Space Machines Company and Orbit Fab join forces to advance in-orbit servicing

Space Machines Company and Orbit Fab join forces to advance in-orbit servicing

Integrated technologies will enhance space sustainability through reduced debris and extended satellite lifespans

Sydney, Australia — December 6, 2023 — Space Machines Company, the leading Australian in-space servicing organisation, and U.S.-based Orbit Fab, the leading global provider of on-orbit refueling services, have entered into a partnership combining their expertise to advance in-space servicing capabilities and establish a sustainable space ecosystem.

The partnership brings together two industry leaders from opposite sides of the globe and is defined by the joining of innovative technologies, most notably the installation of Orbit Fab's space fiducial alignment markers on Space Machine Company's Orbital Servicing Vehicle, Optimus. These markers will serve as QR Codes in space, allowing Space Machines Company to work collaboratively to identify and verify data real-time when approaching spacecraft, ensuring safe, secure interactions. Optimus will provide on-orbit, transportation and other in-space services following its launch on the SpaceX Transporter-10 in early 2024.

The success and sustainability of Optimus’ launch will be supported by the attachment of two QR code-like "fiducial" markers developed by Orbit Fab. These fiducials are designed to support the safe and effective navigation and approach of Optimus, demonstrating Orbit Fab's ability to achieve safe navigation for the refueling of spacecraft in-orbit. The markers will convey crucial information about Optimus’ identity, orientation, and origin, facilitating precise and secure in-space servicing critical to extending the lifetime of in-orbit satellites.

This partnership will reach a significant milestone in 2024, with both companies scheduled to launch missions on board SpaceX Transporter rideshares. The mission of Space Machines Company and Orbit Fab mission is geared towards conducting a range of rendezvous and proximity operations maneuvers to validate and test the technologies of both companies. The cooperation between Space Machines Company, Orbit Fab, and SpaceX also represents a practical example of successful international collaboration.

Orbit Fab and Space Machines Company join forces to not only combine expertise and foster strategic national capabilities for both Australia and the U.S. but to champion their shared goals of driving improved space sustainability through reduced debris and an on-orbit circular economy. By partnering to undertake a suite of safe, secure, and sustainable proximity operations, Orbit Fab and Space Machines Company will play a pivotal role in defining this developing commercial technology to unlock on-orbit refueling, servicing, repair, and de-orbit innovation for the global space sector.

"This collaboration represents a significant milestone in the advancement of in-space servicing technologies. It is the first purely commercial partnership of its kind and will serve as a pioneering example of in-space validation of these groundbreaking technologies. By leveraging our respective strengths and expertise, Space Machines Company and Orbit Fab are setting a new standard for international collaboration in the space industry." — Rajat Kulshrestha, Space Machines Company Co-Founder and CEO

"Orbit Fab was founded to extend the life and reusability of satellites and other spacecraft through in-space refueling. Our collaborative work with Space Machines Company demonstrates cooperative docking alignment markers that support safe, sustainable space operations. We provide these spacecraft fiducials to support and enable effective and efficient refueling in space, but they can also be used to support any satellite servicing activities." — Daniel Faber, Orbit Fab CEO

ENDS

About Space Machines Company

Space Machines Company (SMC) is an Australian company delivering on-orbit servicing and protection of critical space infrastructure through its Orbital Servicing Network. SMC supports mobility, inspection, deorbiting, repair, life extension, and protection capability to satellite customers when and where they need it.

About Orbit Fab

Orbit Fab is the leading provider of in-space refueling services delivering propellants that allow for extended missions and fuel the growth of the in-space economy, enabling dynamic space operations and offering access to significant cost-savings and revenue opportunities. Over the past decade, rockets have become reusable. Orbit Fab is making satellites reusable. The company, based in Lafayette, Colorado, with offices in the UK, and has developed the Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI) as well as spacecraft fiducial markers, which are being integrated aboard a growing number of government and commercial spacecraft to enable refueling in GEO and LEO orbits. Orbit Fab has signed the first government and commercial fuel delivery agreements in GEO. For more information, visit www.orbitfab.com.

Media contact:

Courtney Phelps

For Space Machines Company

M: 0452 663 095

E: courtneyphelps@slingstone.com

Paul Sims

For Orbit Fab

678-576-6126 – mobile

paul@simscomm.com