Cleaning Up Space: Adam Kall on In-Orbit Logistics & Innovation

Susan Wise: Hi, and welcome to Stars Launch Pod, Space Technology and Research Sciences, brought to you by StarSciences.org, where we connect, collaborate, and accelerate.
I’m your host, Susan Wise, and joining us is Adam Kall, the Chief Strategy Officer at Kall Morris Incorporated (KMI) — an in-space logistics startup located in Marquette, Michigan.
Adam has a master’s degree in data science and two bachelor’s degrees, one in mathematics and another in computer science.
He leads the company in discovering new markets and developing cutting-edge technology to advance their space missions.
Outside of work, Adam enjoys hiking, winter weather, and spending time with his wife and their three-month-old son, Alfred.
Adam, welcome to the show.

Adam Kall: Thank you, Susan. Happy to be here.

Susan Wise: I want to hear more about you — beyond what we just covered — and about Kall Morris and what you’re doing right now to further the space industry.

Adam Kall: Absolutely. So, Kall Morris Incorporated was founded on the idea of taking logistics and maneuvering in space and turning it into a third-party service.
An exciting milestone in space happened several decades ago when GPS became widespread. Before that, every satellite had to manage its own position, but then an external service could suddenly do it for you.
We’re trying to do the same thing — but with maneuvering and end-of-life service.

Right now, the company is at a very exciting stage because we just completed our ISS test. We had a prototype aboard the International Space Station, where Commander Suni Williams helped us test and verify that it could actually grab objects in microgravity.
With that test being a total success, we’re now ready to build our full spacecraft and perform actual missions.

The idea is that every satellite in space, once it’s done with its mission, needs to be removed from orbit — whether that’s for regulatory reasons or because it’s part of a larger constellation.
You can’t have one satellite in a 60-satellite constellation that’s not “playing by the rules.” Operators need to remove it from orbit.

But if they do that, it’s no longer producing revenue. So, they face a trade-off: keep it in the constellation to keep making money, or deorbit it early. If they wait too long and it breaks, they can’t deorbit it at all.

The idea with KMI is that we change that equation. Now you can let your satellite operate until it completely stops working — and when it does, the KMI spacecraft will come and move it for you.

Susan Wise: Okay, because we’re starting to accumulate a little bit of space junk up there, right?

Adam Kall: Absolutely.

Susan Wise: And that’s not just bad in general — it’s also dangerous for other satellites and spacecraft in the area.

Adam Kall: Exactly. That’s actually how KMI started — with the idea of debris removal. We knew this was going to be really important, especially in our lifetimes and in the lifetime of our children, so we wanted to create a solution.

But something we encountered early on was everyone saying, “It’s a tragedy of the commons.” Meaning, all debris is everyone’s problem.
With my math background, I thought, “Okay, most things aren’t totally equal.” Most distributions are bell curves. So yes, debris as a whole is a big issue — but there’s likely a subset that’s a specific, actionable problem.
And as it turns out, there is: operators’ own satellites.

When a company’s satellite in a constellation drifts out of position, it becomes a “bowling ball” for the rest — that’s the biggest immediate issue.
That helped us realize it’s not just existing orbital debris that’s the problem, but also the potential for debris that causes operators to work inefficiently.

Susan Wise: Right, right. So, what was your “aha” moment during all this?

Adam Kall: It was realizing that the cause wasn’t simply “debris is dangerous, solve the danger.” Operators were already taking reasonable steps to mitigate risk — but our solution was more reasonable.

As a startup, you often think, “Aha! I’ve found the solution no one else has, and the world needs me.” But in reality, the world usually has some kind of workaround already.
You have to set aside your ego and ask: “Can I solve this problem better?”
That realization helped me understand that people are usually doing what they can — we just need to find ways to improve on it.

Susan Wise: You figured out what you want to do and you’re doing it, but what was your biggest challenge — and how did you get past it?

Adam Kall: The biggest challenge has definitely been not obsessing over the technical side. There’s absolutely a technical problem to solve here — and it’s critical — but solving a problem doesn’t automatically create a business or a viable solution.

If we make something perfect but never tell anyone about it, no one benefits.
So, we’re at a point where the technology is developed — but now we need to focus on sales, marketing, and awareness. Not because we’re chasing profit, but because customers need to know our product exists and that there’s a better way.

