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Title: Starfish Space Announces Plans For First Commercial Satellite Docking

Link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/05/20/2...

Starfish Space plans to perform the first commercial satellite docking in
orbit with its Otter Pup 2 mission, aiming to connect to an unprepared D-
Orbit ION spacecraft using an electrostatic capture mechanism and autonomous
navigation software. NASASpaceFlight.com reports: This follows the company's
first attempt, which saw the Otter Pup 1 mission unable to dock with its
target due to a thruster failure. The Otter Pup 2 spacecraft will be deployed
from a quarter plate on the upper stage adapter of the SpaceX Falcon 9
rocket, placing it into a sun synchronous orbit altitude of 510 km inclined
97.4 degrees. The target will be a D-Orbit ION spacecraft which will simulate
a client payload, which is not equipped with a traditional docking adapter or
capture plate as you might see aboard a space station or other rendezvous
target. Instead, Starfish Space's Nautilus capture mechanism will feature a
special end effector connected to the end of the capture mechanism. This end
effector will enable Otter Pup 2 to dock with the ION through electrostatic
adhesion. "An electromagnet will be integrated into the end effector and will
be used as a backup option to the electrostatic end effector, to dock with
the ION through magnetic attraction," the company notes. The goal is to
eventually commission its Otter satellite servicing vehicle to allow for
servicing of previously launched satellites. The company's first Otter
missions include customers such as NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and Intelsat,
with the goal of flying those missions as soon as 2026. [...] Following the
thruster issues on the first mission, this flight will feature two ThrustMe
thrusters, which use an electric propulsion system based on gridded ion
thruster technology.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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