Space infrastructure startup Orbit Fab plans to build a gas station for spaceships in geostationary orbit (a circular orbit located at an altitude of 35,786 km above the Earth’s equator (0 latitudes).
According to SpaceNews, the company announced this week that by 2025 they will offer refueling satellite services in geostationary orbit.
Thus, this innovation will allow satellites and spacecraft to spend more time in space, which will, on the one hand, increase their shelf life and, on the other hand, reduce the amount of space debris in orbit.
How much will it cost to refuel the satellite? 100 kg. Hydrazine, the fuel used by geostationary satellites, will cost about $20 million.
To provide satellites with fuel, the company plans to send a fuel depot into orbit, which will be on the “service line”, that is, at an altitude of 300 kilometers above the geostationary orbit.
These stations will allow spacecraft to stop and refuel. According to SpaceNews, Orbit Fab’s individual spacecraft will also be able to deliver fuel to satellites — if they’re equipped with the company’s Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI), which many satellites don’t yet have.
Jeremy Sheel, the co-founder of the company, says that space storage is actually ready. The company is now working on a refueling rocket that will deliver fuel into orbit.
Eventually, the company plans to extend its services to sub-geostationary orbits.
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