NewOrbit Space

"The big fear is that future collisions will cause a domino effect where Earth’s orbit becomes cluttered with tiny, high-speed bits of metal. That could create a near-impenetrable layer of debris that would make space launches so dangerous it would essentially trap humans on Earth." The Guardian, 2026. There are already around 32,000 tracked satellites and debris objects orbiting Earth, and some projections suggest more than 60,000 active satellites by the end of this decade. Space is getting crowded, but not at 250 km. Very Low Earth Orbit offers a different path: a cleaner, more sustainable operating environment where debris naturally re-enters within weeks rather than lingering for decades. Higher performance. Lower debris risk. A more sustainable way forward. Choose VLEO. theguardian.com/science/ng-int…

Last week, we wrapped up Q1 with a company social. As the space nerds we are, we put our human spaceflight operations skills to the test and battled it out in a star war. We’re proud of what we’ve built together so far, and even more excited for what’s ahead. Ad astra!

We were honoured to welcome the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation SPRIND to NewOrbit Space recently. During the visit, Christian Bogatu, Matthias Spott, and Stella Meiré met the wider team, toured our lab, and reviewed the progress we have made so far under our contract. It was a valuable opportunity to share our work in more depth! We are proud to be collaborating with SPRIND, whose support for breakthrough innovation plays an important role in strengthening Europe’s technological leadership. For NewOrbit Space, this partnership is both a meaningful validation of our work and an important foundation for future progress. Thank you again for visiting us! We look forward to continuing the collaboration. #NewOrbitSpace #SPRIND #Innovation #SpaceTech #DeepTech #Europe #BreakthroughInnovation

More than 1.2 million debris objects larger than 1 cm are now orbiting Earth. ESA’s latest Space Environment Report is a reminder that parts of LEO are getting seriously crowded.This is not just a traffic issue. It’s a resilience issue. As more satellites and mega-constellations are deployed, the risk of collision — and the operational burden of avoiding it — keeps growing. That is why VLEO is becoming strategically important: less crowded, and naturally self-cleaning over time. Is the industry still designing for mission performance — or increasingly for survival in crowded orbits? #SpaceDebris #LEO #VLEO #SpaceSustainability #SatelliteIndustry

A few snapshots from our engineering work in the lab. Hands-on work, careful testing, and teamwork behind the scenes.

Why do we need advisors? Because in space, the margin for error is small and the cost of getting decisions wrong is high. This is an industry shaped by technical complexity, long timelines, regulation, capital constraints, and partnerships that take years to build. So while execution matters, perspective matters too. We value advisors who can: • Pressure-test our thinking • Help us navigate complexity • Share lessons learned from building before • Make the right introductions at the right time • Push us to raise the bar Great advisors don’t build the company for you. But they can help you see around corners. They can help you avoid avoidable mistakes. And they can help you move with more clarity in an industry where every decision carries weight. We’re excited to start sharing the advisors supporting our journey. #SpaceTech #NewSpace #Startups #Leadership #Advisors

A snapshot of our pre-flight RF cathode in operation. One of only a couple cathodes in the world that can operate fully on air and handle the oxygen-rich conditions of VLEO. In a gridded ion thruster, the cathode supplies electrons to ionise the propellant and neutralise the exhaust plume. Shown here integrated with the RF generator and control electronics during testing.

A Brief VLEO History Lesson GOCE (ESA) is a key reference for long-duration VLEO operations: it flew at ~260 km, used ion propulsion for drag compensation, and operated for 4 years 8 months, well beyond its 20-month design life. TSUBAME / SLATS (JAXA) pushed lower (down to ~167 km) and demonstrated high-quality optical imaging from very low altitude, supported by ion-engine operations in a high-drag environment. China has also tested VLEO remote-sensing technology (e.g., Chutian-001), highlighting the broader strategic interest in VLEO capabilities. History shows the concept works. NewOrbit will unlock it at scale. 🌍️ The map shows variations in Earth’s gravity field measured by ESA’s GOCE satellite.

Plot twist: Earth is not round. Earth isn’t perfectly round — it’s an oblate spheroid, slightly “squished” at the poles and wider at the equator. 🌍 That subtle geometry matters in VLEO. Because Earth isn’t a perfect sphere, our spacecraft’s altitude relative to Earth’s surface varies systematically as it moves around the planet. And since atmospheric density is extremely sensitive to altitude, that same effect feeds directly into the drag environment the spacecraft encounters. The visuals below are from simulations of an upcoming mission segment:  1) Video: How altitude varies each orbit due to the geometry of the earth.  2) Plot: High-fidelity internal simulation of the aero environment — how dynamic pressure (q) changes with latitude (also showcasing how density is higher on the day-side of the orbit).

Next week, we’ll be attending the Space-Comm Expo! As a UK-based company, we’re excited to welcome partners and peers to our home base and connect with others across the space ecosystem. Want to meet up? Reach out to Karin Ek Oldsjö, Alexander Kiermeier, or Sachin Solanki.

