Filling stations in space – like those on Earth providing petrol, but for satellites. This is the vision of Orbit Fab, a future-focused start-up investigating how to refuel satellites in orbit. There are three main problems. First, fuel is heavy, and satellites are often launched with as little weight as possible, though this compromises their autonomy. As if that wasn’t enough, filling up in space is more difficult because of the low gravity. Finally, measuring the quantity of fluid in a tank is difficult because of the fluctuations.

These are difficult problems requiring practical solutions. For this reason, Orbit Fab has just launched into orbit their first experimental unit. This will dock with the International Space Station and test innovative and completely new solutions, with the goal of lengthening the useful lives of satellites. The experimental system for now will use plain water and just two tanks, one full, one empty. There will be special valves for the fluid transfer and the data collected will enable the researchers to study the fluid dynamics in space.

TAll this energy, research and money has one goal: Orbit Fab aims to become a service firm for emerging and established companies in the new field of space. As it says, the company “foresees a flourishing space market for products and services supporting both existing space activities (communications and Earth observation) and new industries such as space tourism, production and mining”. The goal is to offer “a constant supply of satellite fuel in Earth’s orbit, expand the operational potential of new and existing space resources, and enable unprecedented flexibility in satellite owners’ business model”. These are ambitious words and it is difficult to see how they will be translated into reality. Just hearing them, though, perhaps gives us a glimpse into the future.