The Object Was Not 1,200 Kilograms. The Invoice Was Not Affected By This.
ORC-V2 “Reg” completed a standard LEO retrieval at 441 km. The object was retrieved and deorbited over the South Pacific on 21 February 2025. Re-entry confirmed. Full chain-of-custody documentation issued. The mission is considered complete and successful.
The client submitted characterisation data indicating a mass of 1,200 kg. This figure appeared in their original manifest, their Form 3-Q submission, and their pre-mission briefing. We asked, during the characterisation call, where this figure came from. The client said it was from the original launch manifest from 2011. We noted that objects in LEO for fourteen years are occasionally subject to mass changes due to [REDACTED].
Reg reached rendezvous on day 16. The capture system reported a mass of 84 kg. This is not an instrument error. Reg’s mass sensors are accurate to within 3%. Dr. Chen was notified. Dr. Chen reviewed the figure. Dr. Chen [REDACTED].
The retrieval proceeded normally. An 84 kg object is considerably easier to handle than a 1,200 kg object. Reg completed capture in approximately one third of the planned time. The deorbit burn was correspondingly brief. Re-entry was confirmed on schedule. Operationally, this was one of our cleaner missions. Economically, the cost-per-kilogram figure is available above. We have published it over Dr. Chen’s objection. Dr. Chen’s objection was not that the figure was wrong. It was that it was, in his words, [REDACTED].
| Stated mass | 1,200 kg → Actual: 84 kg |
| Stated dimensions | 4.2 × 2.8 m → Actual: 1.1 × 0.7 m (panels fully retracted/missing) |
| Stated attitude state | Stable, nadir-pointing → Actual: tumbling at 2.3 rpm |
| Data source | 2011 launch manifest |
| Data age at time of mission | 14 years |
| Form 3-Q mandatory date field (post-092) | Completed. Source year: 2011. This is precisely why the field exists. |
| Dr. Chen’s assessment | “It had a difficult fourteen years.” That is the complete assessment. |
- The Form 3-Q mandatory date field, introduced following ORC-2024-092 (“It Was Approximately There”), performed exactly as intended. The client completed it. They wrote 2011. This was informative.
- Reg’s capture system is rated to 2,500 kg. The 84 kg capture required a recalibration of approach parameters mid-mission. P. Patel completed the recalibration in 22 minutes. This has been noted in her file. Her file contains a number of such notes.
- The cost-per-kilogram figure published in this report represents a genuine mission outcome. The client has received a full briefing on the figure. The client has asked whether a partial refund is available given the reduced mass. The answer is in the service terms. It is not.
- We have added a verification step to the pre-mission characterisation process requiring independent mass confirmation for any object launched prior to 2015. This step did not exist before this mission. It exists now.