12 Jul 24. Multiband SATCOM Suite Evaluated in Military Exercise.
The HC-130J Ku/Ka communications suite, which adds a multiband SATCOM capability to access hybrid space architecture, has undergone USAF evaluation during the Sentry Aloha exercise.
The Air National Guard/Air Reserve Command Test Center has conducted a force development evaluation on the HC-130J Ku/Ka communications suite, carried out during the Sentry Aloha exercise which took place in June 2024.
The suite adds a multiband, resilient beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) SATCOM capability to access hybrid space architecture. FDEs evaluate production representative systems and typically produce a test report with a fielding recommendation.
The design of this system is inherently resilient against enemy electromagnetic warfare (EW) capabilities seeking to deny access to communications within the battlespace.
It can simultaneously access satellite internet services in proliferated low Earth orbit, geostationary Earth orbit or medium Earth orbit in Ku or Ka bands. The system can aggregate received bandwidth and auto-switch between Ku and Ka, allowing uninterrupted service.
AATC is responsible for conducting operational and developmental assessments, devising tactics, and evaluating all weapons systems within the Air Reserve Component for several military airframes. This includes the HC-130J and the HH-60G.
The Air National Guard assert that this test is a significant step toward delivering SIPRnet on board the HC-130J, unlocking features typically only available in an Air Operations Center. These include JREAP-C, tactical chat (Chatsurfer), CSEL web application, and PACAF guidance packages (ATO/ACO/SPINS).
The primary focus is to enhance the survivability of the isolated person and recovery forces, and to bolster the Air Force’s ability to execute resilient-basing options through Agile Combat Employment.
This technology is set to enhance the long-range kill chain through compatibility with the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System’s Aerial Networking efforts, which aims to link every sensor to every shooter across a unified domain. The HC-130J is set to increase lethality within the battlespace through collaborative technologies.
(Source: https://www.defenseadvancement.com/)
09 Jul 24. iLAuNCH to improve CubeSat manoeuvrability.
The iLAuNCH research collaboration’s latest project will use the pioneering Bogong thruster developed by ANU last year to enhance the manoeuvrability of CubeSats.
Researchers hope the development will solve the problem of smaller satellites traditionally lacking the size, weight, and power to be controlled like larger spacecraft.
The environmentally friendly Bogong thruster, developed by Boswell Technologies and manufactured by the university, uniquely uses solid naphthalene rather than plasma.
It was tested in November last year using one satellite in the Skyraft 3 constellation launched in mid-2023.
“We are pioneering Australia’s first vectored thrust technology for small satellites, using space heritage demonstrated by iLAuNCH university partner ANU and Boswell Technologies,” said iLAuNCH Trailblazer executive director Darin Lovett.
“We are partnering with Indian company Azista Industries to integrate the thruster into a CubeSat to demonstrate space flight heritage on orbit. Successful demonstration of this thruster will open it up for commercialisation into the CubeSats and SmallSats that Azista is developing.”
iLAuNCH said the “cutting-edge system” will be integrated into Azista’s attitude control system (ADCS) to offer “unprecedented precision manoeuvring”. The advancement is hoped to open up new capabilities for applications in Earth observation, secure communications, and optical alignment.
“This project shows how a PhD student’s research at university can be developed into a cutting-edge technology in the space industry. Collaboration between industry and the university resulted in the full development of the Bogong 1 thruster, which is now functioning in orbit,” said ANU’s Professor Christine Charles.
“Bogong Thruster demonstrates the ANU’s capabilities and potential future development of the technologies and can inspire many students and researchers.”
“Azista will undertake the design and production of the CubeSat, ensuring it is compatible with the integrated propulsion and pointing systems, preparing it for comprehensive altitude/attitude control testing then manage the launch of the satellite into orbit to showcase the technology’s functionality and readiness for the market,” said Azista Industries’ Bharath Simha Reddy Pappula.
The $180-m iLAuNCH trailblazer is a partnership between academic institutions and more than 20 industry partners that aims to accelerate the development of the space manufacturing sector.
Since its inception in 2022, it has already helped scores of projects.
Last week, for example, Space Connect reported that researchers at the University of Southern Queensland would be trained to use software to simulate hypersonic space missions in a deal facilitated by iLAuNCH.
