The European arm of NorthStar Earth & Space has joined the ALBATOR project which has a goal of advancing space debris removal technology.
The ALBATOR project was selected and funded in June 2025 by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)Â to fund a 3.5-year initiative “to develop a contactless debris removal method.” The initiative brings together “academic and industrial partners to develop a contactless debris removal method” that uses using Ion Beam Shepherd technology. The initiative is coordinated by OSMOS X from France who are developing plasma propulsion technology.
NorthStar joins other consortium partners Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) who are providing advanced modelling on plasma discharge and plume diffusion, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen (germany) who are providing plasma beam diagnostics and performance testing, and Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (Germany) who are providing plasma/materials interaction expertise.
NorthStar will be contributing astrodynamics and space situational awareness “to support Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO), enabling safe manoeuvres planning and execution for debris de-orbiting scenarios.”
Stewart Bain, Founder & CEO of NorthStar Earth & Space said, “Space debris represents a growing threat to the safety and sustainability of global space operations. ALBATOR demonstrates the power of European collaboration to develop breakthrough technologies, and NorthStar is proud to contribute our SSA expertise to ensure these solutions can be deployed safely and effectively.”