How One Company Is Solving The Space Junk Problem

On April 15, Fox News released a two-minute video summarizing NASA’s increasing concerns surrounding the ongoing space junk issue. It included comments made by SAIC Space Business Lead, David Ray, who assured Fox how important it is that any parties operating in space know how to avoid colliding with free-floating objects, saying that the SAIC wants to learn how to navigate around existing space junk and create the “highways and byways” to ensure the safest experience for everyone operating off-world.

As tensions between Russian and American space agencies make cooperation increasingly untenable in the wake of Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine, handling the international security risk posed by potential collisions between space junk and spacecraft may fall to individual agencies, such as the U.S. Space Force, with the help of private corporations like the SAIC. Ray acknowledged the importance of maintaining international security in space, saying, “We’re using our abilities in space to drive a more diplomatic approach.”

The SAIC is monitoring about 5600 payloads and 39,300 other objects in our vicinity. More information about the SAIC’s mission progress is available to the public on the official Space-Track website.