by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

NASA has selected three research and development projects focused on developing on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing technologies for continued funding under the space agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

NASA selected Motiv Space Systems of Pasadena, Calif., for two Phase II awards, and TRACLabs of San Antonio, Texas for one award. The awards are worth up to $750,000 apiece for projects lasting for 24 months. Both companies received smaller SBIR Phase I awards.

SCOUT Awarded SBIR Grant from NASA for Development of Autonomous Relative Navigation Systems for Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES, May 31, 2022 (SCOUT PR) — SCOUT Inc., a space tech company developing autonomous proximity operations and spacecraft awareness service, today announced its selection for a NASA SBIR award to make relative navigation more resilient and enable more autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking. This effort is expected to yield advancements in autonomy and resilience across a wide range of NASA applications which often require exhaustive pre-planning and manual operations of multi-satellite systems.

SCOUT’s fault-tolerant and robust 6-degree-of-freedom finite-time controllers integrate multiple control system inputs and data sources, such as SCOUT-Vision remote sensing systems, to facilitate faster, more accurate tracking performance and more efficient control energy consumption during proximity operations than conventional controller modes in the presence of real-world challenges such as actuator faults, parametric uncertainty, and unknown external disturbances.

PITTSBURGH (Astrobotic PR) — Astrobotic has won two NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contracts worth $1.5 million to further advance novel Laser Imaging, Detection, and Ranging (LiDAR) software solutions. When space qualified, these software packages will support in-space satellite servicing as well as safe landing on celestial objects such as the Moon or asteroids through accurate hazard detection.

Northrop Grumman-owned Company’s Launch of the Mission Robotic Vehicle and Mission Extension Pods will Mark a New Era in On-orbit Satellite Servicing

DULLES, Va., Feb. 21, 2022 (Northrop Grumman PR) – Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) SpaceLogistics today announced a launch agreement for its Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) spacecraft, and the sale of its first Mission Extension Pod (MEP).

Under the launch agreement, SpaceX will provide launch services for a planned spring 2024 launch of the MRV and several MEPs. Optus, Australia’s largest satellite owner and operator, recently completed a purchase agreement with SpaceLogistics for installation of one of the MEPs on its D3 satellite in 2025.

Satellite Life Extension is Largest Global Market, but Space Situational Awareness and Active Debris Removal Also Show Upside Potential

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 15, 2022 (NSR PR) — In its 5^th year, NSR’s first to market In-Orbit Services: Satellite Servicing, ADR, and SSA, 5^th Edition (IoSM5) forecasts $14.3 Billion in IoSM revenue, driven by Life Extension, generating $4.7 Billion through 2031. As the race to launch Non-GEO Satellite Constellation grows, thousands of satellites are set to launch through the coming decade growing demand for IoS.

COLUMBIA, Ill., February 2, 2022 (NanoAvionics PR) – US company Turion Space, aiming to build spacecraft to remove orbital-debris, satellite servicing, and domain awareness, has selected NanoAvionics small satellite bus, the MP42, as the basis for its ‘Droid-1’ spacecraft designed for a reconnaissance mission in low Earth orbit (LEO). The launch of the Droid-1 satellite is planned for the first quarter of 2023.

Using its onboard sensors, Turion Space’s satellite will be able to take extremely accurate measurements of spacecraft and objects in orbit. The data will give operators and users the exact location of their satellites and in relation to others, especially at crucial times when two spacecraft are critically close.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Astroscale PR) – Astroscale Holdings Inc. (“Astroscale”), the market leader in satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability across all orbits, today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Virgin Orbit, the responsive launch and space solutions company that has announced a planned business combination with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II (“NextGen”) (NASDAQ: NGCA).

The MOU establishes a new partnership in which the two companies will seek opportunities to cooperate on a series of space initiatives that will drive the future of space sustainability and on-orbit servicing ecosystem. Astroscale is planning dozens of missions over the next decade and is in discussions with Virgin Orbit to launch as many as 10 of those on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne. The two companies are also working toward a future joint mission concept focused on satellite servicing.

SAN FRANCISCO, October 14, 2021 (Orbit Fab PR) — Orbit Fab, the Gas Stations in Space™ company, has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space Vehicle Directorate, and the Spacecraft Technology Division to advance on-orbit refueling technology.

Orbit Fab will offer a ubiquitous supply of propellant in Earth orbit. Providing satellites the right fuel, in the right location, when they need it, will enable next generation capabilities for in-space refueling, servicing, assembly and manufacturing. Under the collaboration, Orbit Fab will share technical details and make available its hardware products, such as the RAFTI (The Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface) and a cooperative docking guidance solution. The Air Force, in return, will review Orbit Fab’s refueling technologies, advise on requirements and designs, and make available its facilities for advancing performance and qualification. The knowledge exchange will allow Orbit Fab to bring to market its products for both defense users and commercial companies.

GREENBELT, Md. (NASA PR) — In August 2021, new testing equipment arrived at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in the form of a gravity offset table. NASA engineers will use the table to test robotic satellite servicing technologies that will one day operate in space.  

Kent, Wash., September 28, 2021 (Starfish Space PR) – Starfish Space, a satellite servicing company founded by former Blue Origin engineers, announced today that it has raised a $7M funding round co-led by NFX and MaC Venture Capital, with participation from PSL Ventures, Boost VC, Liquid2 Ventures, and Hypothesis.