Starfish Space to tackle orbital junk for NASA with SSPICY Otter

NASA has awarded Starfish Space a $15 million contract for the SSPICY mission to inspect defunct satellites in Earth's orbit. The mission will use Starfish's Otter spacecraft to collect data on disused US-owned satellites, including their spin rate and surface condition. Otter is designed to rendezvous with, dock, service, or deorbit satellites, with its first commercial assignment set for 2026 with Intelsat. The mission aims to demonstrate electric propulsion technology for proximity operations and is part of NASA's efforts to extend satellite life and reduce space debris.