Starfish Space announces plans for first commercial satellite docking

Date:
Tue, 20 May 2025 13:00:23 +0000

Description:
A new mission will aim to complete the first commercial satellite docking in low Earth The post Starfish Space announces plans for first commercial satellite docking appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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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 isnt 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 mission, known as Otter Pup 2, is now set to launch aboard the SpaceX Transporter-14 rideshare mission.

This follows the companys first attempt, which saw the Otter Pup 1 mission unable to dock with its target due to a thruster failure.



The Otter Pup 2 spacecraft will be deployed from a quarter plate on the upper stage adapter of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, placing it into a sun
synchronous orbit altitude of 510 km inclined 97.4 degrees.

The target will be a D-Orbit ION spacecraft which will simulate a client payload, which is not equipped with a traditional docking adapter or capture plate as you might see aboard a space station or other rendezvous target.



Instead, Starfish Spaces Nautilus capture mechanism will feature a special
end effector connected to the end of the capture mechanism. This end effector will enable Otter Pup 2 to dock with the ION through electrostatic adhesion. See Also Transporter-14 Updates SpaceX Missions Section L2 SpaceX Section Click here to Join L2

An electromagnet will be integrated into the end effector and will be used as a backup option to the electrostatic end effector, to dock with the ION through magnetic attraction, the company notes.

The goal is to eventually commission its Otter satellite servicing vehicle to allow for servicing of previously launched satellites. The companys first Otter missions include customers such as NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and Intelsat, with the goal of flying those missions as soon as 2026.

This allows us to make Otters an order of magnitude smaller than other servicing vehiclesmaking them faster to build, faster to launch, and finally closing the business case for satellite servicing to scale across the space industry, Starfish Space co-founder Trevor Bennett said in a press release.

Following the thruster issues on the first mission, this flight will feature two ThrustMe thrusters, which use an electric propulsion system based on gridded ion thruster technology. Otter Pup 2 docks with a D-Orbit ION spacecraft. (Credit: Starfish Space)

In keeping with the nautical theme, the mission will also be testing its unique rendezvous and docking software. The autonomous relative navigation software, called CETACEAN, will determine the relative state between Otter
Pup 2 and ION using a combination of onboard sensors. This is paired with the Argus camera, which includes two stereo cameras for determining depth and distance with the help of additional on-board image evaluation programming.

The autonomous onboard guidance and control software, named CEPHALOPOD, is designed to use low thrust in order to make rendezvous and docking possible using only electric propulsion.

The 40 kg spacecraft measures 86.3 cm by 38.9 cm by 107.7 cm fully deployed. The Otter Pup 2 mission will see the spacecraft first test proximity operations, getting close and positioning itself around the target. That will be followed by temporary dockings and undockings to test out the system.

The two spacecraft will then separate from each other. Atmospheric friction
is expected to slow the spacecraft and reduce the altitude until it reenters less than five years after the end of the mission.

According to Starfish Space, the goal isnt just to prove the docking technology works, but to allow for an affordable approach to satellite servicing. SpaceX Falcon 9 launches Transporter-3 mission in Jan. 2022 (Credit: SpaceX)

Since the start of the Space Age, humanity has sent satellites into orbit knowing theyll be on their own, the company said in a press release. With no affordable, practical options for servicing once in orbit, satellites must be entirely self-sufficientgreatly constraining how they can be built, how much they can do, and how long they can last.

Transporter-14 is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than June 1, 2025.

(Featured image: Otter Pup 2 docks with a D-Orbit ION spacecraft. Credit: Starfish Space)

The post Starfish Space announces plans for first commercial satellite
docking appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/05/starfish-plans-first-commercial-satell ite-docking/


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