As part of the agreement, software engineering company LEAP Australia will provide scientists with access to the ANSYS suite of tools, which can model aerodynamics and structures.
While hypersonic technology – defined as flying at least five times the speed of sound – is nothing new, countries are currently in an arms race to develop the next generation of missiles that are so manoeuvrable in midair they can’t be intercepted or detected.
The advances are also being used to create scramjet-powered hypersonic spaceplanes, which could one day provide an alternative to rockets for taking satellites into space.
UniSQ already has its own pioneering wind tunnel that can simulate the effect of Mach 5 speeds on vehicles and the heat it generates.
(Source: Space Connect)
09 Jul 24. Europe ‘back in space’ despite Ariane 6 debut glitch. Space bosses hailed Europe’s return to space after the Ariane 6 rocket successfully carried out a series of trials in a debut flight on Tuesday, but the mission ended with the launcher coasting in orbit without releasing its final batch of payloads.
Watched by a Rafale fighter jet, Europe’s newest uncrewed rocket blasted off from French Guiana around 4 p.m. local time (1900 GMT), restoring the continent’s independent access to space after delays, political setbacks and debates over funding.
Although not a commercial mission, the flight deployed three sets of micro-satellites for research purposes, prompting European space officials to declare the maiden trip a success.
“Europe is back in space,” Philippe Baptiste, head of France’s CNES space agency, said via video link to the Paris headquarters of the European Space Agency (ESA), where employees and politicians cheered the lift-off.
In a keenly awaited milestone, the Vinci engine powering the rocket’s upper stage was restarted in space for the first time. It is designed to restart repeatedly, allowing operator Arianespace to place payloads into several different orbits.
However, a third firing had to be abandoned after a smaller power unit shut itself down for unspecified reasons, meaning the final batch of payloads – two small capsules designed to test the conditions for surviving re-entry – remained stuck onboard.
“We had an anomaly…We are probably not going to finish this part of the mission as we were hoping to,” said Tina Buchner da Costa, an Ariane 6 launch system architect.
The affected auxiliary power unit is a system crucial for the rocket’s ability to put payloads in their intended orbit.
Its failure, although late in the mission, is expected to spur an engineering investigation.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said the agency was nonetheless on track to stage a second flight by year-end.
Ariane 6 was developed at an estimated cost of 4 bn euros ($4.33 bn) by ArianeGroup, co-owned by Airbus (AIR.PA), and Safran (SAF.PA. Its first launch, originally due in 2020, has been repeatedly delayed.
Since the agency retired its workhorse Ariane 5 rocket more than a year ago, Europe has had no independent means of sending its satellites into space, while war in Ukraine has cut Western ties to Russian Soyuz rockets and Italy’s Vega C is grounded.
“Ariane 6 is fundamental for Europe’s space ambition,” Toni Tolker-Nielsen, ESA’s acting director of space transportation, told Reuters from the control room at Europe’s space port.
“It is about sovereign access to space for institutional and governmental missions … and this need has been even more emphasised in view of the geopolitical situation.”
SPACE COMPETITION
Europe’s temporary isolation in an increasingly global market was exposed last year when its agencies were forced to switch some payloads to U.S. rival SpaceX’s Falcon 9.
Ariane 6 owes its existence to a decision by ESA’s 22 nations in 2014 to develop a family of rockets in the face of fierce competition from Elon Musk’s private space venture.
The United States and dozens of other countries have come to rely heavily on Falcon 9 for reaching orbit as everyday life on Earth becomes increasingly reliant on satellite links and data.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, part of President Emmanuel Macron’s outgoing centrist and pro-European government that came third in Sunday’s elections, highlighted the Ariane programme’s role as a symbol of European unity.
“There are sometimes worries and doubts about Europe’s ability to play in the same league as China and the U.S. – with Ariane we are proving that through determination and collective will, we can operate at the same level,” he told ESA staff.
Even so, European officials said it will be some time before Ariane 6 pays its way economically after backer nations agreed a fresh round of financial support last year.
“Ariane 6 is not quite there yet in terms of competitiveness, but they want to get there,” said Ian Annett, former deputy CEO of the UK Space Agency.
