NorthStar satellite system to monitor threat of space debris

Space-based service will alert users to potential collisions between satellites and orbital junk

The Canadian company NorthStar Earth and Space has contracted Thales Alenia Space to build the first three satellites of its Skylark space traffic monitoring system, with LeoStella, a Seattle-based firm, overseeing the final assembly. This will make NorthStar the first commercial company to monitor space traffic from space.

The service will alert users to potential collisions between satellites, both operational and defunct, and other large pieces of debris. The service will become increasingly important as new satellites, especially the mega-constellations such as SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper, are launched.