Exotrail unveils the orbital transfer vehicle, SpaceVan. Photo: Exotrail

French space company Exotrail will debut a new orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) for rideshare missions called the SpaceVan on the SpaceX rideshare mission set for October 2023. 

The company said in a Tuesday announcement that SpaceVan is designed to deploy customer constellations over several different planes, altitudes, and inclinations. It uses Exotrail’s space proven electric ExoMG propulsion system. The company says this differentiates the OTV from its chemical propulsion OTVs counterparts and offers up to 1 km/s of deltaV for a payload capacity of up to 400 kg. The SpaceVan has standard connection interfaces for nanosatellites and microsatellites and also offers hosted payload capability.

Exotrail is known for its propulsion system, and serves customers including York Space Systems and the European Space Agency. This new mobility service takes the company into space logistics. 

“This new in-space mobility service will give satellite operators access to space at the right place, at the right time and at the right price,” said Exotrail CEO Jean-Luc Maria. “With this new service offer, Exotrail completes its product portfolio and paves the way for building an end-to-end space mobility operator.” 

Exotrail plans for at least three subsequent missions throughout 2024 onboard different launch vehicles.