Orbit Fab Announces Hydrazine Refueling Service on Orbit
Starting in 2025 Orbit Fab will deliver hydrazine to satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The company offers a fuel delivery price of $20 million for up to 100 kilogram delivery.
[Denver, 30 August 2022] Orbit Fab, the developer of the RAFTI™ refueling port, announced the availability of the first on-orbit Hydrazine refueling service. Starting in 2025 Orbit Fab will deliver Hydrazine to satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The company offers a fuel delivery price of $20 million for up to 100 kilogram delivery.
Orbit Fab is dedicated to building the in-space economy by operating a network of fuel depots and fuel shuttles in orbit. Customers can refuel via self-service or full-service at an Orbit Fab depot; but they can also stay in their orbit and receive fuel delivery services via an Orbit Fab fuel shuttle. With Full-Service and Delivery, Orbit Fab handles the Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) needed for refueling. Satellites are made refuelable by simply adding a RAFTI refueling port in place of the traditional fill and drain valve.
The RAFTI refueling port was designed for both ground operations and refueling on-orbit. It is available in several variants, for different fuels and different pressures. They can all be purchased from Orbit Fab this year and will be widely available in the future by way of the RAFTI Open License.
Jeremy Schiel, Orbit Fab’s CDO, commented, “Orbit Fab is making Hydrazine available for delivery in geosynchronous orbit. We are announcing this capability today because there is an existing demand for Hydrazine fuel. This is an important first step in building a strong in-space economy. Companies can now architect their GEO missions knowing the availability and the price of fuel.”
In June 2021, Orbit Fab launched the first orbital fuel depot, Tanker-001 Tenzing, containing the RAFTI refueling port and High Test Peroxide (HTP) fuel. HTP is a non-toxic “green” propellant along with fuels such as ASCENT and propene.
James Bultitude, Orbit Fab’s CTO, commented “Our technology roadmap includes traditional chemical propellants like Hydrazine, Electric Propulsion fuels like Xenon and Krypton, and “green” propellants like HTP.”
Orbit Fab is working towards a future where satellites are no longer restricted to the fuel they are launched with. The company will deliver fuel where and when it is needed, to enable business models never before thought possible. In the past, satellite operators had to trade operational capabilities for longer lifetimes. Refueling enables satellites to replace those larger fuel tanks with extra capability. Stationary commercial satellites can now generate more revenue, while satellite servicers can maneuver freely.
