Orbit Fab and Phase Four have partnered to explore ways to enable in-orbit refueling on the radio frequency satellite engines manufactured by the latter company. Under a memorandum of understanding, the effort will focus on determining the compatibility of Orbit Fab’s Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface to replenish a Maxwell thruster with both traditional and […] More

Orbit Fab has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Space Vehicle Directorate of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to advance on-orbit refueling technology for the lab’s Spacecraft Technology Division. The company said Wednesday that under the CRADA collaboration, it will share its hardware products, including its Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface […] More

Orbit Fab has received investments from Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and other companies to help commercialize its on-orbit refueling systems and services. Orbit Fab said Tuesday it raised over $10 million in its most recent funding round led by Asymmetry Ventures, alongside Lockheed’s venture arm and Northrop. SpaceFund, Marubeni Ventures and Audacious Venture Partners participated […] More

Spaceflight has agreed to field an operational fuel depot aboard a Falcon 9 rocket to the Earth's orbit in 2021 as part of an agreement with Orbit Fab, C4ISRNET reported Monday.

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Space engineering startup Orbit Fab has received a $250K grant from the National Science Foundation to demonstrate a docking system for refueling satellites in space, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.

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The Air Force Research Laboratory and Generation Orbit Launch Services will move forward to the farbication phase of an air-dropped liquid rocket, designed to support the military's hypersonic flight research efforts, after the program completed a critical design review.

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Orbital ATK has partnered with the U.S. Air Force to determine opportunities to address design, fabrication, repair and inspection of composite aerostructures of military aircraft. Orbital ATK said Tuesday it will also collaborate with the service branch to facilitate future aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul activities at the Air Force Ogden Air Logistics Complex and […] More

L3Harris Technologies will move to build a satellite for position, navigation and timing system demonstrations after the company passed a critical design review with the U.S. Air Force. The Melbourne, Fla.-based defense firm can now begin the production of Navigation Technology Satellite-3 the service branch intends to launch into geostationary orbit sometime in 2022.

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Orbital ATK has partnered with the U.S. Air Force Sustainment Center to support the country’s military aircraft through complementary, composite aerostructure design, manufacturing and inspection services. Both parties aim to address future composite aerostructure requirements on new aircraft types as well as collaborate to maintain, repair and overhaul current platforms as part of the public-private partnership, […] More

ITT Exelis has won a contract to fabricate a composite bus structure for a Orbital Sciences Corp. communications satellite platform. The bus is intended to bring electric power to the satellite“™s payload and propulsion systems and contains equipment for telemetry, tracking and control, Exelis said Tuesday. Exelis will build and test the bus in Rochester, […] More

NASA“™s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland has selected Altius Space Machines, Honeybee Robotics and Orbit Fab to provide robotic grapple fixtures for a testing initiative slated to begin in the spring and summer of 2021. Engineers at NASA“™s Exploration and In-Space Services projects division will evaluate the companies“™ grapple fixtures using robotics facilities at Goddard under space act agreements.

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Nineteen out of 24 small business participants during the Space Force Pitch Day will each receive a $1.7 million contract to further develop their existing projects for the U.S. Space Force, SpaceNews reported Friday. The selected companies will move their projects to the second phase of development under the Space Force’s Small Business Innovation Research […] More