In the inset above, Kall Morris, Inc., founders, from left, Troy Morris, Adam Kall and Austin Morris pose in front of the ore dock in Marquette. The company was selected by the U.S. Air Force to investigate methods to clean up space debris. (Images courtesy of Kall Morris, Inc.)

By DREYMA

BERONJA

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — A Marquette company has been tapped by the federal government to study how space debris can be removed from the earth’s orbit.

Kall Morris, Inc., an orbital debris remediation company, announced the award of a United States Air Force contract to “investigate methods to enable rendezvous proximity operations and docking with uncontrolled and unprepared objects in orbit for active debris removal” using the company’s TumblEye technology.

According to the company’s press release, the project will “move KMI closer to protecting humanity’s critical in-space services from orbital debris.”

KMI cofounder and director of science Adam Kall said in a press release that he is excited that the company gets to apply artificial intelligence toward an “interesting problem.”

“By predicting the behavior and telemetry of in-space objects, we will enable existing docking procedures for targets like the (International Space Station) and spacecraft to be used for docking with debris,” Kall said. “Now lessons can be learned from both use cases, used to improve the algorithm, and through TumblEye those improvements can still be used even when the docking target is something like a derelict rocket body.”

According to the press release, TumblEye technology is an autonomous machine vision system invented by Kall.

“This technology will improve reconnaissance operations by deriving rotation and location information from unknown objects, and improve space logistics by lowering the prelaunch requirements for objects to be dockable,” the press release said.

Co-founder and director of operations Troy Morris said in the press release that “the continued support for KMI from government agencies shows their support and interest as both potential customers and partners in innovation.”

“This USAF effort will expand the capabilities of KMI to solve unexpected issues in other domains, and answer the recognized unknowns in the space domain,” Morris said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the government in numerous ways toward keeping space clear for all.”

For more information on KMI, visit kallmorris.com.

Dreyma Beronja can be reached at 906-228-2500 ext. 548. Their email address is dberonj@miningjournal.net.