Ibadan, 26 Januaray 2024. – ClearSpace and Orbit Fab have announced a multi-faceted strategic partnership to advance in-space refuelling and servicing capabilities that aim to revolutionize space operations and serve as a foundation for a vibrant and sustainable space economy.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), both Companies will develop key enabling technologies, building on their initial collaborative work that began several years ago. Furthermore, they will leverage their complementary capabilities and missions to accelerate the availability of propellants in space by creating a refuelling service architecture pairing an Orbit Fab fuel depot with a ClearSpace shuttle.
Through the combination of Orbit Fab’s fuel transfer expertise with ClearSpace’s vision system and RPO capabilities, ClearSpace hopes to expand its in-orbit service portfolio while Orbit Fab aims to extend the reach of its fuel distribution services, resulting in the creation of a competitive, commercial marketplace for turn-key, in-orbit refuelling services. At the moment, Orbit Fab is already supporting ClearSpace with the design of its CLEAR mission for active debris removal.
Speaking on the strategic partnership, Luc Piguet, ClearSpace Co-Founder and CEO, said, “ClearSpace and Orbit Fab are seeing growing demand in the U.S., UK, and around the world for service vehicles and refuelling as Government and commercial operators seek to boost the ROI of their missions and extend operations.”
Likewise, Orbit Fab Founder and CEO Daniel Faber added, “Our RAFTI and GRIP refuelling systems are the interfaces of choice for secure, sustainable in-space refuelling operations, and our work with ClearSpace, both in the US and in the UK, is revolutionizing the capabilities that make extended satellite operations a reality.”
Market demand for in-orbit refuelling reflects the need for unconstrained in-space mobility and the value of extending the operational utility of critical space assets.