We have been featured in SatNow! The article digs deeper into NEO-1, our mission, and VLEO intricacies. Thank you for featuring us! Read the article here: satnow.com/news/details/4…

A snapshot of our pre-flight RF cathode in operation. One of only a couple cathodes in the world that can operate fully on air and handle the oxygen-rich conditions of VLEO. In a gridded ion thruster, the cathode supplies electrons to ionise the propellant and neutralise the exhaust plume. Shown here integrated with the RF generator and control electronics during testing.

Big news for NewOrbit: We’ve been awarded a SPRIND validation contract as part of a new technology development partnership to examine the breakthrough innovation potential of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). VLEO is a demanding regime — but it unlocks a new class of space capabilities by enabling operations at the lowest sustained orbital altitudes. In the validation phase, we’ll work with SPRIND to de-risk the concept, combining analysis of the operating environment, system-level design trade-offs, and mission performance considerations. We’re proud to contribute to European space innovation through this collaboration, and grateful to SPRIND for the trust. Excited to grow this partnership! @SPRIND - Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen

Looking for an AOCS Engineer! We’re building satellites that operate at just 200 km altitude, one-third lower than conventional LEO. At that altitude, drag dominates. Aerodynamic torques are extreme. We’re hiring an AOCS Engineer to design the architecture, algorithms, and real-time control systems that keep our spacecraft stable in the most challenging orbital regime on Earth. Full lifecycle ownership. From modelling and simulation to HIL testing and on-orbit operations. If you want to build control systems that have never existed before join us now.

A fantastic week with Tensor Tech 🛰️ Thanks to the team for hosting NewOrbit and for the thoughtful technical collaboration. We focused on VLEO simulation work, including SIL testing and discussions around HIL test setups, aiming to validate the attitude determination and control system (ADCS) behaviour in representative VLEO scenarios. As part of the week, we implemented our own drag models directly in their simulation environment, ran close to 100 software-in-the-loop simulations, and even squeezed in a few hardware-in-the-loop simulations in their cleanroom. Super valuable to compare approaches, share learnings, and pressure-test assumptions with a team that’s deeply hands-on. Thanks again — excited to build on this!

AURA passed a 200-hour integration test ✅ Before Christmas, we ran our propulsion chain together for 200 hours — 150 hours on air and 50 hours on xenon: the power processing unit, propellant management unit, thruster, cathode, and radio frequency generators, all operating as an integrated system. This is a key step toward launch readiness. In 2026, we’ll extend these campaigns with even longer integration tests to keep de-risking operations ahead of flight.

We’re hiring: Hardware-in-the-Loop Engineer (Thruster and Electronics) Interested in solving problems most spacecraft never attempt? Come design and build Hardware-in-the-Loop test systems for electric propulsion hardware used on VLEO spacecraft—in a fast-paced, low-bureaucracy environment where making real hardware and real-time software work together is the job Help validate and de-risk gridded-ion thruster electronics, simulators, and embedded software as we push spacecraft into lower orbits and tackle some of the toughest engineering challenges in space. More details + how to apply are in the comments—apply today.

We just landed our Lead Spacecraft Engineer: @Glenn Sellar is a Canadian with over 35+ years of experience, most recently at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Glenn spent 20+ years at JPL leading spacecraft systems engineering and optical instrumentation across a remarkable portfolio of missions. His experience spans planetary exploration and Earth observation, with roles including Instrument Manager and Systems Engineer on missions such as Mars 2020 (Perseverance), ExoMars TGO, Lunar Flashlight, Chandrayaan-1, MightySat II, and contributions to more than a dozen NASA and ESA missions. At NewOrbit, Glenn will lead the end-to-end spacecraft engineering effort—structures, thermal, avionics, payload integration, and AOCS—as we deliver a reliable, high-precision spacecraft architecture for VLEO. In Glenn’s words: “NewOrbit is both ambitious and focused… opening up a new region of space that is both highly challenging and highly beneficial.” And what he’s most looking forward to this year: “A culture that can move quickly… and having a visible impact on success.” Glenn, welcome to the team. We’re excited to build what’s next—together. If you’re building payloads for VLEO and want to partner with us, reach out. #NewOrbitSpace #SpaceTech #VLEO #SpacecraftEngineering #SystemsEngineering #Aerospace

We're in the Valley this month. Reach out to Anatolii Papulov if you’d like us to host your payload in VLEO on one of our upcoming flights.

We’re hiring: Avionics Engineer. Want a genuinely hard problem to solve? Come build and integrate avionics for VLEO satellites operating at ~200 km altitude—in a fast-paced, low-bureaucracy environment where getting hardware and software to work together is the job. Help push spacecraft into lower orbits and take on some of the toughest engineering challenges in space. More details + how to apply are in the comments—apply today.