Leading In-Space Refueling.
Mission by Mission.
Orbit Fab missions build and prove the infrastructure needed for routine on-orbit refueling, from early ISS demonstrations to fuel depots and GEO fuel delivery.
Explore our missions to see how each flight advances on-orbit refueling and the supply chain behind it.
Upcoming Missions
Kamino Mission
Kamino is Orbit Fab’s planned GEO-adjacent fuel depot mission designed to deliver hydrazine to a RAFTI®-enabled client satellites as part of a national security refueling demonstration architecture. The mission is expected to deliver 50 kg of hydrazine through the RAFTI® interface, demonstrating depot-to-client fuel transfer in orbit.
- Launch Date: Q2 2027
- Status: In test Q3 2026
- Objective: Demonstrate RPOD and hydrazine fuel delivery using RAFTI® and GRIPTM to Tetra-5a and 5b
- Customer: Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) RAPIDS and the U.S. Space Force
- Mission Partner: Impulse Space
- Technology: RAFTI® and GRIP™ refueling payload configuration
Mynock (Provisioner APS-R) Mission
Mynock (APS-R) is a GEO hydrazine demonstration mission built to prove rendezvous, proximity, operations, docking, and on-orbit fuel delivery using a fuel shuttle. Integrated by Astroscale U.S., ASP-R will fly Orbit Fab’s RAFTI® refueling interface and GRIP™ docking hardware to execute RPOD sequence and deliver hydrazine on orbit.
- Launch Date: Q2 2027
- Status: In Test
- Objective: Objective: Demonstrate RPOD and hydrazine fuel delivery using RAFTI® and GRIPTM to Tetra-5a and 5b
- Customer: Space Systems Command
- Mission Partner: Astroscale U.S.
- Technology: RAFTI®, GRIP™
Rancor Mission
Rancor is Orbit Fab’s GEO-adjacent refueling demonstration payload designed to advance real on-orbit interaction between RAFTI® and GRIP™ hardware. This mission is supports docking and refueling demonstrations in the same operating regime as other RAFTI®-equipped spacecraft.
- Launch Date: 2028
- Status: In development
- Objective: Objective: Demonstrate RPOD and hydrazine fuel delivery using RAFTI® and GRIPTM to Tetra-5a and 5b
- Customer: Orbit Fab
- Mission Partner: Northrop Grumman Rooster-5
- Technology: RAFTI® and GRIP™ refueling payload configuration
ASTRAL Project
ASTRAL is Orbit Fab’s ESA and UK Space Agency funded in-orbit refueling demonstration project, built to de-risk and validate RAFTI® High Pressure and GRASP in a realistic docking and propellant-transfer scenario for electric propulsion. The project targets an in-orbit experiment by 2028 to establish on-orbit performance for these interfaces and support future satellite servicing and refueling capabilities.
- Launch Date: Targeted by 2028
- Status: In development
- Objective: Validate RAFTI® and GRASP in an operational docking and propellant-transfer scenario
- Customer: European Space Agency (ESA), UK Space Agency
- Mission Partner: European consortium partners
- Technology: RAFTI®, GRASP
Current Missions
Tanker-001 Tenzing Mission
Tanker-001 Tenzing is Orbit Fab’s first on-orbit fuel depot mission, launched to establish an early “gas station” capability in Low Earth Orbit. The mission fielded Orbit Fab’s RAFTI® Service Valve in space for the first time and carried High Test Peroxide (HTP), creating a foundational depot platform that validating the core hardware and depot concept needed for future satellites refueling and fuel logistics.
- Launch Date: June 30, 2021
- Status: Launched successfully, and currently on-orbit
- Objective: Demonstrate an on-orbit propellant depot and validate RAFTI® hardware in space
- Customer: Orbit Fab (internal mission)
- Mission Partner: SpaceX Transporter-2 rideshare
- Technology: RAFTI® Service Valve, HTP propellant depot platform
Podracer Mission
Podracer is Orbit Fab’s on-orbit demonstration mission designed to prove rendezvous and proximity operations and validate refueling-adjacent capabilities using RAFTI®-enabled hardware. Podracer launched on the Momentus Vigoride-7 aboard Transporter-16.
The spacecraft is flying Orbit Fab’s Infrared Imaging Suite to demonstrate low-cost advanced RPO capabilities , and is structured to enable cooperative operations with partner spacecraft equipped with RAFTI® and fiducials.
The spacecraft is flying Orbit Fab’s Infrared Imaging Suite to demonstrate low-cost advanced RPO capabilities , and is structured to enable cooperative operations with partner spacecraft equipped with RAFTI® and fiducials.
- Launch Date: March 2026
- Status: On orbit
- Objective: Demonstration RPO and a cooperative operations framework that supports future refueling missions
- Customer: U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
- Mission Partner: Momentus
- Technology: RAFTI®, , RPO capability, fiducials for cooperative operations
Previous Missions
Podracer Mission
Podracer is Orbit Fab’s on-orbit demonstration mission designed to prove rendezvous and proximity operations and validate refueling-adjacent capabilities using RAFTI®-enabled hardware. Podracer launched on the Momentus Vigoride-7 aboard Transporter-16.
The spacecraft is flying Orbit Fab’s Infrared Imaging Suite to demonstrate low-cost advanced RPO capabilities , and is structured to enable cooperative operations with partner spacecraft equipped with RAFTI® and fiducials.
The spacecraft is flying Orbit Fab’s Infrared Imaging Suite to demonstrate low-cost advanced RPO capabilities , and is structured to enable cooperative operations with partner spacecraft equipped with RAFTI® and fiducials.
- Launch Date: March 2026
- Status: On orbit
- Objective: Demonstration RPO and a cooperative operations framework that supports future refueling missions
- Customer: U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
- Mission Partner: Momentus
- Technology: RAFTI®, , RPO capability, fiducials for cooperative operations
Furphy Mission
Furphy was Orbit Fab’s first on-orbit refueling demonstration, taking place onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019, to prove fluid transfer and tank behavior in microgravity using flight hardware. Working with NASA, and partnering with the ISS National Laboratory, this mission demonstrated liquid transfer using Orbit Fab’s FlexTank™ in space and was the first time a private company supplied water to the ISS.
- Launch Date: December 4, 2018
- Status: Mission completed successfully on May 19, 2019
- Objective: Resupply water to the International Space Station
- Customer: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Mission Partner: International Space Station National Laboratory
- Technology: Orbit Fab’s FlexTank™, featuring 1 rigid and 1 flexible tanker test beds testing fluid transfer in-orbit
Missions in
the News
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Technical Publications
Large-Scale Economically Viable Debris Removal Enabled by Refueling
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Operational Flexibility and Asset Retasking Enabled by In-Space Refueling
Refueling offers more than just mission life extension. By freeing missions from the constraints of…
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A Ubiquitous Propellant Supply Chain for Enhancement of LEO to GEO Transfer Services
Geostationary orbit has long been a struggle for spacecraft to reach, but with efficient supply…
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IMPACT
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