonprofit SPACETIDE, which has hosted space business conferences since 2015. 

"The key is finding where and how to build complementary relationships" that align with national policies such as Make in India, which aims to boost local production, Ishida said.