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BriefENERGY

Space Debris Removal Service ClearOrbit Secures First Commercial Contracts: Cleaning Retired Satellites for SpaceX and OneWeb

Swiss startup ClearOrbit's space debris removal service wins first commercial contracts to clean retired satellites and debris from LEO for SpaceX and OneWeb, with single removal missions costing approximately $12 million.

Swiss space debris removal startup ClearOrbit announced on December 23 that it has signed commercial contracts with SpaceX and OneWeb to clean retired satellites and debris from low Earth orbit. These are the first commercial operational contracts in the space debris removal sector.

ClearOrbit's approach uses the autonomous space tug Orion-1, equipped with ion thrusters and a mechanical capture device. Orion-1 approaches the target debris using visual navigation, captures it with a robotic arm, then pushes it into atmospheric reentry orbit. Each mission can remove one approximately 500kg retired satellite or debris.

Initial contracts cover 22 early-retired Starlink satellites from SpaceX and 15 retired satellites from OneWeb, totaling approximately $440 million. ClearOrbit CEO Muriel Richard plans to execute first removal missions in 2029, with each launch carrying 3-4 Orion-1 tugs at approximately $8 million per launch.

Currently approximately 34,000 trackable debris objects larger than 10cm orbit in LEO, plus millions of smaller fragments. ClearOrbit aims to remove 500 retired satellites by 2030, reducing LEO collision risk by approximately 15%.