That’s been hard for a technical founder to learn: marketing, sales, and publicity are just as important to the story as engineering is.

Susan Wise: Exactly — they need to know there’s something they can actually do about their problem, and that it’s already been created and waiting for them.

Adam Kall: Exactly. And what’s fascinating is that even though we’re delivering good news — saying, “We’ve solved your big problem!” — people can still be hesitant. Change is scary, especially in aerospace.
So even when you’re bringing positivity, you still have to be convincing. People hear “good news” all the time, but they need to know they can trust it before they fully buy in.

Susan Wise: So, in general, how many satellites are up there at any given time? And how do you reach those operators?

Adam Kall: There are a lot. Roughly 4,500 satellites currently — though that number’s probably higher now with all the launches. The majority of those belong to Starlink.

To their credit, Starlink operates at a low enough altitude that when something fails, atmospheric drag brings it down.
If you remove Starlink from the count, you’re left with about 1,800 satellites — divided between universities and companies.
We focus on constellation operators, not single-satellite missions.

That narrows the market to a few large operators — the biggest and most successful companies in the field.
The challenge is breaking through their layers of bureaucracy to reach someone who can actually say, “Yes, let’s do this.”

Susan Wise: I get it. Okay, what’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with our listeners?

Adam Kall: Challenge assumptions. I live by the idea that if everyone knows something, it’s probably 20 years out of date — because that’s about how long it takes for common knowledge to spread.

For example, people used to say, “Detroit is a bad city.” That might’ve been true 20 years ago, but today Detroit is thriving — new construction, less crime, revitalization everywhere.
So when everyone repeats the same “fact,” question it. Ask, “Is this still true?”

Susan Wise: That’s interesting. I want to go back to something — when you remove satellites for people, do you have something that actually goes up there and physically does this?

Adam Kall: Exactly. That’s what our ISS test was for — a physical, four-tentacled robotic arm that grabs satellites. It kind of looks like an octopus in space, inspired by how octopi grab things underwater.

Octopi don’t know what shape an object will be, so they unroll their tentacles and conform to whatever they’re grabbing.
We developed something similar — a mechanism that follows the shape of a satellite to get a firm, adaptable grip.

Susan Wise: Is it maneuvered by a person here on Earth, or is it AI-controlled?

Adam Kall: The docking process happens so quickly that we can’t afford communication delays. So, it’s AI-driven with human supervision.

The onboard algorithm identifies the target and plans the docking approach, then checks with mission control for approval. Once approved, the spacecraft carries out the maneuver autonomously, with built-in safety checks to back off or retry if needed.

Susan Wise: That’s really exciting. This is cool — everybody should be using this!

Adam Kall: I agree — and it’s also safer. Right now, the typical approach is for satellites to deorbit themselves at the end of life. That’s risky — if you mistime it or something breaks, you’re stuck with a dead satellite in orbit.

Our approach allows for retries. If something goes wrong, we (or another company) can launch another mission to fix it.
Plus, when we remove a 15-year-old satellite, we’re doing it with modern technology — not 15-year-old tech.
Some satellites up there were launched before smartphones existed, so we’re talking about a massive technology gap.

Susan Wise: If I had a satellite, this would be a no-brainer. There’s a clear need — whether people realize it yet or not.

Adam Kall: Exactly. And when we do reach customers and explain it, they agree — it’s a win-win. They see the value of getting an extra three or four years of revenue from a satellite.

Our biggest challenge is just getting through the layers of a massive organization to find the person who can say, “Yes, let’s do it.”

Susan Wise: It’s exciting, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you. There’s definitely a need, and people will be using it, I’m sure.
Before we wrap up, Adam, what’s a passion project you’d like to share — past or present?

Adam Kall: Honestly, KMI is my passion project. It was founded to secure and improve the future of space operations.
But beyond that, if we get really good at moving things in space, that changes everything.

Right now, we build things on Earth and launch them. But in the future, we could assemble things in orbit — like space stations or interplanetary ships. That’s when you start imagining something like the USS Enterprise being built in orbit and sent to Mars.

That’s the future we’re working toward — and it starts by getting really good at moving things from one place in orbit to another.

Susan Wise: And you guys are really good at that.

Adam Kall: Thank you very much.

Susan Wise: Adam Kall, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. We really appreciate your story and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Adam Kall: It’s coming sooner than we realize.

Susan Wise: Right! Thanks again.
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