TransAstra Secures $5M to Scale Asteroid Capture Technology With NASA and Private Investment

ransAstra Secures $5M to Scale Asteroid Capture Technology With NASA and Private Investment

LOS ANGELES, September 23, 2025 (Newswire.com) – TransAstra, a pioneer in space logistics and resource utilization, has been awarded a $2.5 million contract by NASA’s Civil Commercial Research and Products Program (CCRPP) to scale its inflatable Capture Bag system from 1 to 10 meters in diameter. The award supports NASA’s Space Sustainability Strategy by advancing technologies that address one of the most urgent challenges in space today, orbital debris. This CCRPP award is matched by $2.5 million in private investment, enabling TransAstra to accelerate development and testing of the 10-meter Capture Bag for future flight demonstrations.

Earlier this month, in connection with a different NASA program, TransAstra’s 1-meter Capture Bag was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). TransAstra anticipates that this smaller size Capture Bag will be deployed and tested in the vacuum of space in an airlock on the exterior of the ISS the week of September 29, simulating orbital conditions inside the station’s pressurized environment. These demonstrations will validate critical design features of the inflatable structure before scaling up.

“This partnership with NASA is a powerful validation of our technology and our team,” said Dr. Joel Sercel, TransAstra’s founder and CEO. “With support from both the space agency and private investors, we’re tackling the problem of space debris head-on and gearing up for an asteroid resource capture mission in the very near future.”

The Capture Bag is a lightweight, scalable system designed to envelop objects in space, ranging from defunct satellites and spent rocket stages to asteroids. The 10-meter version will be capable of capturing large spacecraft and components for de-orbiting, recycling, or repurposing. The 10-meter bag is also big enough to capture small asteroids for enclosure to enable mining operations in space.

The buildup of orbital debris threatens both crewed and uncrewed missions, endangers billion-dollar satellite constellations, and increases the risk of cascading collisions known as the Kessler Syndrome. By safely removing large debris from congested orbits, TransAstra’s Capture Bag contributes directly to space safety, economic stability, and national security.

Source: Trans Astronautica