Image of Firefly Aerospace's Elytra Dawn spacecraft. Image: Firefly Aerospace

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Space Development Agency (SDA) last Thursday said they have made initial awards to three companies for preliminary designs and risk reduction efforts for commercial services that can safely de-orbit satellites in space. The combined values of the awards to D-Orbit, Firefly Aerospace [FLY] and Katalyst Space are about $8.4 million. Preliminary design reviews are expected by the end of 2026 although the government may adjust the timing for each vendor. The goal is to…