In the latest setback, Europe’s weather satellite operator Eumetsat last month said it would launch its next satellite on a Falcon 9 instead of the initially planned Ariane 6.
The surprise decision angered European officials and broke with calls to back the local space industry, laying bare tensions that have simmered over Europe’s space ambitions.
ESA has launched an initiative to boost small-launcher projects that could pave the way for a future private player.
Ariane 6 has 29 missions to launch over the next several years and aims for up to 12 flights a year.
That includes 18 launches for Amazon’s Kuiper internet constellation.
SpaceX launched Falcon rockets 96 times in 2023 and nearly 70 times so far in 2024, though most of those were to deploy its in-house Starlink satellites.
Still, analysts say that has shattered norms and spawned fierce competition from China, which had 67 launches in 2023. ($1 = 0.9246 euros) (Source: Reuters)
10 Jul 24. Greater focus needed on how existing international law can prevent the increasing militarisation of outer space. There is a pressing need for countries and international organisations to understand better how existing international law can help them address serious concerns about the militarisation of outer space, a new study says.
Space is an increasingly militarized domain, with the potential to be a source and place of armed conflict. Nations are testing anti-satellite (‘ASAT’) weapons and satellites are potentially attractive targets during armed conflict.
The new study, by Dr Chris O’Meara from the University of Exeter Law School, examines how the jus ad bellum, which is a body of law that regulates when states may lawfully use force, applies to ASAT weapons and to the right of states to use them in space. The study argues that jus ad bellum regulation of ASAT technologies addresses state concerns regarding protecting satellites and other space assets and avoiding conflict in space. It says a clearer understanding of this body of law will help decision makers and military planners avoid lawful acts of self-defence being characterized as unlawful.
Dr O’Meara said: “Space is increasingly important, militarised, and congested. States and international organisations like NATO and the UN are trying to work out how legal rules apply to space and what should happen if there’s conflict in that domain. This is not fantastical Star Wars territory; it is a necessary response to real concerns about future conflict in space. Countries are putting military weapons into space and this potential threat will continue into the future.”
“For now, it is clear we are not going to get a new weapons control treaty to respond to the fears of wars in space, so we will have to rely on existing rules from the UN Charter and customary international law and to think about how these existing rules apply above Earth. So far, there has been relatively little focus on the jus ad bellum, but my view is that we do have this existing toolkit, a body of law which applies and which sets out standards of conduct, but we need to better understand how it works in space. A better appreciation of the law is a big part of the answer.”
“In the absence of a multilateral ASAT weapons control treaty, the jus ad bellum, alongside international humanitarian law, must be regarded as an essential part of the international law framework limiting their use.”
“A clearer understanding of jus ad bellum requirements could directly address pressing international concerns regarding the weaponization of space and the fear of wars between states in that domain.”
The study says adherence to jus ad bellum helps to avoid conflict and the escalation of conflict in space and has the potential to limit ASAT weapon deployment. Compliance underpins international peace and security and safeguards space for peaceful purposes and ensuring its valuable resources continue to benefit all mankind.
08 Jul 24. Scout Space nabs DARPA deal to simulate autonomous satellite swarming. The BRIDGES project is Scout’s first with DARPA, but the company’s SDA-related software and hardware — including its “plug and play” optical sensor packages designed as hosted payloads — already have caught the eye of Space Force officials.
Scout Space has been selected by the Pentagon’s far future agency to demonstrate software to support high-fidelity space domain awareness (SDA) sensors and autonomous on-orbit maneuvers, the company announced today.
Philip Hover-Smoot, CEO of the Virginia-based startup, told Breaking Defense that Scout’s two-phased effort ultimately will result in a simulation featuring tiny satellites autonomously swarming to perform an on-orbit inspection mission.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) tapped Scout Space to join its Bringing Classified Innovation to Defense and Government Systems (BRIDGES) Consortium.
The BRIDGES program, created in 2022, “aims to tap into innovation from companies that traditionally do not work with the DOD on classified research and development efforts. BRIDGES will connect innovators directly to the challenging problems that exist in the classified realm so they can help develop solutions.” BRIDGES research efforts stretch across multiple warfighting domains, including several specifically related to space tech.
