Orbit Fab’s Plan is to Fill Them Up in Space
November 16, 2020 (satnews.com)
• Orbit Fab is expected to launch the first operational fuel depot, or “gas station” in Earth’s orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than in June 2021. ‘Tanker 001 Tenzing’ (pictured above) will store readily accessible fuel propellant to satellite servicing vehicles and other spacecraft the fast growing in-orbit servicing industry. (see 7:10 minute demonstration video below)
• The tanker is one of several payloads to launch on a Spaceflight Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle (OTV), which is capable of multiple deployments. Spaceflight’s first OTV, Sherpa-FX, is scheduled to debut in December 2020 on a SpaceX rideshare mission, and provides independent and detailed deployment telemetry and flexible interfaces, all at a low cost.
• Orbit Fab’s ‘Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface’ (RAFTI) provides reliable propellant transfer both on the ground and in orbit with a self-driving satellite kit for docking and attachment of two spacecraft without the need for complex robotic arms. The RAFTI interface has been adopted by multiple spacecraft manufacturers to extend the life of their satellites. RAFTI, which is also known as a “Satellite Gas Cap™,” was developed in cooperation with 30 companies and organizations and it is expected to become the industry’s common refueling interface.
• Orbit Fab successfully demonstrated its propellant storage and delivery systems in an unprecedented private transfer of water to the International Space Station. Earlier in 2020, Orbit Fab received a $3 million contract from the US Air Force to fully flight qualify the RAFTI service valve. Orbit Fab also received a National Science Foundation grant to test its docking system.
• RAFTI will support the rapidly proliferating in-orbit servicing industry which saw a five-fold increase since 2018. Gas stations in space are an essential resource to fuel this industry and support the infrastructure in space that enables projected commerce, exploration and national security.
• RAFTI will also support the Air Force and Space Force’s need for space combat logistics capabilities said Orbit Fab CDO, Jeremy Schiel. “Refueling is a requirement in the emerging Space Force architecture and for good reason. You don’t want to run out of fuel in the middle of a confrontation.”
Orbit Fab has signed an agreement with Spaceflight Inc. to launch the 
company’s first operational fuel depot to orbit. Tanker 001 Tenzing, which will provide fuel for the fast growing in-orbit servicing industry, is expected to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than in June 2021.
Once launched, Tanker 001 Tenzing will store propellant in sun synchronous orbit, where it will be available to satellite servicing
vehicles or other spacecraft that need to replenish fuel supplies. The tanker
is one of several payloads to launch on a Spaceflight Sherpa orbital transfer vehicle, which is capable of executing multiple deployments. Spaceflight’s first OTV, Sherpa-FX, is scheduled to debut no earlier than December 2020 on a SpaceX rideshare mission and provides independent and detailed deployment telemetry, and flexible interfaces, all at a low cost.
Orbit Fab’s fuel depots are designed to support more sustainable spacecraft through the use of the Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI), which has been adopted by multiple spacecraft manufacturers to extend the life of their satellites. RAFTI, which is also known as a “Satellite Gas Cap™,” was developed in cooperation with 30 companies and organizations and it is expected to become the industry’s common refueling interface.
In today’s contested space domain RAFTI provides reliable propellant transfer both on the ground and in orbit with a self-driving satellite kit for docking and attachment of two spacecraft without the need for complex robotic arms.
7:10 minute ‘Orb Fab Story’: gas stations in space (‘Altium Stories” YouTube)
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