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Orbital mental process companyAstroscalehas discover new details about its approach to refuel satellite in space , as part of a $ 25.5 million projection exploring the concept with the Space Force . Their resolution is a routine like a AAA truck traveling at 25,000 MPH .
The concept of on - reach service and mending is attractive to anyone who does n’t want to see a $ 100 million investing literally fire up . Many satellite are absolutely functional after years in space , but just lack the fuel to keep safely to their assigned altitude and trajectory , and must be allowed to deorbit instead .
Youcouldput up another $ 100 million orbiter — or perhaps , as companies like Astroscale and OrbitFab have purpose , you could pass a one-tenth of that to do a flatulency ravel from the surface to geosynchronous orbit .
Of of course , most satellite are n’t designed to be refueled , but that could easy change — even if how to about doing it is an open head . Astroscale won a Space Force contract bridge last Summer to explore the possibility in orbit , and the fellowship just published how it plans to do so .
The Astroscale Prototype Servicer for Refueling , or APS - R , is a smallish ( funnily enough , “ the size of a flatulency heart ” ) orbiter that will come up to GEO — around 300 km up — and then condescend on a “ disposed customer ” with the correct fueling port . ( This client is still an “ for instance ” in the diagram , so there ’s no official plan yet . )
After refuel it , the APS - R will back off and perform an inspection of the client planet , looking for any fuel outflow or other issues its operator might want to check . Then it ascends to GEO+ again and rendezvouses with a Defense Innovation Unit RAPIDS fuel terminal , which is on the button what it sounds like : an orbital gas station .
Some other concept of space - based fueling opt for the proportional simpleness of keeping all the fuel on the craft itself rather than acting as an pinch shuttle between the place and the client ( hence the AAA comparison ) . But as the war machine seems to call back that a giant , geostationary atmospheric pressure vas full of hydrazine is the safer pick , Astroscale is give way with that . For all we know there may be a self - contained version for non - military use down the line .
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This joint project — basically break down the mediate cost - wise — is still only in the “ conception of trading operations ” phase , but Astroscale expect to deliver it by 2026 . No doubt we ’ll hear more about this and other infinite sustainability projects well before then .
Astroscale close new support to grow in - orbit service and orbital junk cleaning tech
