IN 2027 2018, the US Space Force plans to launch several vehicles into geostationary orbit. They will test refueling satellites, and the service ship's ability to dock with other objects and control their movement.
As part of the USSF-23 mission, the Space Force will use three vehicles: fuel dispenser from Astroscale U.S., the Orbit Fab development orbital refueling station and Starfish Space's servicing "space tug".. This technique will demonstrate the capabilities of orbital maintenance, mobility and logistics - technologies, which the military leadership considers critical for the Space Force.
One of these demonstrations will be the first commercial in-orbit refueling of a US Space Force asset. Astroscale's spacecraft, called the Provisioner, is an approximately 300-kilogram vehicle, equipped with a refillable hydrazine tank, designed to transfer fuel to satellites in orbit. The Provisioner first interfaces with the AFRL client, one of the Tetra-5 devices, which are being developed under a separate program of the Air Force Research Laboratory - and will refuel it. After that, it will refuel from the Orbit Fab depot, hosted on the Impulse Space platform, and docks again with another Tetra-5 for refueling.
USSF-23 will also conduct a separate experiment with Starfish Space's Otter service vehicle, a small autonomous spacecraft, intended for docking and maneuvering satellites in orbit. The Otter device must dock with an "unprepared" satellite, the design of which did not involve maintenance at all. The space force wants to use the device to test that, what officials call "enhanced maneuvering" -- effectively adding thrust and mobility to the satellites, which may have limited fuel reserves or maneuverability of their own. This operational mission, the launch of which is expected in 2028 year, will include multi-satellite enhanced maneuver operations.
At the same time, the Space Force intends to use commercial maintenance systems, such as the Robotic Service Spacecraft (Mission Robotic Vehicle), created by Northrop Grumman in partnership with DARPA. The device is designed for docking and extending the service life of satellites in geostationary orbit using robotic manipulators, developed by the US Naval Research Laboratory.
Source: https://spacenews.com