A company is working on a way of mapping the tiny bits of debris whizzing around the earth’s orbit. The system, being designed by ODIN Space, could save the space industry billions each year by preventing so-called ‘space bullets’ tearing satellites apart.
The company is the latest to benefit from the technical expertise and facilities at Space Park Leicester and has developed a way to map space debris smaller than a centimetre in length – making it the first business to provide data on sub-centimetre debris to satellite operators.
Dr James New, CEO and co-founder of ODIN Space – Odin stands for Orbital Debris Impact Network – said almost invisible debris the size of a grain of sand has the same energy as a bullet and can destroy a satellite instantly. Until now no technology has been able to mitigate this threat.
