An international space tracking facility built in Naseby is a “next generation” world first, those behind the project say. The LeoLabs Kiwi Space Radar would be the first in the world to track space debris smaller than 10cm, LeoLabs chief executive Dan Ceperley said.

Four giant halfpipes in the central Otago township of Naseby could help keep vital mapping satellites up in the air. They form a new Kiwi Space Radar, which will track the daily movements of thousands of satellites and pieces of space debris.

“The Kiwi Space Radar raises the bar on addressing the threat of collisions that have never before been tracked in LEO,” said Michael Nicolls, co-founder, and LeoLabs Chief Technology Officer.

For the first time, space companies can track tiny bits of dangerous space junk that orbit the planet and menace satellites.

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.

The Silicon Valley catchphrase “Move fast and break things” takes on a whole different meaning in space. The millions of pieces of debris that litter the Earth’s orbit zip around at speeds of up to 17,500 miles per hour, according to NASA, which means even a pebble-size object can cause catastrophic damage to a satellite in a head-on collision.

World’s first ‘next-generation’ space radar to be unveiled in Naseby. Silicon Valley start-up LeoLabs are set to unveil their first ‘next-generation’ space radar this week in Naseby, Central Otago, after two years of construction. The Kiwi Space Radar’s unveiling, it marks a key milestone in the company’s partnership with the New Zealand Government.

LeoLabs launched Kiwi Space Radar (KSR) today. As the first commercial radar to track objects in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) smaller than 10 centimeters, the KSR aims to set a new standard for tracking threats to satellites from orbital debris. Located in New Zealand, the KSR also expands LeoLabs’ radar network to the southern hemisphere, and marks the first of a series of next generation LeoLabs radars to be deployed globally.

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.

Leolabs’ Kiwi space radar has been launched in Naseby. It has the ability to track objects in lower Earth orbit and is set to advance space traffic safety. Pretty cool stuff!