Starfish Space

We’re celebrating five years of Starfish with a showcase of the technologies we’ve built to enable our Otter satellite servicing missions. Today, we’re highlighting CETACEAN, our relative navigation software. CETACEAN processes on-orbit imagery data to determine the positioning of a client satellite as Otter approaches it for rendezvous and docking. CETACEAN runs in real-time onboard Otter, ensuring our missions can be executed autonomously and with precision.

Five years ago, we were working in a public library—today, we're building Otters for NASA, the Space Force, and Intelsat. As we celebrate Starfish Space's 5-year anniversary, we're excited about the technologies we've developed and the upcoming Otter servicing missions they enable. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we showcase each of these technologies and unveil a new one!

Starfish Space has been awarded a mission study contract by the Space Development Agency. We look forward to analyzing how Otter could provide critical satellite disposal missions in support of our national space assets in low-Earth orbit.

Introducing SSPICY: We’re teaming up with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration to lead the agency’s first-ever commercial space debris inspection mission. Beginning in 2027, our SSPICY Otter will conduct close rendezvous and proximity operations with multiple NASA satellites, paving the way for future satellite inspection and disposal missions across low-Earth orbit. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gRdHsNXf

??? Announcing our first commercial Otter mission for Intelsat. We are proud to be providing satellite services to the largest geostationary satellite operator and a pioneering space company. Otter will maximize the value Intelsat’s satellites can deliver to their customers, starting in 2026.

Go behind the scenes with Christian Davenport from The Washington Post as he highlights the story of Otter Pup and Starfish. We couldn’t be more excited to share our journey with the world. ??????

Today we announce the conclusion of the Otter Pup mission. A robust little satellite, it validated Starfish tech, anchored our physics models, and even captured images during a rendezvous. Congratulations to Otter Pup on a well deserved retirement! Throughout this mission we’ve felt grateful to be a part of a dynamic and supportive industry. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported this project, particularly our partners who helped make the mission possible. ? We hope you all enjoy one final image captured by Otter Pup of our Nautilus capture mechanism overlooking Earth. ?? ASI by Rocket Lab, Astro Digital, D-Orbit, Exotrail, Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin Company, Launcher, LeoLabs, Redwire Space, SpaceX

??? The reduction in launch costs and proliferation of satellites have made all kinds of new businesses possible, including Starfish! Our Co-founder Austin Link joined Ben Gilbert at Acquired to discuss the exciting developments in the space industry, and how Starfish is contributing. Listen in!

We are proud to be under contract with the U.S. Space Force to build, launch, and operate one of our Otter satellite servicing vehicles to dock with and maneuver National Security Space assets in Geostationary orbit. This STRATFI award combines $37.5 million in new Space Force funding with venture capital investment, for a total value of $67.5 million. Thank you to our partners at Space Systems Command (SSC) Assured Access to Space (AATS), Space Safari, SSC Commercial Space Office (COMSO), USSPACECOM, SpaceWERX and AFWERX.

????? Otter Pup News! We have successfully completed an on-orbit rendezvous between Otter Pup and a D-Orbit ION spacecraft. On Friday, April 19th, Otter Pup pointed its cameras and captured images of ION within close proximity. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gparaB86