{"id":17054,"date":"2026-02-07T22:04:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T14:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/starfish-space-wins-54-5m-space-force-contract-for-another-satellite-servicing-vehicle\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T22:04:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T14:04:46","slug":"starfish-space-wins-54-5m-space-force-contract-for-another-satellite-servicing-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/starfish-space-wins-54-5m-space-force-contract-for-another-satellite-servicing-vehicle\/","title":{"rendered":"Starfish Space wins $54.5M Space Force contract for another satellite servicing vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1260\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260207-starfish2-1260x752.jpg\" alt=\"Otter spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit with Earth in background\" class=\"wp-image-913535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260207-starfish2-1260x752.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260207-starfish2-768x458.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260207-starfish2-1536x916.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260207-starfish2-2048x1222.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">An artist\u2019s conception shows Starfish Space\u2019s Otter spacecraft in geosynchronous Earth orbit. (Starfish Space Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space has been awarded a $54.5 million contract to produce another Otter satellite servicing spacecraft for the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Space Systems Command.<\/p>\n<p>The deal, announced this week, builds on a $37.5 million Space Systems Command contract that was awarded in 2024 through the Department of the Air Force\u2019s Strategic Funding Increase program, or STRATFI. This new contract is funded through a Pentagon program called Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies, or APFIT.<\/p>\n<p>Starfish noted that the award is the only APFIT contract issued to a space company in the current cycle and ranks among the largest in the program\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>Austin Link, co-founder of Starfish Space, said his company was \u201cproud to grow our partnership with the Space Force under the APFIT program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAPFIT is a key program in transitioning platforms like Otter from development to deployed capability,\u201d Link said today in a news release. \u201cThrough dynamic space operations and autonomous augmented maneuver, we enable the Space Force to sustain critical space assets, increase resilience and maintain operational flexibility across evolving mission demands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like the earlier contract, the new one calls on Starfish to provide an Otter spacecraft for dynamic space operations in geosynchronous Earth orbit. Delivery is scheduled for 2028, with an option for two years of operational support.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Starfish Space: Cleaning Up Space &amp; Extending Satellite Life\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xVxMlVdjNLc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Designed for autonomous inspection and docking, the Otter will be capable of servicing satellites even if they weren\u2019t originally built for on-orbit adjustments. Otter would be able to move satellites into higher orbits to extend their lives, or nudge them into lower orbits for safe disposal. Just last month, Starfish secured a separate $52.5 million contract from the Space Force\u2019s Space Development Agency for military satellite disposal.<\/p>\n<p>A prototype called Otter Pup 2 was launched last year and has been undergoing orbital tests. Three full-scale Otters are currently being readied for launch \u2014 one for the Space Systems Command, one for a satellite maneuvering demonstration funded by the SES satellite company, and one for a NASA-funded satellite inspection mission.<\/p>\n<p>Starfish Space was founded in 2019 by Link and Trevor Bennett, both former engineers at Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture. In 2024, Starfish reported raising $29 million in an investment round that enabled the company to complete the development of the first three Otters. At the time, Starfish said its total cumulative funding amounted to about $50 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows Starfish Space\u2019s Otter spacecraft in geosynchronous Earth orbit. (Starfish Space Illustration) Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space has been awarded a $54.5 million contract to produce another Otter satellite servicing spacecraft for the U.S. Space Force\u2019s Space Systems Command. The deal, announced this week, builds on a $37.5 million Space Systems Command contract [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[41,20,442,332,4364,4344],"class_list":["post-17054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-defense","tag-satellite","tag-satellites","tag-space-force","tag-space-servicing","tag-starfish-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17054\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}