OrbitGuardians

OrbitGuardians is a space traffic management (STM) company focused on one of the most pressing challenges in modern spaceflight: the growing population of debris and untracked objects in Earth orbit. With more than 100 million tracked and untracked objects now circling the planet, the company argues that without coordinated funding and governance for debris removal, cascading collisions (the Kessler syndrome) become an increasingly serious risk to satellites, crewed missions, and orbital infrastructure.

The company was founded by Ken Eppens, a 35-year veteran of the space and aerospace industry with experience across satellites, rockets, missiles, aircraft, and International Space Station components, alongside a leadership team spanning mechanical and electrical engineering, orbital mechanics and astrodynamics, and embedded systems development. Together, the team combines deep technical experience with policy advocacy, including support for proposed legislation such as the STM Act of 2025, aimed at establishing clearer funding mechanisms and governance frameworks for orbital debris management.

OrbitGuardians' service portfolio spans four core areas: Active Debris Removal, capable of deorbiting multiple objects in a single mission; On-Orbit Inspection, which images and assesses satellites for damage or anomalies; Space Domain Awareness, which identifies untracked debris near client assets and supplies Two-Line Element (TLE) data; and On-Orbit Positioning, which repositions orbital assets to new desired locations.

Through a combination of technical services and public policy engagement, OrbitGuardians positions itself as both a solutions provider and an advocate for the long-term sustainability of the orbital environment, aiming to protect the growing commercial, civil, and defense infrastructure operating in Earth orbit.