French private company Dark plans to build a vehicle that could be used as a weapon against enemy satellites and as a means to defuse space debris. It will be launched directly from an airplane.
French anti-satellite weapon
French aerospace startup Dark is building a vehicle that will be able to intercept objects in orbit, capture them and sink them in the Pacific Ocean. It is planned to be launched from an airplane.
The story of Dark began in 2022. At that time, it was created by engineers from such well-known companies as MBDA and Thale. Both of them are contractors of the defense ministries of European countries. Not surprisingly, even at that time, they talked about space weapons.
However, at that time, the U.S. was trying to promote worldwide agreement to ban weapons to destroy satellites. But this only caused the company to act more cautiously.
Anyway, and in those three years, Dark was able to raise $11 million dollars in investment, and now it’s a company that has 40 employees. It concentrates on developing engines, radars and other equipment needed to detect dangerous spacecraft.
Air launch
France is currently increasing its defense budget, especially in terms of securing its strategic interests. Thus, Dark is confident that they can get the military interested in the project. The vehicle they created has several mechanical “arms” with which it can grasp the desired object. Afterward, it engages its own engine and brakes its target to make it de-orbit and fall in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean known as a spacecraft graveyard.
The high point of Dark’s proposal is that it envisions an air-launch for its vehicles, meaning they are planned to be launched from an airplane. The first test, according to the company, should take place as early as 2027. Thus, it is quite possible that Europe will soon have its own anti-satellite weapons.
However, air launch is a dubious idea. It has been implemented several times already, and nothing good came out of it. Virgin Orbit, which recently went bankrupt, last did that. However, Dark is confident that something that hasn’t worked for commercial launches will work well for the military.
The company says an air launch can be accomplished more quickly than a ground launch, which is often delayed by weather. Also, this proposal should be of interest to countries that do not have their own space centers.
According to spacenews.com
