Ask anyone in the space business and they’ll tell you that orbital debris is a serious problem that will only get worse, but dealing with it is as much an opportunity as it is a problem. Leo Labs is building a global network of radar arrays that can track smaller debris than we can today, and with better precision — and the first of its new installations is about to start operations in New Zealand.

Space is getting increasingly crowded. There are nearly 2,000 active satellites in Earth’s orbit—and close to another 2,800 inactive ones. By 2030, there’s a good chance that number will pass 20,000. This massive increase raises the risk of collisions that could damage or destroy satellites, potentially leading to millions of dollars’ worth of losses.

On April 7, something went very, terribly wrong 36,000km above the Earth’s equator, in geostationary orbit. An IS-29e Intelsat Epic-series satellite was leaking fuel and tumbling.

Dear readers, It’s the fourth edition of Space Business, Quartz’s newsletter on the economic possibilities of the extra-terrestrial sphere. Please share widely, and let me know what you think. This week: Kiwis in space, Elon Musk’s rocket fleet, and China’s got a delayed heavy-lift rocket, too.

CLYDE TOMBAUGH SPENT much of his life peering at telescope data. He discovered Pluto in 1930, and he spent years poking around the outer solar system. But as the scientific community began to dream about launching a vehicle into the great beyond, he focused his gaze much closer to home.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — LeoLabs, a Silicon Valley space mapping startup, announced July 26 it raised $13 million in a Series A funding round led by WERU Investment of Tokyo and Airbus Ventures, the European aerospace giant’s early-stage investment group.

In the loud and crowded world of satellites, start-up LeoLabs is working toward offering both governments and companies alike a solution to cut through the noise.

LeoLabs announced it is teaming with Planet to help protect satellites and keep space navigable for future generations of entrepreneurs. In a paper to be published at The Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) conference, LeoLabs and Planet will demonstrate a flight system that uses commercial data sources to enhance collision risk assessment and enable safer debris avoidance maneuvers for satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

What started several years ago as a prototype made of PVC pipe and chicken wire has become reality, thanks to a bit of help from the Midland Development Corp. and the city of Midland. A small ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday at the MDC offices to officially celebrate the completion of LeoLabs’ Midland Space Radar, located on city-owned property in Winkler County known as the T-Bar Ranch.

The Star Wars saga painted a sensational picture of outer space. But the truth is, there are a myriad of debris floating around out there — 13,000 pieces to be exact — that pose a danger to the 500 or so satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). LeoLabs, a spin-out of SRI International, announced today a seed round of $4 million for its technology to better track this debris.