Orbital Composites awarded U.S. SpaceForce SpaceWERX Orbital Prime Contract
Illustration: Visualization of >130 million pieces of Orbital Debris (image credit: European Space Agency)
Orbital Composites has been awarded a Phase 1 STTR under the SpaceWERX Orbital Prime Program
San Jose, CA, October 3, 2022 – Orbital Composites (OC), together with its partner Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), announced it has been awarded a STTR Phase I contract by SpaceWERX. The goal of the project is to explore In-space Service, Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities being explored by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and United States Space Force (USSF).
The SpaceWERX Orbital Prime program is looking for technologies that can help remediate orbital debris, so that the space industry can continue to thrive sustainably. According to NASA estimates, there are >100 million pieces of debris orbiting the earth, of which only ~27k is trackable by Department of Defense’s global Space Surveillance Network (SSN) sensors. The millimeter-sized orbital debris is too small to track but represents the highest mission-ending risk to most robotic spacecraft operating in low Earth orbit. Solutions are needed to address all types of debris, small and large.
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 timeline, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and reducing 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, under contract as of August 30, 2022, Orbital Composites will start its journey to provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.
About Orbital Composites
Orbital Composites is developing Space Factories (AM in ISAM) with autonomous off-earth manufacturing, enabling >100X cost reduction to build large, precise, and resilient space infrastructure on-orbit that is either impossible due to launch or prohibitively expensive. Autonomous manufacturing of composites applies terrestrially to advance structure, propulsion and communication technologies for Aerospace, Energy, and Mobility sectors.
Orbital Composites is a graduate of Catalyst Accelerator, a program funded by DAF and USSF to support the ecosystem of startups solving the next-generation space problems. Besides the current SpaceWERX award, Orbital Composites is also a recipient of multiple AFWERX Orbital Prime awards, applying its autonomous composites manufacturing technology to unmanned aircraft.
About SwRI
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is one of the oldest and largest independent, nonprofit, applied research and development (R&D) organizations in the United States. Founded in 1947, SwRI provides contract research and development services to industrial and government clients. SwRI’s headquarters occupy more than 2.3 million square feet of laboratories, workshops, and offices on more than 1,500 acres. The Institute employs over 2,700 engineers, scientists, and support staff.
About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force and United States Space Force. AFRL is integral in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable war fighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,000 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit: www.afresearchlab.com.
About SpaceWERX
SpaceWERX is the Space component of AFWERX (a program office at the Air Force Research Laboratory - AFRL) which connects innovators across government, industry and academia. Through innovation and collaboration with our nation’s top subject-matter experts and harnessing the power of ingenuity of internal talent, by expanding technology, talent, and transition partnerships for rapid and affordable commercial and military capability. Additional information is available at: https://www.spacewerx.us/.
About SpaceWERX Orbital Prime
SpaceWERX Orbital Prime leverages a diverse industry partnership engagement strategy to identify nascent space technology sectors that, if “primed”, could advance U.S. national security and economic prosperity. Prime engagement is not limited to government investment, but also allows SpaceWERX to address key policy concerns as well as offer test beds and platforms to advance capabilities. The first Space Prime effort, Orbital Prime will invigorate the In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) market using Active Debris Remediation (ADR) as a use case for the foundational technologies. Learn more at https://spacewerx.us/space-prime/.
Company Press Contact:
Amolak Badesha
Co-Founder / CEO
Press contact: amolak@orbitalcomposites.com