Orbit Fab

Supply chain relationships

• Astroscale

  Outbound - In Space Services - Astroscale signed a take-or-pay purchase for Orbit Fab xenon refueling service

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• 2026-07-07 - Interim financing - >$25M - Orbit Fab secures more than $25 million in interim financing

  Orbit Fab secured more than $25 million in interim financing led by Stride Capital to support customer programs, operations and commercial deployment. - source: orbitfab.com

• 2023-04-17 - Series A - $28.5M - Orbit Fab closes $28.5 million Series A

  Orbit Fab closed a $28.5 million Series A led by 8090 Industries to accelerate fuel sales and deployment of in-space fuel delivery and storage infrastructure. - source: orbitfab.com

• 2021-09-07 - Financing - >$10M - Orbit Fab closes financing above $10 million

  Orbit Fab closed more than $10 million in financing led by Asymmetry Ventures, bringing total funding disclosed by the company to $17 million. - source: orbitfab.com

• Lockheed Martin Ventures - Participant - Corporate / CVC - 2 funding events - repeat backer - strategic/corporate - first seen 2021-09-07 - latest 2023-04-17
• Stride Capital - Lead - VC - 2 funding events - repeat backer - first seen 2023-04-17 - latest 2026-07-07
• 8090 Industries - Lead - Unknown - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-17
• Asymmetry Ventures - Lead - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2021-09-07
• Audacious Venture Partners - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2021-09-07
• Good Growth Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-17
• Industrious Ventures - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-17
• Marubeni Ventures - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2021-09-07
• Massive Capital Partners - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-17
• Northrop Grumman - Participant - Corporate / CVC - 1 funding event - strategic/corporate - first seen 2021-09-07
• SpaceFund - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2021-09-07
• Tribe Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-17

Events

• 2026-07-07 - Executive Hire - Orbit Fab appoints Peter Shaper chief executive officer

  Peter Shaper joined as chief executive officer with experience scaling private-equity-backed companies. Retired U.S. Air Force Major General Roger Teague also joined the board. The leadership changes accompanied interim financing and expansion of customer programs.

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• 2026-07-07 - Funding - Orbit Fab secures more than $25 million in interim financing

  Stride Capital led the interim financing, which closed above $25 million. The capital strengthens the balance sheet for customer programs and operational expansion. A Series B round opened separately; the interim financing was already secured.

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• 2026-05-26 - Partnership - Orbit Fab and Thales Alenia Space launch REEF demonstrator project

  REEF combines Orbit Fab fluid interfaces with Thales Alenia Space propulsion-system expertise. The ground flatsat will validate interfaces, operating procedures and refueling architecture using xenon and krypton. The partners planned full breadboard testing by early 2027.

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• 2026-04-13 - Product Launch - Orbit Fab unveils RAVEN shuttle and NEST fuel depot

  RAVEN is designed to carry 150 to 200 kilograms of propellant and dock with RAFTI-equipped spacecraft. NEST is designed as an orbital depot that stores propellant and resupplies RAVEN for follow-on missions. First launches of the two vehicle types are planned for 2030.

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• 2026-03-05 - Partnership - Orbit Fab and Airbus study RAFTI integration for GEO satellites

  The work is part of the ESA ARTES RADICAL project funded by the UK Space Agency. Orbit Fab and Airbus are assessing platform, mission-operations and systems-engineering changes needed for refueling. The study targets longer-lived and more maneuverable commercial and defence communications satellites.

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• 2026-02-16 - Partnership - NASA selects Orbit Fab for Lunar Gateway fluid-transfer work

  Orbit Fab is working with NASA on a coolant coupling for Gateway's thermal-control architecture. The work addresses reliable fluid transfer in the lunar-orbit environment. The project extends Orbit Fab's interface experience beyond propellant refueling into maintainable spacecraft infrastructure.

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• 2025-11-21 - Contract Award - ESA awards Orbit Fab first ASTRAL refueling contract

  The first ASTRAL stage is a GBP 1.3 million contract awarded through ESA's ARTES program. Orbit Fab leads a European consortium planning an in-orbit docking and xenon-transfer experiment by 2028. The mission will validate RAFTI and GRASP interfaces across docking, fluid transfer and safe-release operations.

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• 2025-07-16 - Contract Award - Orbit Fab wins EUR 750,000 ESA RADICAL refueling award

  The RADICAL project will develop refueling services for geostationary communications satellites. Orbit Fab will work with satellite manufacturers and operators to adapt mission operations and platform designs. The company also unveiled the Shilling mission to test a high-pressure RAFTI variant in orbit.

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• 2024-08-05 - Regulatory - U.S. Space Force accepts RAFTI for military satellite refueling

  Space Systems Command's System Engineering Review Board recommended RAFTI after technical assessments. The designation covers use as an interface for in-space fueling of U.S. military satellites. Tetra-5 spacecraft were among the first government missions planned to use the port.

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• 2024-07-02 - Demonstration - Orbit Fab completes GRIP docking and refueling simulations at AFRL

  A fuel-shuttle testbed approached, docked with and separated from a RAFTI-equipped satellite model across multiple angles and velocities. Government representatives observed testing at AFRL facilities at Kirtland Air Force Base. GRIP exceeded test requirements, and initial hardware shipped to mission partners after the campaign.

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• 2024-03-19 - Capability - Orbit Fab flight-qualifies RAFTI refueling port

  RAFTI completed thermal, vibration and repeated fueling-cycle qualification tests. Customer shipments were underway after the qualification campaign. The RAFTI Ground Coupling extends the same interface to launch-site fueling.

