Operations
Live fleet status, mission log, and operational tools. Mission details are published subject to client confidentiality agreements, which most clients invoke. Active conjunction events are handled out-of-cycle — see the contact page. Do not email about a conjunction event. You know why.
Operational systems & tools
All ORC operational functions. Fleet status, mission planning, object nomination, incident records, and system status are maintained separately and updated independently. OCELOT would normally provide a unified dashboard for these. OCELOT is offline. A. Kowalski maintains them instead.
Fleet Tracker
Current operational status of all four ORC vehicles. Confirmed by S. Okafor. Maud: on mission. Reg: on mission. Marigold: maintenance. Patience: fine.
Mission Planner
P. Patel’s live planning tool. Search the debris catalog, calculate delta-V, fuel estimates, and generate a preliminary mission plan. V8 minimum.
Nominate an Object
Know of an object that needs retrieval? Search the live SSN catalog by NORAD number or name, then submit a nomination. A. Kowalski will acknowledge. P. Patel will review.
Incident Register
Operational incidents, near-misses, and administrative events. 17 incidents logged. 8 ongoing. C. Morrison knows about all of them. Most have their own folder.
OCELOT Status
Orbital Client & External Liaison Terminal. Offline since 14 August 2023. Reconnection attempts: —. All failed.
Operations Log
Live fleet disposition, active mission status, completed mission log, and cumulative performance statistics. Updated daily by A. Kowalski.
Current vehicle disposition
| Vehicle | Class | Status | Current Tasking | Last Contact | RTB / Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORC-V1 “Maud” | Medium retrieval | On Mission | ORC-2026-118 · GEO | 09:14 BST | 11 JUN 2026 |
| ORC-V2 “Reg” | Medium retrieval | On Mission | ORC-2026-121 · LEO | 09:11 BST | 24 MAY 2026 |
| ORC-V3 “Marigold” | Heavy / bulk | Refit | Hangar 7 · Unscheduled | — | 08 JUL 2026 |
| ORC-V4 “Patience” | Light / express | Standby | Manifest hold · Ready | 09:15 BST | Available now |
Recent completed missions
Summarised for the public record, subject to NDA constraints, which vary by client. Some clients have very thorough NDAs. Those missions appear below as they are able to.
| Service tier | S-01 Standard Retrieval |
| Vehicle | ORC-V2 “Reg” |
| Altitude | LEO · 558 km |
| Mission duration | 27 days |
| Disposal | Controlled deorbit, Point Nemo |
| Re-entry confirmed | 18 MAR 2026 · 03:42 UTC |
Single-object retrieval and deorbit. Mission encountered an attitude control anomaly during proximity operations on day 11, resolved by T. Davies (Senior Operations Technician) without informing anyone until it was already fixed. No impact to mission outcome or timeline. Re-entry confirmed over South Pacific uninhabited zone. T. Davies received Employee of the Quarter for Q1 2026. The connection is not a coincidence.
| Service tier | S-03 Bulk Clearance |
| Vehicle | ORC-V3 “Marigold” |
| Altitude | LEO · 490–520 km shell |
| Objects retrieved | 8 (of 8 planned) |
| Combined mass | 3,140 kg |
| Mission duration | 81 days |
| Disposal | Consolidated deorbit, Point Nemo |
Eight-object bulk clearance for a commercial constellation operator retiring a legacy LEO platform. Volume discount applied. All objects retrieved within the planned shell. Consolidated re-entry achieved in a single deorbit burn, which remains one of our more satisfying operational outcomes. Eight things. One burn. Client was pleased. We were also pleased, though we did not say so.
| Service tier | S-04 Responsible Deorbit |
| Vehicle | ORC-V1 “Maud” |
| Altitude | GEO · 35,786 km |
| Disposal | Graveyard orbit · GEO + 312 km |
| Mission duration | 14 days |
| Regulatory filing | Filed 04 DEC 2025 |
Disposal-only service. Object transferred from client vehicle to ORC-V1 at GEO, then boosted to graveyard orbit at GEO + 312 km. Full regulatory filing and client post-mission report completed within agreed timeframe. This was the sixth mission for this client. We have not asked why they have so many assets requiring disposal. They have not explained. The arrangement continues.
| Service tier | S-02 Express Retrieval |
| Vehicle | ORC-V4 “Patience” |
| Altitude | LEO · 718 km |
| Lead time achieved | 6 weeks (from mandate) |
| Mission duration | 17 days |
| Disposal | Controlled deorbit, Point Nemo |
Expedited retrieval following a regulator end-of-life mandate issued to a European commercial operator. Client engaged ORC within 48 hours of receiving the mandate. We have found 48 hours to be roughly the median. Some clients leave it longer. We do not recommend this. ORC-V4 dispatched from standby. Rendezvous achieved on day 9, deorbit completed on day 17. Surcharge applied per S-02 terms. No complaints.
| Service tier | S-01 Standard Retrieval |
| Vehicle | ORC-V2 “Reg” |
| Altitude | LEO · 430 km |
| Mission duration | 23 days |
| Disposal | Controlled deorbit, South Pacific |
| Re-entry confirmed | 02 JUL 2025 · 21:18 UTC |
LEO retrieval for a defence prime client. Object was a defunct upper stage posing a conjunction risk to an active commercial constellation. CA performed and cross-verified against independent orbital tracking sources. Capture and deorbit completed three days ahead of schedule, which we considered unremarkable until the client mentioned it was the first time a contractor had finished early in eleven years. We considered this more than we expected to.
Cumulative performance · 2011–2026
Figures are cumulative unless stated. All statistics are accurate to the best of our knowledge. The 2017 figures are not included. We have been asked about this before. The answer remains the same.
By service tier (2025)
| Tier | Missions | % |
|---|---|---|
| S-01 Standard | 26 | 55% |
| S-02 Express | 8 | 17% |
| S-03 Bulk | 4 | 9% |
| S-04 Disposal | 9 | 19% |
By altitude (2025)
| Altitude | Missions | % |
|---|---|---|
| LEO | 31 | 66% |
| MEO | 6 | 13% |
| GEO | 10 | 21% |
By client sector (2025)
| Sector | Clients |
|---|---|
| Commercial operators | 22 |
| National agencies | 6 |
| Research institutions | 9 |
| Defence primes | 4 |
| Other (undisclosed) | 2 |
Ready to open a manifest request?
The next manifest window opens 14 June 2026. Express slots via ORC-V4 “Patience” are available now. She has been waiting. It is, after all, what she is called.