Kall Morris Inc is changing outer space as we know it.
From Sputnik to SpaceX, humans have been putting stuff into space since the 1950s.
With space debris and rogue parts from past missions orbiting Earth for decades, the Michigan-based company is here to clear the way and secure the future of space missions.
Space Careers Blast Off
KMI’s founding traces back to Northern Michigan University, a mile down the road from the company’s headquarters today in Marquette, Michigan.
Adam E. Kall and Austin J. Morris met as first year roommates and hit it off with a love of science.
Austin’s older brother, Troy, was a Psychology major.
“I was like, great,” he recalls. “My nerdy engineer of a brother found a nerdy software guy of a friend, this is all going to be awesome.” What started as sarcasm eventually became a perfect fit.
Upon graduation the three moved to separate states. In 2019 they came to realize they wanted to make an impact with their passion for space and science. The three founders reunited in Michigan where they’d begin their work at Kall Morris Inc. Michigan appealed to them because of their alma mater, the history of space launches in the Marquette area, and the overall beauty of the state.
The impact they could make on space fascinated Kall and the Morris brothers, and they landed on the space debris crisis as a worthy cause.
“One of our main missions is recycling in space, taking those debris objects and reusing them to create fuel or other pieces to refurbish satellites that are built on stations,” said Liza Fust, communications coordinator, the first KMI employee of a now growing team.
The Space Debris Crisis
Orbital debris is a significant problem in space due to its high speeds — literally faster than a speeding bullet — and potential collisions, leading to the feared Kessler Syndrome, in which cascading collisions create an irreversible debris field that hinders human access to space technologies.
KMI is reducing this problem by sending spacecrafts to space to remove the debris from Earth’s orbit, using their gecko adhesion mechanical tentacle technology, and place it in a destructive reentry or graveyard orbit (an orbit where the items do not interfere with space missions from Earth).
KMI’s Culture
If KMI is winning with technology in space, its culture is driving success here on earth.
“You're never too good to stop improving” is the daily mantra at KMI. Specifically, KMI emphasizes education and support of one another.
One way the company promotes education and collaboration is through KMI Columns, in which team members write articles about something they find interesting about aerospace, technology, or science.
“I think our team really embodies that value of improvement because we have a huge emphasis on supporting each other and educating each other,” said Liza.
The team also holds internal meetings every week where they come together, and discuss a specific topic. These topics are not always science based; they are meant to enhance the company as a whole through collaboration and presentation practice. They recently held a meeting on photography to help take higher-quality pictures at events.
“We dig deeper, we look for more information. I mean, this is space. There's so much to learn, there's so much humanity doesn’t know,” noted Liza. “Everyone on our team is super passionate. They want to learn more, they want to help everyone learn more.”
Opportunities like the KMI Columns and weekly meetings give the team the opportunity to dive deeper into a subject and enhance the company’s collective knowledge.
Moving forward, KMI is working on securing more government contracts and deploying their International Space Station-tested technology on their spacecraft to execute their vision of eliminating space debris, proudly serving humanity as a space ranger of sorts.
“Park rangers keep natural sites wonderful for future generations, and we’re working to do the same for space,” said Troy. “The KMI ‘Space Rangers’ are doing our part.”
Interested in joining the KMI mission? Check out their site for roles or submit a general application.
