Turion Wins Space Force Contract for Debris Capture Technology

WASHINGTON — Turion Space, an Irvine, California-based startup, has been awarded a $1.9 million contract by SpaceWERX, the U.S. Space Force’s technology arm, to develop an autonomous spacecraft docking and maneuvering system. The contract aims to advance technologies for engaging noncooperative space objects and facilitating the deorbiting of inactive satellites.

Ryan Westerdahl, Turion’s co-founder and CEO, said in an interview that the company is focused on space mobility and non-Earth imaging. Turion launched its first satellite, Droid.001, a 32-kilogram spacecraft designed for space situational awareness, in June 2023. Data from that satellite is being integrated into the Space Force’s Unified Data Library.

Westerdahl unveiled his demonstration project as early as 2026, with a droid mothership hosting “micro-droid” satellites equipped with the capture device developed under the SpaceWERX contract. The micro-droid, funded in part by NASA, will use grappling hooks to capture debris.

“The space debris problem can be solved by better understanding where objects are in the space domain so that operational satellites can maneuver without regret to avoid collisions, and by removing large, unmaneuverable objects,” Westerdahl explained.

While Turion’s long-term goal is to provide a debris removal service, the company is currently focused on hosting space domain sensing payloads to generate stable revenue. Turion plans to offer three payload hosting options: Droid Alpha Mini, Droid Alpha, and Droid Alpha Enhanced Mobility with ion thrusters.

The company’s next satellite launch, scheduled for February, will demonstrate the larger Droid Alpha bus. Westerdahl expects that by 2027, Turion will be producing 45 satellites per year. The enhanced mobility ion thrusters will be co-produced with Desert Works Propulsion, a specialist in electric propulsion for space applications.

To date, Turion Space has raised nearly $20 million in venture capital, Westerdahl said.

A former SpaceX propulsion engineer, Westerdahl co-founded Turion Space in 2020 with Tyler James Pierce and Patryk Wiatr.

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