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+--- Thread: Article The U.S. is building a fuel depot in space (/thread-17777.html)
The U.S. is building a fuel depot in space - C C - Apr 12, 2025
https://mashable.com/article/fuel-depot-space-earth-orbit-astroscale
INTRO: Some 22,500 miles above Earth, a spacecraft filled with thruster fuel will gas up two orbiting Space Force assets.
The high-altitude endeavor, undertaken by the orbital servicing enterprise Astroscale U.S., is slated to occur in the summer of 2026, the company announced this week. This Department of Defense-funded mission will see Astroscale's 660-pound craft refuel a satellite with the propellant hydrazine, then maneuver to a fueling depot to fill up with more fuel, and then refuel another asset. (All the involved assets haven't yet been revealed by the Space Force.)
It will be the first time a Space Force craft is refueled in orbit. Such a fuel shuttle could keep missions in space longer and eliminate the need for any craft to suspend its mission to retrieve thruster propellant. It's a novel type of full-service gas station.
"This changes fundamentally how we do things in space," Ian Thomas, Astroscale U.S.' Refueler Program Manager, told Mashable.
After launching, the refueled craft will travel to a region called geostationary orbit, which is a unique place around Earth where spacecraft orbit at same rate Earth is rotating — meaning they stay locked in the same position relative to our planet. There, Astroscale's craft will carefully approach its first Space Force satellite target, called Tetra-5, and transfer fuel. The refueler will then thrust away and inspect the scene with a specialized camera to ensure no valuable fuel is leaking. Then, the refueler will fly to a nearby fuel depot, or gas station, and attach and pull fuel from the depot before traveling to its second refueling target... (MORE - details)