TAMPA, Fla. — California startup Turion Space stated Aug. 24 it has secured U.S. regulatory approval to sell area situational consciousness (SSA) providers from its first satellite tv for pc subsequent yr.
SpaceX is slated to fly the enterprise’s Droid.001 satellite tv for pc May 15 on a Falcon 9 rideshare mission, Turion Space CEO Ryan Westerdahl stated in an interview.
The satellite tv for pc will present imagery for Australian in-orbit inspection startup HEO Robotics, its first buyer.
Droid.001’s major mission, nonetheless, is to check imagery capabilities that Westerdahl declined to specify for an SSA enterprise he sees as a stepping stone towards extra direct in-orbit providers.
After deploying three to 4 extra SSA-focused Droids by round mid-2024, he stated the startup plans to check a imaginative and prescient system for autonomous rendezvous operations with one among its spacecraft already in low Earth orbit.
“By 2025, we want to do our first docking and de-orbit demonstration,” he stated.
Westerdahl finally envisions a constellation of Droids that may be tasked to present providers as wanted. When that mission is over, they might return to their “home orbit” to observe objects in area till they’re known as upon once more.
“We’re an early-stage startup and we don’t necessarily know how big our constellation is going to be yet,” he stated.
“All I can tell you with certainty for now is we’re going to build as many as we can, as fast as we can, without spending all our money and without going bankrupt.”
While Lithuania-based NanoAvionics is offering the bus for Droid.001, Westerdahl stated the startup plans to carry extra manufacturing in-house for future satellites.
Turion Space has raised $7.5 million in enterprise capital, which he stated covers its first two satellites.
The startup plans to deploy its second satellite tv for pc within the fourth quarter of 2023, though it has not but chosen a launch supplier.
Earlier this yr, Turion Space secured 4 contracts price a mixed $1 million from the U.S. Space Force’s Orbital Prime program, which can assist the event of its in-orbit logistics capabilities.
Orbital Prime launched final yr to concentrate on rising in-orbit servicing, meeting and manufacturing capabilities.
Westerdahl stated the startup is utilizing funds raised from authorities contracts for analysis and growth on the logistics facet of its enterprise, in addition to discovering methods to develop its SSA capabilities.
Money raised from enterprise capital buyers is supporting an SSA-focused commercial enterprise, which might use early satellites that aren’t going to be targeted on area logistics.
“Although we think in-space logistics is a market primed for takeoff, we are prioritizing moving fast and deploying revenue generating assets early to maximize learning and market traction,” he stated
Turion Space, which employs 17 full time engineers, is one among a rising variety of early-stage firms which can be creating space-based options to enhance SSA.