SpaceWERX Orbital Prime Contract Awarded to ThinkOrbital
SpaceWERX has awarded an Orbital Prime contract to ThinkOrbital for an STTR Phase I in the amount of $250,000. Under the Orbital Prime contract, ThinkOrbital will investigate how it’s Orbital Platform Unified System for On-Orbit Service and Assembly (OPUS-OSA) can enable In-space Service Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities being explored by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) through the Orbital Prime program.
“Our platform can be a great fit for SpaceWERX’s ISAM goals, as you need an orbital spaceport with large volume to be able to store and process space debris, satellite servicing, manufacturing and other outcomes.”
Sebastian Asprella, Co-Founder and CEO of ThinkOrbital.
Orbital Prime was created to accelerate the commercial ISAM market toward a use case of Active Debris Remediation. The Air Force Research Laboratory and SpaceWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through a faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and losing bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering ‘The Open Topic’ SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now on September 1, 2022, ThinkOrbital will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.
Orbital Prime Contract based on Company's ThinkPlatform design
“Our OPUS-OSA proposal is based on ThinkOrbital’s core ThinkPlatform design, which relies on mature space technologies, such as autonomous robotic arm assembly and electron beam welding to deliver a large volume orbital space platform,” said Jim MacConnell, Chief Technology Officer at ThinkOrbital. “We’re exploring the possibility of delivering a platform with 4000m3 of internal volume in a single-launch configuration. That is four times the volume of the International Space Station in a single launch, thanks to developments in super heavy launch and autonomous on-orbit assembly capabilities.”
“Our platform can be a great fit for SpaceWERX’s ISAM goals, as you need an orbital spaceport with large volume to be able to store and process space debris, satellite servicing, manufacturing and other outcomes,” said Sebastian Asprella, Co-Founder and CEO of ThinkOrbital. “Our OPUS-OSA effort is our second win under the Orbital Prime program, as we are also part of a Phase 1 Active Debris Remediation effort led by Kall Morris Incorporated (KMI). Such programs led by AFRL and SpaceWERX are critical to accelerate and leverage public private partnerships and develop emerging ISAM technologies.”
The OPUS-OSA platform is a collaboration between ThinkOrbital, Redwire Space and Thunderbird Global School of Management (part of Arizona State University) as industry and academic partners that will support in achieving milestones for Phase One of Orbital Prime space program.
(Source: ThinkOrbital news release. Images provided)