Scout, for example, will be working under the BRIDGES research topic “Advancing Autonomous In-Space Threat Response for Space Superiority,” which was announced last September. “With this topic, the agency is looking for new methods and technologies that may provide warfighters with disruptive options for protecting and defending space systems across the competition continuum,” DARPA explained in its announcement. (The phrase “protect and defend” when used with regard to space operations is Pentagon jargon for defensive and offensive counterspace capabilities.)
First, Hover-Smoot explained, the company has identified a “handful” of specific software related to “core autonomy capabilities” such as “proximity warnings” and “sensor characterization capabilities” — “those things that allow you to use optical sensors to understand what another object in your vicinity on orbit is doing or possesses or might be trying to go do” — that it will refine specifically to underpin the needs of a satellite designed to maneuver independent of any human input.
Scout next will “transition to phase two,” which will be to create “a simulation of a customer-specific design reference mission, basically a scenario where we’ll take a set of zoom sensors, we’ll take some of these more matured autonomy software capabilities, and we’re going to gameplay,” he said. “And we’re going to gameplay with a unique platform hypothetical, and that is a small constellation of daughter craft nanosatellites, basically small SWap-C [size, weight and power, plus cost] platforms that would perform effectively a swarming inspection mission.”
New platforms such as OMFV and FLRAA will depend on Time Sensitive.
The BRIDGES project is Scout’s first direct contract with DARPA, but the company’s SDA-related software and hardware — including its “plug and play” optical sensor packages designed as hosted payloads — already have caught the eye of Space Force officials.
“We have, I believe, six additional open government contracts with Space Force, and one with IARPA,” Hover-Smoot said.
For example, in August 2022, the tiny, 20-person company won two Small Business Technology Transfer grants from SpaceWERX, the service’s innovation hub, under its Orbital Prime program aimed at accelerating development of new dual-use tech for active debris removal.
That same month, Scout also announced it had been awarded a $44.5 m contract for the Tetra-5 mission through the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) in collaboration with Hera Systems and Booz Allen Hamilton, and led by Orion Space Solutions. Tetra-5 is developing three microsatellites to demonstrate “multi-agent autonomous” rendezvous, proximity operations and docking, as well as on-orbit servicing.
Last August, the company won a $1.25 m Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from AFWERX, Air Force Research Laboratory’s innovation hub, “focused on developing a flight software suite for critical space missions with autonomous sensor-driven multi-agent guidance and navigation capabilities.” And in January, Scout announced it been selected by AFWERX for another Phase II SBIR, worth $1.8 m, to deliver one of its “TacRS OWL” space domain awareness sensor systems. (TacRS stands for Tactically Responsive Space.)
08 Jul 24. Russia wants 2,600 satellites in orbit by 2036. Is this realistic? Russia wants have about 2,600 satellites in orbit by 2036, according to Yury Borisov, the head of the Roscosmos space agency.
Notably the country aims to put Sfera communications satellites into orbit — an analogue of the American-made Starlink and the British OneWeb constellations. Roscosmos previously sought to launch more than 600 systems into space as part of this project, but budget cuts prevented this. Now the agency is eyeing 360 satellites, although Borisov said the goal ought to be at least 1,200.
The government has agreed to approve 180 bn rubles (U.S. $2 bn) for 162 satellites. However, thus far the state has allocated 95 bn rubles, and a strategy meant to further develop the domestic communications sector up to 2035 calls for the launch of six geostationary satellites.
Sergei Prokhorov, who leads the Sfera project, recently said there is money set aside for four of them.
Is this practical?
While Borisov, who spoke July 3, is aiming for the production of at least 250 satellites per year for various purposes, the country currently makes about 15 annually — despite an existing capacity to manufacture about 40 each year.
Roscosmos’ goal is unrealistic, according to Pavel Luzin, a space policy expert at the Center for European Policy Analysis think tank. He noted the satellites will likely serve several functions, including optical observation, communications, meteorology, radar and television service.
“All the serious satellites that Russia has launched into space since 2022 were produced using imported Western electronics purchased no later than the mid-2010s, before the first sanctions,” Luzin told Defense News, referring to economic restrictions placed on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“It turns out to be a fundamental contradiction: Russia has a big problem with satellite production, but at the same time Russia declares that in just a couple of years it will be able to produce [250] high-quality satellites for various purposes per year and is already mastering the technologies of their conveyor production,” Luzin said. “This simply does not happen.”
