TransAstra Capture Bag for Large Debris Remediation - Demonstration Payload Development

Capture Bags enable critical missions, including debris removal, in-space servicing, asteroid capture, and mining, while advancing NASA’s Planetary Defense, ISAM, and sustainability goals. Our Capture Bag is a scalable solution for capturing, detumbling, and remediating debris while enabling asteroid resource utilization. By minimizing secondary debris risks, reducing operational costs, and enabling resource extraction, this breakthrough technology supports U.S. leadership in space industrialization and exploration, positioning the nation at the forefront of space sustainability and commerce. This CCRPP project advances 10m target-scale Capture Bags capable of deorbiting debris like the DMSP-5D2 weather spacecraft—five of which have fragmented in orbit—and prepares the system for TransAstra's future near-Earth asteroid capture missions. The Capture Bag’s adaptability supports debris remediation and spacecraft servicing operations in LEO, GEO, and cislunar space. To deploy Capture Bag, inflatable booms extend a membrane that fully encloses the target before contact, thus minimizing secondary debris. The inflatable structure gently detumbles uncooperative targets before drawstrings securely couple debris to the host spacecraft for disposal. The bag reinflates to release debris, allowing the host to continue its mission. Capture Bags do not require grapple points or propellant-intensive spin matching. The system’s scalable design ensures cost-efficient operations compared to robotic arms or magnetic docking mechanisms. 1m-target Capture Bags, matured to TRL 5 under NASA Ignite, Space Force D2P2, and CASIS NLRA contracts, will advance to TRL 6 in 2025 through a planned ISS demonstration. This CCRPP will bring 10m-target Capture Bags from TRL 4 to TRL 6, building a flight-ready payload, performing deployment, functional, and environmental testing, and modeling. This work enables future applications like asteroid missions and MSR sample retrieval.

NASA’s 2024 Space Sustainability Strategy prioritizes active debris removal and scalable, cost-effective technologies for large orbital debris to ensure safe and sustainable space operations. The Capture Bag aligns with these goals by providing an efficient method to secure and deorbit hazardous debris, such as defunct satellites and spent rocket stages. Building on prior investments through NIAC and SBIR programs, the Capture Bag has demonstrated technical feasibility and potential. Further funding would accelerate its readiness for operational testing and deployment, offering a low-risk opportunity to strengthen NASA’s leadership in debris remediation and address long-term space sustainability challenges. NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) emphasizes removing high-risk objects to stabilize the orbital environment, as outlined in the National Orbital Debris Research and Development Plan. Capture Bag technology supports ODPO’s findings that removing as few as five high-risk objects annually can significantly mitigate debris proliferation. Encapsulating defunct DMSP-5D2 weather satellites, which are breaking apart in low-velocity events, could prevent debris fields even without immediate deorbiting. This flexible solution, enabled by the proposed developments to Capture Bag, aligns with ODPO’s goals by enabling debris containment and remediation. Beyond debris removal, the Capture Bag supports advanced missions like Mars Sample Return (MSR). Derived from technology developed for NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission, it provides a safe, cost-effective way to secure Mars samples in a sterile environment for Earth return, ensuring compliance with Planetary Protection standards. This dual-use capability highlights the Capture Bag’s value for both immediate debris mitigation and future exploration efforts. TransAstra’s Capture Bag technology delivers groundbreaking capabilities for U.S. Space Force (USSF) missions and commercial satellite operators, transforming space logistics and debris management. For USSF’s Space Systems Command—Space Mobility and Logistics (SSC-SML) Directorate, Capture Bag enables secure capture and transfer of resident space objects (RSOs) to disposal orbits, service stations, or storage facilities for repair and recommissioning. For the Orbital Warfare Acquisition Delta, under SSC’s Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power (SSC-SZA) Directorate, Capture Bag safely captures and deorbits high-risk debris, protecting critical orbital regimes, ensuring flexibility, and preventing debris creation. Letters of support from both of these USSF groups underscore the demand for these capabilities. For commercial operators, Capture Bag offers a cost-effective solution for end-of-life satellite disposal, particularly in high-value orbits. By eliminating the need for reserved disposal propellant, Capture Bag allows for extended satellite lifetimes, maximizing revenue and service quality. Its scalability addresses debris removal for objects from 10 cm to 10 meters, including legacy satellites and growing mega-constellations in LEO, MEO, and GEO. Letters from Northrop Grumman Space Logistics, Voyager Space, Kepler Communications, and TrustPoint highlight industry demand. Beyond debris removal, Capture Bag will be used to capture a near-Earth asteroid during TransAstra’s planned 2028 mission. This mission will showcase its potential for asteroid mining and resource utilization, advancing planetary science and unlocking a new frontier in the space economy. With these unique capabilities, Capture Bag empowers the Space Force and commercial operators to address debris challenges and lead sustainable, profitable space operations.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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