Funding for cleaning up space junk!

Hot on the heels of our discussion of space junk at the July TechHui conference comes this SBIR topic from the Navy, looking for ideas for a "Low Cost Orbital Debris Removal System." Here's the synopsis:

Develop a cost effective system design to remove high payoff orbital debris from medium and high Earth orbits. Build a prototype and demonstrate it in the space environment.

Proposals for Phase I (awards are between $80K - $100K) are due on 9/23. You can find the full solicitation and instructions here:

http://www.dodsbir.net/Topics/BasicTopicsResultsForm.asp?RanNo=8&am...

If anyone actually decides to apply for this I hope you'll share your ideas and results with TechHui!

-- Doug Nelson, Maui