Russia can find components on the world market for the production of several satellites, but not enough to produce hundreds, Luzin added. “The heads of companies report that despite the sanctions, the industry is alive, although in fact they may not know where to get components for hundreds of satellites.”
Indeed, Borisov had said “industry is functioning relatively stably” amid the sanctions.
Amid the war, the state has adjusted its satellite production priorities, focusing heavily on dual-use satellites — that is, ones that provide military and civilian services.
Among its priorities are the optical reconnaissance satellite Razdan; a radar satellite for marine reconnaissance for the Pion-NKS constellation; two radar satellites, dubbed Obzor-R and Kondor; and several Glonass communications satellites.
Denis Banchenko, a former employee of Roscosmos, told Defense News that “a significant part of the planned satellites, and most likely all of them, will be used in the interests of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation for intelligence, surveillance, navigation and communications purposes.” (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
01 Jul 24. Delay again as NASA states Starliner on ‘indefinite hold’ from bringing astronauts home from ISS. After three scrubs, two of which had the astronauts strapped in and ready to go, on June 5 NASA thought the hard part was over as the astronauts finally arrived at the International Space Station on June 6. This is where the saga began when on June 6 Starliner docking at the ISS was delayed for an hour because five of its 28 maneuvering thrusters had failed. The thruster that remained off failed for reasons different from the other four. At 250 miles in space the folks at Boeing managed to get the propulsion system’s software to enable four of the thrusters to work and begin docking with the ISS. The return to Earth of Boeing’s Starliner capsule is on indefinite hold pending results of new thruster tests and ongoing analysis of helium leaks that cropped up during the ship’s rendezvous with the International Space Station, NASA announced Friday. (Source: Satnews)
03 Jul 24. SpaceX launches preholiday 20 Starlink smallsats including 13 Direct to Cell on July 3rd.
On Wednesday, July 3 at 4:55 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The launch was delayed by two hours due to technical issues. (See next paragraph.)
Kiko Dontchev, the SpaceX vice president of launch, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the booster experienced “a real issue,” which required them “to go inspect the hardware in detail.” Adding that the problem created “the first week without a Falcon launch in a long time.”
This was the 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SES-22, ispace’s HAKUTO-R MISSION 1, Amazonas-6, CRS-27, Bandwagon-1, and now 11 Starlink missions.
Wednesday morning’s launch was the 67th Falcon 9 mission in 2024 with 70% of the launches this year dedicated to more than 6,150 operational satellites of Starlink’s constellation.
SpaceX’s pre-Independence Day, July 3rd launch of 20 Starlink satellites including 13 Direct to Cell
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, July 3 for a Falcon 9 launch of 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 2:57 a.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 5:59 a.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Sunday, July 7 starting at 12:28 a.m. ET.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX.
This is the 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SES-22, ispace’s HAKUTO-R MISSION 1, Amazonas-6, CRS-27, Bandwagon-1, and 10 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. (Source: Satnews)
04 Jul 24. Firefly’s July 3rd sendoff of NASA’s ELaNa 43 mission “provides a path to space for educational small satellite missions.” As part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, Firefly Aerospace launched eight small satellites on July 3 aboard the company’s Alpha rocket. Named “Noise of Summer,” the rocket successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9:04 p.m.PDT. The CubeSat missions were designed by universities and NASA centers and cover science that includes climate studies, satellite technology development, and educational outreach to students. Firefly Aerospace completed its Venture-Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 contract with this launch. The agency’s venture-class contracts offer launch opportunities for new providers, helping grow the commercial launch industry and leading to cost-effective competition for future NASA missions. NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative provides a low-cost way for universities, non-profits, science centers, and other researchers to conduct science and technology demonstrations in space. (Source: Satnews)
01 Jul 24. Arianespace loses key launch order. July 9th is the scheduled launch date for the much-delayed test flight European Space Agency’s (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket. However, last week saw Europe’s important weather organization cancel its launch contract on an Ariane 6 flight. Worse, perhaps, the cancellation was made in favor of Arianespace’s arch-rival, SpaceX.
