The recent increase in launches to meet growing demands for communications and observation satellites is adding more and more spacecraft to orbit every year. This is especially true in the more congested low-Earth orbit (LEO).
With a sharp focus on making space safe and sustainable for the current as well as future generations, organizations such as Astroscale are responding to an emerging market of commercial on-orbit services for active and defunct satellites in orbit. These plans go beyond just maintenance and lifespan extensions, including the refueling of spacecraft as well as the active removal of space debris.