On Episode 225 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by Adam Kall of KMI to discuss their work on the ISS, the goals of the company, and how nature — via the humble octopus and gecko lizards — may provide answers for orbital debris mitigation.

The mitigation of orbital debris is an increasingly serious problem that has not gotten enough attention, but this is changing. Commercial companies are addressing orbital debris, and one of them, KMI Space, has flown its experiments aboard the International Space Station, performing over 170 individual rendezvous-and-grab operations. The results are very promising, and the company is moving ahead with ever more ambitious designs.

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Space news of the week

• Starbase Louisiana: SpaceX announces enormous $100 billion Starbase launch site
• Starship is coming home! SpaceX loads floating spacecraft onto huge ship in the Indian Ocean
• Goodbye, Falcon 9: SpaceX planning to retire workhorse launcher when Starship is up and running
• Trump tried to scrap NASA’s Roman Space Telescope last year. Now it’s ready to launch
• Partial lunar eclipse stuns skywatchers with an ‘almost blood moon’. Here are the best photos
• ‘It’s going to be beautiful’: President Trump signs order to create US Space Academy
• KMI Space
• Orbital “Tow Truck” Could Tackle Space Debris Problem
• Active Debris Removal
• KMI Ops Video
• REACCH Solo Capture
• Addressing the Problem of Space Debris With an Orbital Tow Truck
• KMI – The Future, Shepard, and Phoenix

Model Falcon 9!

Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes’ stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout, courtesy of our partners collectSPACE.com.

About This Week In Space

This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What’s happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars?

Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.