Tag: Starfish Space
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Three Pacific Northwest space companies win awards from Space Force venture fund
An artist’s conception shows Gravitics’ space module in orbit. (Gravitics Illustration) SpaceWERX, which essentially serves as a venture fund for the U.S. Space Force, has awarded contracts worth as much as $1.7 million each to 18 companies — including three startups headquartered in the Seattle area. The Washington state awardees are Marysville-based Gravitics, which is…
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Starfish Space scrubs plan for a satellite rendezvous after thruster suffers anomaly
An artist’s conception shows Starfish Space’s Otter Pup spacecraft in orbit. (Starfish Space Illustration) Five months after a tilt-a-whirl spin spoiled the debut of Starfish Space’s first spacecraft, the Tukwila, Wash.- based startup has halted efforts to put its Otter Pup back on track to demonstrate an on-orbit satellite rendezvous. Starfish had to abandon its…
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Starfish Space wins NASA contract to plan demonstration of orbital debris inspection
An artist’s conception shows the Otter inspection spacecraft silhouetted against Earth as it closes in on a target satellite. (Starfish Space Illustration) Even as Starfish Space works to get its first orbital demonstration mission back on track, the Tukwila, Wash.-based startup has won a contract from NASA to look into an even more ambitious project…
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Spin control: Starfish Space makes use of magnetism to stop satellite’s death spiral
An artist’s conception shows Starfish Space’s Otter Pup satellite docking craft. (Starfish Space Illustration) Two and a half months after Starfish Space’s first orbital mission teetered on the edge of failure because its Otter Pup satellite docking system took a wild tumble, the Kent, Wash.-based startup says that it has stopped the spin and is…
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Starfish Space wins $1.8M to keep working on satellite guidance system for Air Force
A stylized illustration shows one satellite closing in to rendezvous with another satellite, with the aid of Starfish Space’s Cephalopod guidance software. (Starfish Space Illustration) Kent, Wash.-based Starfish Space says it’s been awarded $1.8 million by AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force, to support continued development of the company’s Cephalopod…
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Spinning spacecraft adds unwelcome twist to Starfish Space’s docking test mission
In this clean-room photo, Starfish Space’s Otter Pup docking spacecraft is attached to the top of Launcher’s Orbiter SN3 space tug. (Launcher / Starfish Space Photo) Starfish Space’s ambitious mission to test its on-orbit satellite docking system has taken an unfortunate turn — or, more precisely, an unfortunate spin. The Kent, Wash.-based startup’s Otter Pup…
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SpaceX launch gives a big sendoff to Starfish Space’s satellite docking craft
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from California, sending 72 payloads into space. (SpaceX via YouTube) A well-traveled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket today launched dozens of satellites, including an experimental docking craft created by a Seattle-area startup called Starfish Space. Starfish Space’s Otter Pup spacecraft was one of 72 payloads that were deployed into…
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NASA awards millions to boost technology innovations created by small businesses
One grant would support the development of a lunar power distribution system. (NASA Illustration) NASA’s latest round of small-business grants will support aerospace-related technologies ranging from a new kind of spacecraft docking mechanism to a power beaming system suitable for use on the moon. Those are just two of the projects receiving Phase I grants…
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Starfish Space raises $14M to advance development of satellite servicing vehicles
An artist’s conception shows an Otter servicing vehicle docked to a larger satellite. (Starfish Space Illustration) Starfish Space, a Seattle-area startup founded by two veterans of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, has raised $14 million in funding to support its plans to develop spacecraft capable of hooking up with bigger satellites to boost their…
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Moondust buster? NASA funds far-out research projects, including four in Washington state
An artist’s conception shows astronauts at work on the moon. (NASA Illustration) How do you keep moondust from gumming up the works in NASA’s future spacesuits and spacecraft? That’s one of the issues addressed in the latest batch of projects backed by NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program. “NASA is working on ambitious, groundbreaking missions…