--- title: "Startup Launches Refueling Station Into Orbit, Gets $10 Million in Funding" description: "In June, San Francisco-based startup Orbit Fab sent a prototype gas station to space, which is meant to give old satellites a new lease on life." date: "2021-09-14" modified: "2021-09-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/startup-launched-refueling-station-orbit" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "fuel station" - "northrop grumman" - "satellite servicing" --- # Startup Launches Refueling Station Into Orbit, Gets $10 Million in Funding ![In June, San Francisco-based startup Orbit Fab sent a prototype gas station to space, which is meant to give old satellites a new lease on life.]() *\Image: Orbit Fab\* In June, San Francisco-based startup Orbit Fab [launched a prototype refueling station into Earth's orbit]() — but rather than allowing astronauts to venture into deep space, this system is meant to give old satellites a new lease on life. That's a compelling idea, and now the company has locked down $10 million in funding to further it. Our planet's orbit is getting cluttered with old and new satellites, increasing the risks of a [collision]() and adding to an [existing space junk problem](). Orbit Fab's Tenzing Tanker-001, an early prototype satellite fuel tanker, [launched]() into orbit as part of SpaceX's Transporter-2 rideshare mission on June 30. The small assembly is designed to [test key elements]() of the company's rendezvous and docking system, and to ensure that it can adjust its own orbit. The microwave-sized machine is now in a Sun-synchronous orbit, which is where most imaging and weather satellites circle the Earth. "We’re building the world’s first operational satellite fuel depot," Orbit Fab CEO Daniel Faber [told *SpaceNews*]() last year. "This helps us solve the chicken and egg problem. No one is buying fuel in orbit because no one is selling it. We built an egg." The tanker is an early tech demo meant to prove flight worthiness, but isn't designed to actually refuel satellites just yet. "We are putting inventory into orbit as a demonstration and a signal of our commitment to take different fuels to different orbits," Faber added. Tenzing Tanker-001 was sent up with Orbit Fab's Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI), a docking system allowing the tanker to meet up with satellites and refuel them. The idea of refueling satellites while in orbit isn't that far-fetched — though in spite of some progress, actual refueling has yet to be demonstrated. The news comes after Northrop Grumman's "Mission Extension Vehicle-1" (MEV-1) [docked with a 18 year old communications satellite]() in February 2020 — the first time a commercial spacecraft has docked to an orbiting satellite. Six months later, MEV-2, the spacecraft's successor, [launched]() atop an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center. In fact, Northrop Grumman seems to have been impressed by Orbit Fab's technology demonstration. Last week, [the startup announced]() a $10 million round of funding from both Northrop Grumman and aerospace corporation Lockheed Martin. There's real momentum in companies trying to come up with ways to service and upgrade existing satellites in space. After all, servicing constellations could end up being a lot cheaper than launching satellites from Earth. And upgrading them could mean we'd end up with fewer pieces of space junk cluttering Earth's orbit. **READ MORE:** [There's now a gas station in space]() \[*Universe Today*\] **More on refueling satellites:** *[Northrop Grumman Launches Second Satellite Rescue Mission]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()