Starfish Space's Otter Pup 2 prepares to service satellites on-orbit
SEATTLE - Satellites could have a longer life and space become a bit tidier if Starfish Space's Otter Pup 2 mission pans out. Scheduled to launch later this year, it aims demonstrate how a small craft can dock with unprepared satellites for service or disposal, David Szondy writes for New Atlas. Continue reading original article.
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27 May 2025 - "If successful, this mission will further validate our unique approach to satellite servicing: taking complex problems that were traditionally solved with hardware and instead solving them with software," said Trevor Bennett, co-founder at Starfish Space, which is based in Tukwila, Wash. "This allows us to make Otters an order of magnitude smaller than other servicing vehicles, making them faster to build, faster to launch, and finally closing the business case for satellite servicing to scale across the space industry."
A set of key partners throughout the space industry have helped Starfish bring the Otter Pup 2 mission to life. The satellite bus was manufactured and integrated by Astro Digital, and the vehicle is equipped with electric propulsion thrusters from ThrustMe and the Argus camera system from Redwire. Additionally, Honeybee Robotics has contributed components that are part of Starfish’s Nautilus capture mechanism. The mission will launch aboard the Transporter-14 rideshare mission with SpaceX. A D-Orbit ION spacecraft will serve as the client satellite for the mission.
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Jamie Whitney, Senior Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
