Commercial search and rescue missions to retrieve and repair valuable satellites may become commonplace in the twenty-first century. Telecommunications companies and other businesses typically spend between $50 million and $300 million to manufacture and launch a new satellite. If all goes well, the spacecraft may function reliably for ten to twenty years. In the harsh environment of space, however, satellites may fail prematurely because of mechanical breakdowns, damage from solar flares, or collisions with orbiting debris. Companies may reduce their economic losses from such perils by salvaging damaged or obsolete satellites at a cost lower than what they would pay for replacement spacecraft.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully performed the first satellite search and rescue missions in 1984. In April of that year, astronauts on the space shuttle Challenger rendezvoused with the Solar Maximum satellite, walked in space, and replaced electronics and other parts...