The companies Orbit Fab and Impulse Space have announced the signing of a cooperation agreement. As part of it, they will conduct an experiment to refuel an American military satellite.
Orbit Fab was founded in 2018. The main goal of the enterprise is to create a network of space tankers and refueling vehicles that deliver fuel to the satellites of the customer companies. During its activity, Orbit Fab has launched a small demonstrator into a sun-synchronous orbit, designed to test the technology of a long-term fuel depot. Also, the company’s engineers have developed a universal refueling port RAFTI (Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface).
At the next stage, Orbit Fab will perform a real orbital refueling. This experiment will involve three Tetra-5 microsatellites, currently being built by Orion Space Solutions for the US Space Forces (the contract value was USD 50 million). They will be equipped with a RAFTI port, which will allow them to perform space refueling. The spacecraft will be put into geostationary orbit.
To refuel the satellites, Orbit Fab will also need a tanker. Impulse Space has agreed to take over its creation. To solve this problem, it plans to use the Mira vehicle, which will be equipped with a fuel depot designed for 50 kg of hydrazine.
At the moment, the refueling experiment is scheduled for 2025. In the future, Orbit Fab plans to provide this service on a regular basis for its customers. According to the company’s website, refueling a geostationary satellite with 100 kg of hydrazine will cost its customers USD 20 million.
According to https://spacenews.com
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