3 minute read - What's in a name? More than you might think. KMI's first spacecraft needed a title that not only symbolized its mission but also paid homage to the myths of old. After much debate, we landed on "Laelaps"—a name rooted in Greek legend. But what does a mythic hound, destined to catch everything it chases, have to do with space?
7 minute read - As Earth faces climate challenges, the Midwest emerges as a sanctuary for those fleeing environmental crises. Discover how 'climigrants' are making their way to Marquette, Michigan, where the local community and newcomers grapple with maintaining the area's natural beauty amid rising demands on resources and infrastructure.
7 minute read - From solar panels to space debris, our journey at KMI is driven by more than just innovation - it's about preserving the future. Our fight against orbital junk parallels our earthly endeavors for a cleaner planet. Adam Kall attempts to tackle his emissions with a keen eye on cost vs. CO2e reduction and now, he’s applying that same logic to the cosmos. Discover how KMI is making active debris removal not just a necessity but an economically viable option for safeguarding the space industry's future.
4 minute read - Most human megaprojects are undertaken for one of three reasons: for a religious purpose, a military advantage, or an economic benefit. Adam Kall, KMI Director of Technology, uses a lens of economic benefits to explore his favorite megaproject, colonizing space, specifically a two-planet economy.
5 minute read - This column focuses on the challenge of volume cross-section as one of the difficulties and complexities of traveling to space. By first examining how the issue of launch volume cross-section is currently impacting space exploration, Adam Kall, KMI Director of Technology, discusses how orbital industry could be a solution.
8 minute read - One of the biggest discussion points when it comes to the problem of space debris is the question of who will pay for it. At KMI, we’ve been working hard to be part of an ecosystem that answers this question specifically, but this column focuses on how strange it is that the question of who pays for it is even uncertain.
7 minute read - The concept of removing space debris centers on paying a cost now to protect value in the future. Economists have dealt with solving this problem terrestrially for hundreds of years, and I’ll use the same approach for our space-based issue of debris. That problem, on which we base a solution, will be estimated at a nearly $50 billion annual risk to the industry, reaching its apex in 15 years time, due to space debris. The solution prevents this risk from existing, and the active debris removal portion of it should be pursued for up to $15,400 per kilogram of debris removed.
