Space Technology Special Report - Version B. July 2023 - 7

7. SLINGSHOT AEROSPACE
9. STARFISH SPACE
Year Founded: 2017
Location: El Segundo, CA
CEO: Melanie Stricklan
S
lingshot Aero space builds
space sim ulation, data,
and ducts that help worldwide
commercial, civil, and
defense organizations make
space operations safer to
accelerate space sustainability.
The company synthe
sizes data from multiple
trusted sources, including the newly acquired Global Sensor
Network and the Seradata SpaceTrak database, to bring the
space domain into the digital environment. Slingshot Beacon
de-risks conjunctions and saves operators time with the
industry's first two-sided communication and collaboration
platform. With these insights, Slingshot Aerospace customers
are empowered to confidently make decisions and
achieve clarity in the complexity of the space domain. Its
decision intelligence technologies bring together heavy data
streams from different sources, such as satellites, groundbased
sensors, and more to create decisive context for organizations.
For
more information visit www.slingshotaerospace.com.
8. ROGUE SPACE SYSTEMS CORPORATION
Year Founded: 2020
Location: Laconia, NH
CEO: Jeromy Grimmett
A
n in-space services and manufacturing
startup designs
satellite vehicles and subsystems
to provide on-orbit services to
satellite operators. The team is
building a fleet of Orbital Robots
(Orbots™) that will perform a variety
of services for orbital assets in LEO,
MEO, and GEO including inspection,
maintenance, repair, transport, and
more. Rogue's Orbot™ fleet is supported by AI-Enabled Sensory
Observation Platform (AESOP), which positions the Orbots near
the target satellite automatically and automatically takes decisions
to make sure the target satellite can be serviced safely. Collision
prevention and proximity tracking are key features of AESOP where
all sensors on the spacecraft are aggregated into a decision matrix
that ensures safe operations in space. The company has successfully
delivered its first payload to satellite bus partner EnduroSat and
also successfully completed preliminary design reviews for two of
its Orbots™ spacecraft.
For more information visit www.rogue.space.
SPACE TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT
Year Founded: 2019
Location: Seattle, WA
CEO: Austin Link
S
tarfish is building an ondemand
fleet of versatile
space tugs prepared to service
on-orbit satellites. Its servicing
vehicles can hook up with bigger
satellites for either extending
life or removing debris. The
space tug tech could eventually
be used as autonomous in-orbit
robots for a whole range of purposes including mining, manufacturing,
and recycling in space. Starfish is building a fleet of vehicles
called Otters, which will be able to dock with any satellite for onorbit
servicing in conjunction with the Nautilus capture mechanism
that attaches to satellites for docking and manipulation.
CEPHALOPOD, autonomous RPOD software providing guidance,
navigation, and control capability can give small servicing vehicles
eight times more maneuvering capability. In 2021, Starfish won a
$1.7 million Phase II SBIR contract from the U.S. Space Force for the
continued development of the Cephalopod software and closed a
$14 million Series A in March 2023 to speed up development of the
first commercial Otter vehicles.
For more information visit www.starfishspace.com.
10. VESTIGO AEROSPACE
Year Founded: 2019
Location: La Canada Flintridge, CA
CEO: David Spencer
V
estigo advances sustainability
of the or bital environment
by providing deorbit capability
for CubeSats, small satellites,
and launch vehicle upper stages.
Vestigo's dragsails are designed
to enable the timely deorbit of
space vehicles. Dragsails are thinmembrane
deployable structures
that greatly increase the frontal
area of the system, so that aerodynamic drag can accelerate
orbital decay. The " Spinnaker " product line utilizes standard
mechanical and electrical interfaces to the host satellite, allowing
straightforward integration. The dragsails can be deployed
on command or via a backup timer, providing reliable deorbit
capability even if the host vehicle is inoperative. Spinnaker
dragsails are sized to enable the host vehicle to meet regulatory
guidelines for deorbit duration. Currently, the U.S. Federal
Communications Commission mandates deorbit from LEO within
25 years of end-of-mission.
For more information visit www.vestigoaerospace.com.
JULY 2023 7
http://www.slingshotaerospace.com http://www.starfishspace.com http://www.rogue.space http://www.vestigoaerospace.com
Space Technology Special Report - Version B. July 2023

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