Winner of the Saudi Space Agency DebriSolver Competition

Forbes-Space just won the global space debris competition. Now comes the hard part: making our solution a reality.

A few days ago, Forbes-Space's CEO, Stirling Forbes, stood on stage in Riyadh accepting the DebriSolver Competition prize alongside Mike Lindsay from Astroscale and His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Al Tamimi, Acting CEO of the وكالة الفضاء السعودية | Saudi Space Agency.

2,000+ participants from over 40 countries, and Forbes-Space's concept for the OpenSpace International NGO came out on top.

When OpenSpace International was started as a Forbes-Space initiative, we had one clear mission: stop talking about space debris like it's an unsolvable problem and start treating it like what it really is - a market failure that needs fixing.

1.2 million debris objects are orbiting Earth right now. ESA's confirmed we're already in an unsustainable phase where collisions create more debris in a cascade effect. Without proper contingencies, the increasing SpaceX, Blue Origin and other mega-constellations mean we're accelerating towards a catastrophic tipping point where orbital space becomes unusable.

The tech to fix this exists. The urgency is clear. What's missing? 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺𝘀. The connections between people who have solutions and people who need them. The funding frameworks for innovations that make commercial debris removal cheaper and actually viable.

That's what we built. A platform for satellite operators to see the economic cost from space debris and the long-term profit from removing it, alongside our broader NGO vision to fund and realise debris removal missions and new technology.

Forbes-Space 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆: you're planning these mega-constellations, you understand the stakes. OpenSpace International can be the catalyst for sustainable orbital growth whilst protecting your commercial interests. Why not be the first major members and investors in the solution? Lead the industry you're reshaping.

Winning DebriSolver validated our approach with the Saudi Space Agency and key commercial decision-makers who believe this can work. The next step is private and state funding to make it reality.

One question for people working in this space: where do you see the biggest gap right now - funding, policy, or getting technology validated and deployed? And to the major operators: what contingencies are you building for the debris crisis your constellations may well intensify?

Let's have a proper conversation about this. The time for talking is over. The time for action is now.