The successful rendezvous is Starfish Space's first, and a
finale for the Otter Pup mission
SEATTLE, May 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Starfish Space, in collaboration with D-Orbit, a
leading space logistics company, announced today a successful on
orbit rendezvous between Starfish's Otter Pup and D-Orbit's ION
SCV006 satellite. The Starfish team calculated and directed precise
maneuvers for ION that culminated in this successful rendezvous,
with Otter Pup capturing images of the ION spacecraft as it
maneuvered in close proximity. This mission represents a
significant engineering achievement for Starfish and D-Orbit, and a
further step towards making affordable, available satellite
servicing a reality.
Following the successful recovery from initial rotation rates
exceeding 330 degrees per second and a thruster anomaly during
subsequent commissioning, Starfish sought to maximize the value of
Otter Pup for testing and validation of its core technologies. In
January, Starfish and D-Orbit agreed to attempt a rendezvous
mission in which Starfish would direct D-Orbit to execute maneuvers
placing ION within close proximity of Otter Pup.
Rendezvous planning began with the teams at Starfish and D-Orbit
working closely together to assess the feasibility of the mission,
given that the ION satellite was not originally designed for this
type of mission. Once the teams determined the mission's viability,
Starfish planned, calculated and calibrated multiple desired close
approach and auxiliary maneuver plans, including pointing and
targeting for alignment between Otter Pup and ION. Starfish
collaborated closely with D-Orbit to transfer and implement the
calculations to ION, as well as issue instructions for the
necessary burns to maneuver ION into position. D-Orbit safely
operated ION and executed the prescribed maneuvers, with
significant support on conjunction analysis and other capabilities
from the EUSST (S3TOC) team.
By mid-April, Otter Pup and ION were in position for the final
rendezvous attempt. ION passed by Otter Pup at increasingly close
orbits, down to within approximately 1 kilometer. On Friday, April 19th, Otter Pup pointed its cameras
and captured images of ION, marking the successful rendezvous.
Dr. Trevor Bennett, Co-founder of
Starfish Space, emphasized the significance of these achievements,
stating, "Beyond validating a core capability, these images will
provide invaluable data for our ongoing GNC software development.
Continuing to operate Otter Pup gave us a lot of value; it allowed
us to increase our satellite operations experience, and to test and
validate software and hardware on-orbit, including the camera
system that was used to capture these images."
ION's ability to safely and reliably conduct the maneuvers
required for this mission served as another milestone for one of
the most accomplished satellite platforms currently operating in
space. With over twelve ION spacecraft launched to-date, D-Orbit
has proven itself as a leading provider of space logistics and
orbital transportation services.
"The successful flyby between Starfish Space's Otter Pup and our
ION SCV006 is a great achievement for both companies," commented
Matteo Bartolini, VP Sales
Engineering at D-Orbit. "This operation not only demonstrates the
precision and reliability of our ION spacecraft but also highlights
the robust capabilities of our teams working in concert with
Starfish. Achieving such a complex maneuver truly underscores our
commitment to advancing the field of satellite servicing and
orbital operations".
In addition to the engineering teams at Starfish and D-Orbit,
this mission was made possible by Redwire Space, which provided the
camera system utilized for image capture, LeoLabs, offering crucial
on-orbit state data, and Astro Digital, delivering continuous
operational support throughout the duration of Otter Pup's mission
lifecycle.
"Executing this rendezvous means we absolutely maximized the
value we could get out of Otter Pup, in spite of the numerous
challenges we faced, from emergency deployment to thruster
failure," said Bennett. "Space domain awareness (capturing images
of other objects in space), is often a mission in and of itself. We
were able to execute this task as a backup after multiple
challenges and failures. This was a rewarding way to conclude our
first demonstration mission, and we look forward to returning to
orbit with our next mission to push our capabilities forward."
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Starfish Space
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SOURCE D-Orbit SpA