Colorado Startup Wins $13.3 Million US Contract for Satellite Refueling
Orbit Fab aims to build network of gas stations in outer space
Orbit Fab is building the first commercial fuel depot in geosynchronous orbit.
Source: Orbit Fab
Orbit Fab Inc., a Denver-area startup backed by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp., won a $13.3 million government contract to provide fuel for US Space Force satellites — another step toward what the company hopes will become a network of gas stations in outer space.
The four-year contract calls for Orbit Fab to deliver hydrazine, the most common satellite propellant, to a Space Force satellite in 2025, the company said Tuesday. A typical satellite uses 10 kilograms of hydrazine per year to stay in a geosynchronous orbit but requires more of the fuel to move in space. The ability to refuel will allow military satellites to maneuver around the growing field of debris in orbit.