Lockheed Martin has struck a deal

US defense giant Lockheed Martin has struck a deal with an Australian technology company to track space debris that can damage satellites.

U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin has teamed up with a Canberra-based technology company to establish a new space debris tracking site in Western Australia. A “strategic cooperation agreement” has been signed with Electro Optic Systems (EOS). Debris threatens satellites in orbit, which can cause millions in damage every day. The space debris observatory is intended to provide businesses and governments with more details of the estimated 200,000 objects currently sweeping across the sky.

Earlier this year, the Japanese took a step that is almost too simple to be true: They took a large, magnetic net and tested whether they could use it to collect debris to pull it down into Earth’s atmosphere where it would be burned. If the tests go smoothly, it’s hoped we’ll have the first garbage collector in space as early as 2019.

The contract between the two parties brings advanced laser technology to bear so that specific space objects can be tracked with greater accuracy. Pieces of debris ranging in size from one centimeter to the size of a bowling ball have extremely high velocities that can cause significant damage regardless of their size.

It is estimated that satellites face about 200 space debris threats each day. On average, these destroy one satellite each year.

“Ground-based space surveillance is a growing priority for government and commercial organizations around the world that need to protect their space investments,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president at Lockheed Martin. “Through this agreement with Electro Optic Systems, we’re giving customers a clearer picture of the objects that could threaten their satellites, and doing so with great precision and cost-effectiveness.”

Last year’s Oscar-winning film Gravity, in which astronauts were confronted with space debris, again highlighted the ever-growing problems in space.

The Lockheed-EOS partnership is bolstered by the award of $915,000,000 from the U.S. Air Force to create a so-called “space fence project.” The partnership with Lockheed Martin will help both organizations establish a global network of space sensors, while increasing market reach,” said EOS CEO Ben Greene.