Space sustainability & mission assurance
Closing the tracking gap in low Earth orbit.
SOAR is developing PODRS (the Passive Orbital Debris Removal System), designed to intercept and characterize orbital debris 10 centimeters and smaller, most of which cannot be reliably tracked.
The problem
The debris no one can track
Orbital debris 10 centimeters and smaller is largely untracked. At orbital velocities, even a fragment a few centimeters across carries enough energy to disable a spacecraft, yet most of it sits below the threshold of reliable detection.
No active removal approach in service today addresses this class of object. It is a measurable, growing gap in how the world keeps low Earth orbit usable.
The approach
A passive system, by design
PODRS is a passive, multi-panel capture concept designed to fragment, slow, and retain debris 10 centimeters and smaller while recording impact and flux data.
It is patent pending and in active development, advancing toward a planned on-orbit demonstration.
Building the partnerships that move this to orbit
SOAR is open to research collaborators, institutional partners, and mission stakeholders interested in the problem of small, untrackable orbital debris.