The satellite maintenance market is finally reaching a new level thanks to the reduction in the cost of technology and the example of Northrop Grumman, which was the first to prove, that the repair and life extension of satellites in space is possible.
As Luis Vidal of Starfish Space explains, previously, commercial customers were not willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for repairs, because for such money it was cheaper to launch a new satellite.
The situation has changed thanks to new autonomous devices with robotic systems, which are capable of docking, refueling and repairs are much cheaper.
Northrop Grumman has already extended the life of two Intelsat satellites and plans to launch an even more advanced Mission Robotic Vehicle in 2026 year.
The demand for the services of the Japanese company Astroscale is also growing, which receives international inspection contracts, garbage removal and refueling of devices.
Other companies are also actively entering the market: Starfish Space collected $29 million to create cheap service devices, and Sidus Space is developing multifunctional refueling satellites with multiple sensors to reduce the cost of missions.
So, thanks to the cheapening of technology and the growing interest of governments and businesses, servicing of satellites is becoming a new promising area of the space industry.
Source: https://spacenews.com