Tag: Starfish Space
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Starfish Space announces plans for first commercial satellite docking
A new mission will aim to complete the first commercial satellite docking in low Earth orbit (LEO). However, the satellite it aims to dock with isn’t equipped with a docking adapter. Starfish Space is hoping to prove the concept of being able to dock to unprepared satellites for repair, refueling, or repositioning in orbit. The…
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Otter Pup rides again: Starfish Space gears up for its second satellite docking attempt
An artist’s conception shows Otter Pup 2 (at left) approaching its target satellite. (Starfish Space Illustration) Two years after its first space mission literally took a turn for the worse, Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space is getting ready for a second test mission aimed at having its Otter Pup spacecraft dock with another satellite in orbit.…
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D-Orbit sets course to expand beyond space transportation services
Italian company D-Orbit has been launching customer payloads aboard its Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTVs) for the past five years. In that time, the company has positioned itself as a reliable space transportation provider and hosting platform. The company now plans to extend into on-orbit servicing and refueling missions, end-of-mission disposal, and cross-orbit transportation, including to…
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Starfish Space raises $29M to bankroll development of orbital servicing vehicles
An artist’s conception shows an Otter spacecraft in orbit. (Starfish Space Illustration) Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space today announced that it has raised $29 million to support the development of its first three Otter orbital servicing vehicles for missions serving the U.S. Space Force, NASA and Intelsat. The investment round was led by Shield Capital, a…
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Starfish Space wins contract to help NRO advance capabilities for orbital operations
An artist’s conception shows Starfish Space’s Otter spacecraft in orbit with another satellite in the background. (Starfish Space Illustration) Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space and two other companies have won contracts from the National Reconnaissance Office, America’s spy satellite agency, to evaluate advanced technologies for space operations. Starfish’s work for the NRO will focus on potential…
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Starfish Space brings in new funding as it gears up for orbital inspection and docking
Artwork shows the Otter spacecraft in orbit near another satellite. (Starfish Space Illustration) Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space is bringing in more funding after announcing several agreements to use its Otter spacecraft for missions ranging from inspecting dead satellites to extending the life of an operational satellite. Starfish reported that it has raised nearly $21 million…
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Starfish Space wins $15M NASA award for a SSPICY mission to visit dead satellites
An artist’s conception shows Starfish Space’s Otter spacecraft in orbit. (Starfish Space Illustration) Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space has won a three-year, $15 million contract from NASA for a mission aimed at doing up-close inspections of defunct satellites in orbit. Such inspections, to be carried out using Starfish’s Otter spacecraft starting in 2027, could blaze a…
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Starfish Space signs contract with Intelsat for satellite servicing beginning in 2026
An artist’s conception shows Starfish’s Otter satellite servicing spacecraft. (Starfish Space Illustration) Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space has signed a contract with Intelsat to provide on-orbit life extension services to a geostationary satellite beginning in 2026. It’s the first commercial contract for Starfish’s Otter satellite servicing spacecraft, which is currently under development. The deal follows up…
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Space Force and Starfish Space lay out their roadmap for satellite docking mission
An artist’s conception shows the Otter spacecraft in geostationary Earth orbit. (Starfish Space Illustration) The U.S. Space Force says a Pentagon partnership with Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space will result in a “first-of-its-kind docking mission” aimed at adding to the maneuverability of national security assets on orbit. Starfish Space’s $37.5 million contract for a demonstration of…
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Starfish tests satellite rendezvous system — and wins a $37.5M Space Force contract
An artist’s conception shows the Otter Pup satellite. (Starfish Space Illustration) Months after Starfish Space said it was giving up on its plan to test its satellite docking system in orbit, due to a thruster failure, the Tukwila, Wash.-based startup managed to coax one last rendezvous out of its first space mission. And this week…