Orbital Lasers, a Tokyo-based company, and InspeCity, an Indian robotics company, said they will explore business opportunities in space, including deorbiting defunct satellites and extending the life of spacecraft.

Orbital Lasers, which is developing a system that uses laser energy to slow down the rotation of space junk, said it will test the system in space and offer the service to operators by 2027. The system could be installed on InspeCity satellites if the companies meet regulatory requirements in Japan and India, according to Orbital Lasers' global business director, Aditya Baraskar.

The two companies have signed an initial collaboration agreement to begin research. InspeCity, which is set to be founded in 2022, raised $1.5 million last year, while Orbital Lasers has raised 900 million yen ($5.8 million) since its founding in January.

In late October, a United Nations expert group on space traffic coordination warned of the need for urgent action to monitor and manage objects in low Earth orbit, given the rapidly growing number of satellites and space debris.

There are now more than 100 companies involved in space services as satellite constellations expand. Nobu Okada, chief executive of Astroscale, a Japanese space debris mitigation pioneer, said this year that the industry is growing rapidly.

This joint project is a prime example of cooperation between Japan and India, the two countries are also working together on a joint mission called “Lunar Polar Exploration” (LUPEX), scheduled to be launched in 2026.

Additionally, Indian rocket maker Skyroot and satellite maker HEX20 are also collaborating with Japanese lunar exploration company ispace on future lunar orbit exploration missions.

Masayasu Ishida, executive director of SPACETIDE, a Tokyo-based nonprofit that has been organizing space business conferences since 2015, said Japan-India cooperation in commercial space is driven by Japan's satellite data solutions for disaster management and agriculture in India.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters, Economic Times)