A render of Starfish’s Space Otter vehicle.
Credit: Starfish Space
Just a few months after its latest round of tests, Starfish Space has announced a $50+ million contract with the US government. The mission: to provide deorbiting services for satellites operated by the US Space Force.
This will be the first time the Washington-based company has demonstrated a real-world use case for its Otter spacecraft, which basically exists to do things to other spacecraft. At only 660 pounds, Otter is about the size of an oven and consists mainly of thrusters, solar panels, and grabbers for attaching to other satellites.
The contract appears to be to deorbit at least one satellite for Space Force’s Proliferated Warfighter Architecture (PWSA) program, which aims to diversify the US military’s orbital technology by using more smaller, cheaper satellites. This is supposed to offer greater resilience against attacks, but it also creates more satellites that need tracking and servicing.
Object tagged as ‘WT1190F’ reenters Earth’s atmosphere in 2015.
Credit: IAC/UAE/NASA/ESA
With this contract, Starfish hopes to turn that service into a business. The goal is to complete the mission within 2027, which seems optimistic—though, arguably, no more so than the company’s prior timelines.
The real magic lies not in the Otter’s physical features but in its control software. Two programs, called Cetacean and Cephalopod (in keeping with Starfish’s nautical theme), should allow safe, low-impact rendezvous in orbit.
Starfish previously demonstrated the Otter Pup vehicle, which, predictably, is a smaller version of the Otter. The Otter itself has yet to undergo its first launch, though its control software is probably the element most in need of testing.
In principle, the Otter’s only real advantage over prior “space tugs” or “orbital transfer vehicles” (OTVs) is its size, weight, and price. Prior OTVs were able to do most of what the Otter hopes to do, but they’re more expensive to build, harder to launch, and potentially less compatible with small craft. It can also link up with some craft not specifically designed for it, which will help their salability, in the future.
Credit: Starfish Space
The Otter Pup 2 launched last year, and its exploits have yet to be released. That mission hoped to conduct the first-ever commercial docking operation in low Earth orbit and fully validate the company’s control software. We can assume that any preliminary performance data has been positive, however, given this new contract.
Overall, Starfish has kept to its aggressive timelines in ways that many commercial space companies have not. It’s one of the most impressive of the current glut of new runners, and if it can deliver a successful deorbiting mission by 2027, it will cement its place as one of the most exciting non-SpaceX contractors out there.