Astroscale reveals concept of operations for its in-orbit refueling vehicle

Astroscale is developing an in-space refueling vehicle that will shuttle back and forth between a fuel depot in geostationary Earth orbit and a client satellite. The refueling vehicle will carry and transfer hydrazine to its client spacecraft, “rather than the client having to maneuver to a fuel depot, allowing client operations to continue uninterrupted,” the company said Jan. 17. Astroscale, headquartered in Japan with a U.S. subsidiary based in Colorado, is a provider of space services to extend the life of satellites. The company last year won a $25.5 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to develop a refueling vehicle. Under the private-public partnership agreement, the project will get an additional $12 million in funding from Astroscale and its suppliers. Named APS-R, for Astroscale Prototype Servicer for Refueling, the vehicle will be a small satellite about the size of a gas pump, designed to conduct multiple refueling missions in GEO. APS-R will rendezvous and dock with a fuel depot operated by Orbit Fab, a startup developing so-called gas stations in space. The company is working on a hydrazine fueling station to be deployed 36,000 kilometers above Earth, partly funded by a $13.3 million contract from the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit. The client satellite receiving fuel will be Astroscale’s Life Extension In-Orbit (LEXI), designed to perform life extension services in geostationary orbit. Astroscale two years ago announced plans to launch LEXI in 2026 and signed an agreement with Orbit Fab for refueling services. In its Jan. 17 announcement, Astroscale said it plans to deliver the APS-R by 2026.

 

Satellite to be manufactured in Texas

The refueler will be an ESPA-class satellite, a ring-shaped platform that attaches to the primary payload on a launch vehicle. ESPA is short for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter.

Astroscale envisions deploying the LEXI client vehicle in a GEO orbit about 300 kilometers below Orbit Fab’s orbiting fuel depot.

APS-R will be manufactured at the Southwest Research Institute’s new smallsat assembly facility in San Antonio, Texas. Both the APS-R and LEXI will use Orbit Fab’s refueling ports to ensure they can dock properly.

“This innovation in on-orbit servicing will ultimately extend the range and mobility of satellites in orbit, allowing the U.S. Space Force to do more with their operational assets,” said Ron Lopez, president and managing director of Astroscale U.S.

Col. Joyce Bulson, leader of the Space Force’s space mobility and logistics program, said the collaboration with Astroscale “signifies a bold step forward in our efforts to secure and strengthen the U.S. Space Force’s position in an ever-evolving space domain, reinforcing our commitment to innovation and ensuring the sustainability of our space assets.”

OneWeb mulls debris-removal service for failed satellite

OneWeb is considering options to remove one of its broadband satellites from low Earth orbit after it failed following a software issue last year. “We are looking at all potential suppliers to address de-orbit as and when the tech is safe,” said Chris Mclaughlin, OneWeb’s chief of government, regulation and engagement. The failure was disclosed in a OneWeb financial report filed Nov. 17. That report noted OneWeb has deployed 358 satellites at 1,200 kilometers through 11 launches, “with loss of only one satellite to date.” Mclaughlin said the failure of OneWeb’s SL41 satellite resulted from “a software issue right at the end of the Orbit raise.” That software issue has since been fixed from the ground for the other satellites in the operator’s growing network, a OneWeb official added. The failed satellite, according to an industry source, was one of 34 launched Feb. 6, 2020, from Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. OneWeb’s satellites are being built in Florida by OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture with Airbus Defence and Space. OneWeb has a partnership formed earlier this year with debris-removal startup Astroscale under ESA’s Sunrise program, which awarded OneWeb and Astroscale funding in May for a satellite to demonstrate technologies including space junk removal. The OneWeb official added: “We are working with ESA Sunrise and, by extension, Astroscale and others to determine how best to remove a failed satellite when technology permits. It’s very early days.”

The loss of a single satellite is not critical in a megaconstellation like OneWeb’s with built-in redundancy. OneWeb plans to deploy nearly 650 satellites by the time it rolls out global broadband services next year.

“OneWeb’s network is designed for global coverage with redundancy planned for and built into the network,” the OneWeb official said via email.

“OneWeb can offer global coverage with 588 satellites however plans for redundancy with 50+ spares.”

The U.K.-headquartered startup has an insurance policy worth more than $1 billion that covers its satellite launches, which typically deploy 36 satellites at a time. However, the policy only spans the launch phase of the constellation’s deployment, and does not cover in-orbit failures.

SpaceX, which has claimed to have an in-orbit failure rate of less than 1% (although competitor Viasat disputes that), has also decided it has enough redundancy in its Starlink broadband megaconstellation that it does not need to insure in-orbit operations against satellite failures.

Potential mission

In October, the UK Space Agency awarded Astroscale and Swiss startup ClearSpace contracts totaling $1 million to study a mission to remove two spacecraft from LEO by 2025.

Astroscale and ClearSpace are allowed to pick which two spacecraft to remove, as long as they were sent to orbit under a U.K. license.

It is too early to say whether the failed OneWeb satellite will be a part of a mission that could follow these study contracts, an Astroscale official said.

Following the Phase 0 and A study phases there will most likely be two further phases to refine the mission design with parallel phase B contracts with a detailed concept of operations, costings, manufacturing proposals, and timelines, according to John Auburn, managing director of Astroscale’s U.K. subsidiary.

A final selection will identify the lead industry prime and partners that will develop the mission planned for a 2025 launch.

“We very much hope the UK government will be able to provide a substantial proportion of the mission funds, secured during the ongoing government comprehensive spending review (CSR),” Auburn said in an email.

“This mission is a fantastic opportunity for the UK government to demonstrate leadership in space sustainability and provide vital funding and licencing support for this innovative debris removal mission.”