Astroscale

Orbital operations company Astroscale has revealed new details about its approach to refueling satellites in space, as part of a $25.5 million project exploring the concept with the Space Force. The concept of on-orbit servicing and repair is attractive to anyone who doesn’t want to see a $100 million investment literally burn up. Astroscale won a Space Force contract last Summer to explore the possibility in orbit, and the company just published how it plans to do so. After refueling it, the APS-R will back off and perform an inspection of the client satellite, looking for any fuel leaks or other issues its operators might want to check. No doubt we’ll hear more about this and other space sustainability projects well before then.