End-of-Life Services

Satellite operators have the opportunity to contract with KMI to satisfy their satellite’s deorbit requirements at the end of their missions. Rather than operators having to order the satellite to deorbit itself, a command that can only be followed by a functional satellite and that consumes precious finite fuel resources, operators are able to fully utilize their space assets to maximize revenue and delay the high capital costs of launching replacement assets. When the satellite eventually suffers a critical malfunction that ends the mission, KMI will deploy its Laelaps spacecraft to safely secure and deorbit the non-functional satellite.

This service is available for both planned missions and missions already in orbit. The unique method of capture and release developed by KMI means no engineering considerations are required of the satellite operator, enabling their mission needs to remain a priority and easing the complexity of contracting with KMI.

Because operators get to list KMI on their regulatory permits for the mission, the pricing model utilizes monthly service fees starting after the first month of satellite operations in orbit and stopping once the satellite’s mission is complete and removal is necessary. In instances where the satellite is already in space, the service fee will be adjusted, and in instances where the satellite suffers an unexpected early malfunction in the first 6 months, there will be additional retrieval fees added on. These pricing differences can be estimated with the calculator above. Note, any prices provided by the web-based calculator are not final and will be subject to negotiation based on the specific characteristics of the mission.