Launching a rocket or satellite into orbit is only half the journey for companies operating in the space commercialization industry. They also have to worry about preventing collisions with floating debris after the initial deployment is complete, a challenge that LeoLabs Inc. is working to tackle.

LeoLabs, Inc., a Menlo Park, CA-based commercial provider of data to track space debris and prevent collisions in low Earth orbit (LEO), closed a $4m funding round. Backers included SRI International, Horizons Ventures, and Airbus Ventures.

LeoLabs Inc., a Silicon Valley startup preparing to build a worldwide network of phased-array radars to detect and track objects in low Earth orbit, plans to install a radar at Texas’ Midland International Air and Space Port, according to a Sept. 13 announcement.