Orbit Fab is an American aerospace company founded in 2018 that specializes in developing in-space refueling systems and infrastructure to enable the long-term sustainability of satellites and space operations. Headquartered in Lafayette, Colorado with additional offices in the UK, Orbit Fab was co-founded by CEO Daniel Faber and Chief Development Officer Jeremy Schiel.
The company’s core technology is the Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI), an industry standard refueling port that can be integrated onto satellites to allow refueling directly on orbit. RAFTI helps extend satellite lifetimes, reduce space debris, and provide more flexibility for satellite operators. Orbit Fab has also developed propellant tankers and plans to deploy a network of orbital propellant depots to store and dispense fuel.
Orbit Fab provides and plans to provide the following types of fuel for satellite refueling:
- Hydrazine (N2H4) – This is currently their main fuel offering. They have announced plans to offer hydrazine refueling services for satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) beginning in 2025, priced at $20 million for 100kg. They will demonstrate refueling a US Space Force satellite with 50kg of hydrazine in 2025.
- High-test peroxide (H2O2) – The RAFTI refueling interface they have developed supports high-test peroxide.
- Other storable propellants like xenon (Xe), propene, ethane with N2O, krypton (Kr) – RAFTI supports these propellants.
- Water (H2O) – Orbit Fab has demonstrated water transfer in microgravity as a test, delivering water to the ISS.
Hydrazine refueling services is their current core offering and planned business in the near future. But RAFTI is compatible with various storable propellants and they plan to expand offerings over time.
The company has longer term plans to produce propellants in space from asteroid/lunar mined materials. This would allow more sustainable, greener propellants. They have a partnership with iSpace toward this goal.
To date, Orbit Fab’s RAFTI technology has been adopted by over 100 commercial satellites and 4 US government missions. The company has signed contracts to provide the first commercial and government on-orbit satellite refueling services, including a recent $13.3 million deal with the US Space Force. Key customers and partners include Astroscale, ClearSpace, the US Air Force, and the UK Space Agency.
Orbit Fab has raised over $40 million in funding from investors such as Lockheed Martin Ventures, Northrop Grumman, 8090 Industries, and Techstars Ventures. The latest funding was a $28.5 million Series A round closed in April 2023. As of 2023, Orbit Fab employed 72 people and continues working to realize its vision of establishing a thriving, sustainable space economy enabled by its “Gas Stations in Space.”