Research & Analysis

Dispatches from the Gap

The technology to defend Earth from space-origin threats exists. The financial infrastructure to deploy it does not. We track both sides of that equation.

March 1, 2026Cross-cutting

The Three-Year Countdown: Building Financial Infrastructure Before the Next Deadline

Three converging timelines — the Apophis flyby, accelerating debris accumulation, and solar cycle activity — create a window in which political attention, scientific progress, and capital market conditions align. DSR Foundation's proposed roadmap: pilot cat bond by 2027, debris escrow by 2028, planetary defense fund by 2029.

10 min readDSR EditorialRead

February 25, 2026Cross-cutting

When the Sun Knocks Out Starlink: The Intersection of Solar Weather and Orbital Debris Risk

In February 2022, a minor geomagnetic storm destroyed 38 Starlink satellites. The storm was G1 — the lowest classification. If a severe storm knocked out satellite collision-avoidance systems, the CRASH Clock gives us 2.8 days before catastrophic impact.

8 min readDSR Research TeamRead

February 23, 2026Orbital Debris

Astroscale, ClearSpace, and the Business Case for Taking Out the Trash in Orbit

Astroscale's ADRAS-J demonstrated a historic 15-meter proximity approach to orbital debris. ClearSpace holds ESA's first debris removal contract. Both companies can do the job. Neither can make money doing it — and the reason is structural, not technical.

9 min readDSR Research TeamRead

February 18, 2026Finance

What the Catastrophe Bond Market Can Teach Us About Financing Planetary Defense

In 2025, catastrophe bond issuance hit $25.6 billion — a 45% year-over-year increase and the first time the market exceeded 100 deals in a single year. The model transfers low-probability, high-severity risk to capital markets. No one has applied it to space-origin threats.

9 min readDSR Research TeamRead

February 16, 2026Planetary Defense

Two Spacecraft Will Watch Apophis in 2029. Neither Has a Financial Backup Plan.

On April 13, 2029, asteroid Apophis will pass closer to Earth than geostationary satellites. Two spacecraft will be watching. But the financial architecture for acting on what they learn doesn't exist.

8 min readDSR Policy TeamRead

February 11, 2026Solar Flare

Solar Cycle 26 and the $2 Trillion Transformer Problem

Multiple forecasting models predict Solar Cycle 26 will be weaker than the current cycle. This is not reassuring. The January 2026 S4 storm and the February 2022 Starlink loss both happened during moderate conditions. New Zealand's GIC mitigation program shows what $4 billion could buy.

10 min readDSR Research TeamRead

February 9, 2026Governance

The EU Space Act: A Blueprint for Making Polluters Pay in Orbit

The EU Space Act, published in June 2025, represents the most comprehensive attempt to regulate orbital activity in the history of spaceflight. Whether it survives contact with geopolitical reality is another question entirely.

8 min readDSR Policy TeamRead

February 2, 2026Orbital Debris

Low Earth Orbit Is 2.8 Days from Disaster. Who Pays for the Cleanup?

A close approach between tracked objects in low Earth orbit now occurs every 22 seconds. If collision avoidance maneuvers stopped, the first catastrophic collision would come within 2.8 days. The space insurance market covers individual missions. Nobody covers the cascade.

9 min readDSR Research TeamRead

January 28, 2026Planetary Defense

15,000 Asteroids and No Financial Plan: The Planetary Defense Funding Gap

About 15,000 near-Earth asteroids larger than 140 meters remain undetected. Congress has funded the search. But there's no pre-funded mechanism for what happens when we actually find one headed our way.

9 min readDSR Research TeamRead

January 21, 2026Solar Flare

The January Solar Storm Was a Warning Shot. Is Anyone Investing in the Shield?

On January 19, 2026, the sun launched the strongest radiation storm in over two decades — an S4 event paired with a G4 geomagnetic storm. We tracked it in real time, warned the right people, and had no financial plan whatsoever.

7 min readDSR EditorialRead