Eumetsat, in a June 28th statement, said its Meteosat Third Generation-Sounder 1 (MTG-S1) geostationary weather satellite will now launch on a Falcon 9 in 2025. The spacecraft had originally been expected to launch on an Ariane 6 on the rocket’s third launch around March of 2025. The Eumetsat/Arianespace contract was signed some four years ago.
“This decision was driven by exceptional circumstances,” Phil Evans, DG-of Eumetsat, said. “It does not compromise our standard policy of supporting European partners, and we look forward to a successful SpaceX launch for this masterpiece of European technology.”
Behind the scenes it would appear that Eumetsat has swapped a perhaps uncertain launch date on an Ariane 6 for a definite date on a Falcon 9. Unsaid, but very clear, is that the decision is very much a vote of no confidence in Arianespace and, in particular, either uncertainties over a promised launch date and the cost of the planned mission.
French newspaper Le Monde stated that the cancellation had been a totally unexpected surprise at ESA and its launch contracting colleagues at ArianeGroup and the French space agency (CNES). Philippe Baptiste, head of CNES, called the decision “quite a brutal change” given the unfortunate timing and “a very disappointing day for European space efforts.”.
Josef Aschbacher, DG at ESA, also called Eumetsat’s decision “surprising” in a June 29th comment. “It’s difficult to understand, especially as Ariane-6 is well on track for its 9 July inaugural flight, with all proceeding nominally.”
The news that the debut launch is proceeding on plan is positive, but this is test flight only with a – mostly – dummy cargo. The first actual commercial flight is not scheduled until this coming winter. Meanwhile, SpaceX is planning at least 144 launches this year of the company’s hugely successful Falcon 9 vehicles.
Arianespace is planning to ramp up next year to about six missions in total, and then the longer-term strategy is for 9-10 launches annually. (Source: Satnews)
02 Jul 24. Orbit Fab delivers 1st GRIP™ in-space refueling nozzle following successful testing. Orbit Fab has completed the testing of its refueling payload and testing of the GRIP™ capture and active in-space refueling nozzle with automated docking, which eliminates the need for complex robotic arms for refueling.
Artistic rendition of propellant depots located at varying orbits for refueling services.
Image is courtesy of Orbit Fab.
After completing rigorous GRIP testing and in-space refueling simulations, Orbit Fab has successfully retired major technical risks ahead of key government and commercial in-space servicing missions beginning next year.
Numerous hardware tests of Orbit Fab’s GRIP capture mechanism and refueling interface were conducted by the company’s engineering team and government customer representatives, using the
Air Force Research Lab’s (AFRL’s) state-of-the-art simulation facilities at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
A hardware testbed of a fuel shuttle, equipped with an Orbit Fab GRIP refueling mechanism, simulated the replenishment of a satellite low on fuel and featuring a RAFTI™ (Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface) refueling port. Engineers tested a broad range of the GRIP mechanism’s capabilities, which exceeded all requirements as the fueling device approached the satellite from different angles and velocities, and as it docked with, locked on, and pushed off from the model satellite equipped with the refueling port.
The successful GRIP tests mark a major readiness milestone toward upcoming in-space-refueling and servicing missions. Orbit Fab delivered GRIP hardware this month, as well as a number of RAFTI units, ahead of multiple refueling missions that will use Orbit Fab’s GRIP and RAFTI interfaces.
The Space Force Tetra-5 program satellites will be among the first to have Orbit Fab’s RAFTI refueling ports during a first-of-its-kind refueling operation next year. An Orbit Fab fuel depot featuring its GRIP active docking and fluid transfer mechanism will lock on to the satellite’s RAFTI refueling port, create a fluid connection, and securely replenish each satellite.
Orbit Fab is partnering with a broad range of companies to produce fuel shuttles, which will feature GRIP refueling interfaces and fluid transfer systems. The Space Force Tetra-5 refueling mission in GEO is just one of many named and yet-to-be-named commercial and government programs that have selected Orbit Fab’s RAFTI and GRIP for spacecraft ground and on-orbit fueling operations. The DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has contracted with Orbit Fab for the first in-space fuel sale in GEO and has selected Orbit Fab’s RAFTI refueling port and GRIP docking and refueling nozzle as part of its RAPIDS Refueling and Fuel Depot Initiative. (Source: Satnews)