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• 2024-01-17 - Award - VXB Aerospace awarded A$600,000 grant for refuellable satellite propulsion

  The grant gives VXB Aerospace the lead role in a A$600,000 Moon to Mars: Supply Chain Capability Improvement project backed by the Australian Space Agency. The programme covers Hall-effect propulsion thrusters, power-processing electronics, propellant management and a propellant storage tank for a sovereign Australian supply chain. VXB is developing refuelling capability with Orbit Fab, while Space Machines Company, Inovor Technologies and Electro Optic Systems are named among the programme partners.

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• 2023-04-17 - Funding - Orbit Fab closes $28.5 million Series A

  8090 Industries led the $28.5 million Series A round. Stride Capital, Industrious Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Tribe Capital and other investors participated. Orbit Fab planned to expand RAFTI production and integration and deploy fuel infrastructure across GEO, LEO and VLEO.

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• 2022-04-07 - Partnership - Orbit Fab and Neutron Star Systems agree green-propellant refueling work

  The agreement links Orbit Fab's refueling architecture with Neutron Star Systems' SUPREME electric thruster. The companies planned joint work on refuellable propulsion using non-toxic propellants. The collaboration targets longer-lived and more sustainable satellite operations.

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• 2022-03-14 - Award - Orbit Fab receives $12 million AFWERX STRATFI award

  The $12 million STRATFI supports integration of RAFTI onto Department of Defense spacecraft. The program scales operations for government and commercial refueling demand. RAFTI had been selected as the primary interface for multiple DoD on-orbit refueling missions.

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• 2022-01-24 - Partnership - Orbit Fab and Phase Four sign in-orbit refueling memorandum

  The companies will evaluate refueling with xenon and the advanced propellant ASCENT. The work pairs Orbit Fab's RAFTI interface with Phase Four's propellant-agnostic RF Thruster architecture. The memorandum is intended to give future Maxwell customers an option to extend mission life through on-orbit refueling.

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• 2022-01-11 - Commercial Order - Astroscale signs first commercial on-orbit fuel purchase with Orbit Fab

  The agreement covers up to 1,000 kilograms of xenon for Astroscale's LEXI servicer fleet. LEXI was designed to integrate Orbit Fab's RAFTI interface and receive fuel from a GEO shuttle. The signed take-or-pay contract was Orbit Fab's first commercial fuel-sale agreement.

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• 2021-11-16 - Partnership - Orbit Fab and Dawn Aerospace partner on green-propellant refueling

  The companies completed a materials study covering compatibility between Dawn propellants and RAFTI ports. Qualification work on the combined interface and propellants was in progress. RAFTI fueling ports were planned as an option for Dawn propulsion customers from mid-2022.

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• 2021-10-04 - Product Launch - Orbit Fab releases RAFTI refueling interface under open license

  The open license defines the mechanical, electrical and functional specifications for RAFTI. A certified-partner program covers manufacture of the service valve and ground coupling. The RAFTI service valve had already been demonstrated on Tanker-001 Tenzing in low Earth orbit.

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• 2021-10-01 - Partnership - Orbit Fab and AFRL sign on-orbit refueling research agreement

  The CRADA covers work with AFRL's Space Vehicle Directorate and Spacecraft Technology Division. Orbit Fab agreed to share technical details and make RAFTI and docking-guidance hardware available for review. AFRL would advise on requirements and designs and make facilities available for performance and qualification work.

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• 2021-09-07 - Funding - Orbit Fab closes financing above $10 million

  Asymmetry Ventures led the financing, which closed above $10 million. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin Ventures, SpaceFund and other investors participated. The capital supports adoption and commercialization of on-orbit refueling services.

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• 2019-06-18 - Demonstration - Orbit Fab completes private water-transfer demonstration on the ISS

  The Furphy payload completed water-transfer operations aboard the International Space Station. The work was the first private resupply of water to the station using proprietary refueling equipment. The flight demonstrated propellant-storage and delivery methods intended to support later satellite refueling systems.

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Relationships

• Thales Alenia Space

  Reef Project Partner - Thales Alenia Space and Orbit Fab partnered on the REEF refuellable electric-propulsion demonstrator.

• Airbus Defence and Space

  Radical Study Partner - Airbus Defence and Space and Orbit Fab are assessing RAFTI integration for future GEO satellites.

• VXB Aerospace

  Refuelling Architecture Partner - VXB and Orbit Fab develop refuellable Hall-effect propulsion architecture for future satellite missions.

• Neutron Star Systems

  Propulsion Partner - Neutron Star Systems and Orbit Fab agreed joint green-propellant refueling work.

• European Space Agency

  Program Contracting Authority - ESA awarded Orbit Fab the RADICAL and ASTRAL refueling-development contracts.

• AFWERX

  Stratfi Awarder - AFWERX awarded Orbit Fab a $12 million STRATFI for DoD RAFTI integration and refueling services.

• U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory

  Crada Partner - AFRL entered a CRADA with Orbit Fab to advance and qualify on-orbit refueling technology.

• NASA

  Research And Development Award - Orbit Fab supplies development of a coolant fluid coupling for NASA Lunar Gateway.

• ESA awards Orbit Fab first ASTRAL refueling contract

  2025-11-21 · Order / contract · ESA awarded Orbit Fab a GBP 1.3 million first-stage contract to lead the ASTRAL in-orbit refueling demonstration, within a program carrying up to $3.8 million of UK funding.

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• Orbit Fab wins EUR 750,000 ESA RADICAL refueling award

  2025-07-16 · Order / contract · Orbit Fab received EUR 750,000 through the UK Space Agency and ESA ARTES program for the RADICAL satellite-refueling project.

  Source
• Astroscale signs first commercial on-orbit fuel purchase with Orbit Fab

  2022-01-11 · Order / contract · Astroscale U.S. signed a take-or-pay agreement for Orbit Fab to supply up to 1,000 kilograms of xenon to its LEXI servicing spacecraft in geostationary orbit.

  Source