WASHINGTON Astroscale US, a provider of in-orbit services to extend the life of satellites, has signed an agreement with the US Space Force to co-invest in an in-orbit refueling vehicle.
Space Systems Command project manager Col. Joyce Bulson said the contract includes $25.5 million in government funding and about $12 million from Astroscale. The company will deliver a prototype vehicle capable of refueling an orbiting satellite in 24 months, Bulson said in a Sept. 25 interview SpaceNews.
Bulson heads a new office at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida that oversees space mobility and logistics programs.
Astroscale is headquartered in Japan. Its US subsidiary is located in Colorado. The company focuses on space sustainability technologies such as debris removal and in-orbit satellite servicing.
Astroscale won the so-called Other Transaction Authority or OTA contract. OTAs give the government flexibility in negotiating with contractors and sharing project costs.
The project received 23 bids
The $25.5 million contract awarded to Astroscale was funded by a $30 million congressional appropriation included in the 2023 Space Force budget.
Astroscales’ bid was one of 23 bids received by the Space Enterprise Consortium, or SpEC, an organization created to attract startups and commercial companies to compete for defense programs, Bulson said.
Bulson said the Space Force wants to take advantage of commercial innovations in space services. I find it extremely exciting to be on the cutting edge of this emerging technology.
Astroscales vehicle is called APS-R for refueling the Astroscale Prototype Servicer. It uses Orbit Fab’s refueling port called RAFTI for a quick attach fluid transfer interface.
The RAFTI port is one of the commercial interfaces entering the space refueling market. Astroscale plans to use Orbit Fab’s refueling services for its commercial missions.
Bulson said the Space Force refueling vehicle prototype is based on Astroscale’s commercial design. We try to convey as few military-unique requirements as possible to the industry and want them to simply show what is possible.
On-orbit demonstration TBD
It has not yet been determined if or when the Astroscales vehicle will launch into orbit for the space show. If that were to happen, the potential customer satellite could be one of the Tetra-5 small satellites planned for orbit in 2025 for an in-orbit refueling test funded by the Space Force and Defense Innovation Unit. These satellites are also equipped with a RAFTI port.
Bulson said the Space Force has not yet adopted a firm standard for refueling ports as the industry works to address the issue. He said we would like to keep the options open as long as possible so that we have competition. We think it’s early enough in the market to go ahead and try to prove the concepts.
The goal is to try to capture what’s available on the market and bridge the gap between what commercial companies can do today and what military users require, Bulson said.
Although space logistics projects are now funded by congressional add-ons, the Space Force plans to advocate for long-term funding beginning in the 2026 budget cycle, he said.
We’re basically living in the Congressional surplus year after year, Bulson said. We hope to have a compelling case for the FY2026 program that makes sense to all of our stakeholders.
Bulson said that if Congress were to include additional funding in the 2024 budget, the SpEC consortium set aside other promising projects that didn’t make the cut this time, just in case the money came through.
We have already approved proposals, he said. We can sign a contract with them very quickly because the source has already been selected.
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