Robots Are Fixing the Junk Problem in Space

Editor's note: Space is no longer only for astronauts or wealthy tourists. According to Keith Kaplan, CEO of our corporate affiliate TradeSmith, it's a new layer of global infrastructure... one that needs maintenance. But sending humans into orbit is too slow and expensive. Instead, the companies building autonomous technology will lead the world into the new "space economy"...

More than 22,000 miles above Earth, Intelsat 901 needed a boost.

The satellite had been in service since 2001. It relayed TV broadcasts, data, and communications across several continents.

But time was catching up with it.

So on February 25, 2020, a robotic spacecraft – only about the size of a refrigerator – was sent to extend Intelsat 901's operational life.

The satellite was too important to retire... because space is no longer just a destination. It's a new layer of infrastructure above our heads.

And space forces us to depend on one thing: automation.

This is a top investing theme for 2026. Thanks to one of our newest projects here at TradeSmith, we're able to see it – and profit from it...

Today, Earth relies on space satellites. They feed navigation apps, keep ATMs and payment networks time-stamped correctly, track aircraft across oceans, coordinate military forces across continents, and connect emergency responders even during storms.

But the sun and moon are always pulling on satellites. To keep them locked into their assigned orbits, we need a liquid chemical propellant called hydrazine. Without it, signals would degrade, and satellites would no longer be viable.

That's what Intelsat 901 was lacking. Its computers and antennas still worked... Its solar panels still generated power... But it was running out of fuel.

For most of history, that would have been the end of the story. The satellite would have been retired and joined an increasingly congested orbital junkyard.

This time, spacecraft Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) was sent to save the satellite. And the automated craft became Intelsat 901's new propulsion and altitude-control system...

For investors who understand the space economy, this moment was every bit as consequential as the first Moon landing...

Humans Are the Bottleneck

As we saw with Intelsat 901, once hardware is in orbit, humans become the bottleneck.

Putting people in space is slow, dangerous, and extraordinarily expensive. Every crewed mission adds life-support systems, redundancy, training, and risk. And those costs quickly overwhelm the economics of modern space operations.

That's where robots come in.

Modern satellites don't just collect data and wait for instructions from Earth. They now:

• Monitor their own health
• Adjust power and thermal loads automatically
• Reroute around failures
• Coordinate with other satellites
• Decide which data is worth transmitting – and which isn't

In space, we need autonomous systems that can inspect, refuel, assemble, reposition, and defend assets without waiting for human input.

The companies that master these autonomous systems – robotics, AI, and machine-driven decision-making – end up controlling a critical layer of the space economy.

And it isn't just pure-play "space stocks" benefiting from this trend. For instance, consider Northrop Grumman (NOC)...

This is a diversified defense contractor with major businesses in aerospace systems, missile defense, stealth aircraft, cybersecurity, and national-security software.

And it's a leading designer and operator of mission-critical autonomous space systems – including MEV-1, which it developed through its subsidiary SpaceLogistics.

Northrop sits at the center of U.S. national-security space architecture. It builds:

• Advanced satellites
• Space-based sensors
• Secure communications systems
• Integrated command-and-control platforms

These systems aren't designed to phone home for instructions.

They're built to detect, decide, and respond on their own – whether that's tracking missile launches, monitoring military activity near borders and conflict zones, or maintaining communications when ground-level networks are degraded or jammed.

Satellites can't afford to wait for humans. They have to manage power, reroute signals, prioritize data, and maintain mission integrity automatically.

That has been Northrop Grumman's business model for years.

Buy Ahead of This Bullish Seasonal Window

All of this makes Northrop a great long-term play on the space economy. But even long-term holdings benefit from good timing.

That's where we can use one of my favorite TradeSmith tools: Seasonality.

If you don't know already, seasonality is the study of recurring calendar-based market patterns – specific times of year when stocks and sectors tend to move.

Most of these patterns are invisible to the naked eye. But our Seasonality software combs through decades of market data and more than 2 quintillion (that's 2 million trillion) data points to find those patterns in what, to many, looks like random noise.

When we examine Northrop Grumman's historical trading patterns, a clear window opens next month. Take a look...

From February 12 to March 6 (the green-shaded area to the left), Northrop has delivered gains more than 90% of the time. And the average return during that bullish seasonal window is just under 6%.

While seasonality doesn't guarantee a gain in any given year, patterns like this give disciplined investors an edge.

And by stacking probabilities in your favor instead of relying on guesswork, you can build serious wealth over time.

All the best, 

Keith Kaplan 

Editor's note: According to 92 years of data, a new market panic is likely this year... But it could open the most lucrative trading opportunity of the past two decades. Yesterday, Keith went on camera to explain how TradeSmith uncovered the "disconnects" that created this opportunity – and the No. 1 place to move your money right now.