SDA and DIU award contracts for satellite deorbit services

The Space Development Agency and the Defense Innovation Unit announced contract awards to four commercial companies on October 7, 2026. SatNews reported that the joint initiative aims to advance space debris mitigation and active satellite deorbiting capabilities for national security space architectures. [1]

Under the Deorbit-as-a-Service program, the agencies allocated a combined 8.4 million dollars to Firefly Aerospace, D-Orbit Space, and Katalyst Space Technologies for an initial mission design phase. SatNews reported that the Space Development Agency also separately awarded Starfish Space a standalone contract valued at up to 52.5 million dollars. The Deorbit-as-a-Service initiative serves as a joint procurement framework managed by the Defense Innovation Unit and the Space Development Agency to develop commercial, on-demand space services. [1]

Starfish Space is an American satellite servicing company based in the Seattle metropolitan area, founded in 2019 by former Blue Origin engineers Austin Link and Trevor Bennett. The company is developing the Otter spacecraft for satellite servicing, with its first three Otter vehicles scheduled for launch in 2026 on missions planned for NASA, the United States Space Force, and Intelsat. [4]