Focus: In-Space Services

Astroscale is moving forward with its ELSA-d mission as it is working through solutions to a spacecraft anomaly. The company said in an update on Feb. 17 that it is maneuvering the servicer spacecraft into a position closer to the client and continuing its mission.  ELSA-d — Astroscale’s End-of-Life Services demonstration mission — is tasked...

OneWeb is adopting LeoLabs Collision Avoidance service for its constellation as part of a multi-year agreement between the two companies announced Tuesday.   LeoLabs Collision Avoidance is a web data and analytics service for satellite owner-operators that provides real-time data about the location of other satellites and space debris. It is supported by LeoLabs phased-array radar...

Astroscale U.S. has signed on as a customer for Orbit Fab’s “gas stations in space” refueling service. Orbit Fab’s fuel shuttle will refuel Astroscale’s fleet of Life Extension In-Orbit (LEXI) servicers in the future.  Astroscale said LEXI is the first satellite designed to be refueled. The spacecraft is slated to launch to Geostationary Orbit (GEO)...

Maxar Technologies won a $9.3 million U.S. Department of Defense contract on Monday that will see the company design and deliver two robotic arms to support in-space assembly and servicing capabilities for the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). Maxar said the contract will also allow them to develop cost-effective robotic arm technology for commercial customers. Each...

Spire Global will host a Kepler Communications test of its in-space communication network on a Spire satellite, the companies announced Dec. 16. Kepler is developing an in-space network called AETHER to help satellites communicate with ground assets in real time.  Spire will host Kepler’s AETHER product aboard an upcoming Spire nanosatellite due to launch in...

LEOcloud has established a partnership with Orbital Assembly to provide cloud services onboard Orbital Assembly’s future commercial space station platforms, the two companies announced Nov. 9. Orbital Assembly is designing large-scale, habitable structures with gravity on-orbit, in cislunar space, and throughout the solar system. It plans to offer hosted payloads on its Gravity Ring (uncrewed)...

Mynaric has signed a multi-year agreement with Northrop Grumman as a strategic supplier for laser communications for space applications that it says will be worth at least $35 million.  Mynaric has submitted bids to Northrop Grumman for multiple government space programs that are pending, with a combined value in the mid-double digit million range. Separately,...

The UK Space Agency has awarded Astroscale’s U.K. subsidiary a bid to an study active debris removal project.  The feasibility study will prepare the groundwork for an Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission to remove two defunct satellites from space in 2025. The proposed study, called Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC), will use...

Blue Origin and Sierra Space have plans to build a commercial space station, described as a “business park” in space for research, industrial, international, commercial, and tourism customers. The companies plan to build the station — called Orbital Reef — with the help of Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University. In a...

​​Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin are working together to develop the first commercial space station, known as Starlab. The companies announced the collaboration Thursday, and they expect Starlab to be in operation by 2027.  Nanoracks will be the lead, using its experience in commercial International Space Station (ISS) utilization. It has a commercial airlock,...