In Orbit has been awarded a Phase II STTR from the Air Force to develop AI/ML-based algorithms to detect and correct faults on hypersonic vehicles. This work is sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab and the 49th Flight Test Squadron out of Edwards Air Force Base.

A culmination of this work will be an operation mission on a hypersonic flight test vehicle in the late 2025 time frame.

Backstory: The DoD will give a result of ‘selectable/unfunded’ for SBIR proposals that they like but don’t have funding for. This means that you’re past the competitive selection process, but need to find a champion to fund the proposal yourself. It is notoriously difficult to get funding and most companies just resubmit the next solicitation period.

However, In Orbit has found a champion within USSOCOM to pick up our proposal and fund it. For this work, we will develop a precision cargo delivery capability via weather balloon while progressing our space to Earth delivery capability through prototyping and testing. The weather balloon capability is a natural stepping stone and can also lead to an early revenue generator for In Orbit.

In Orbit has been awarded a $1.8MM Grant to further develop their docking technology. This is in partnership with the University of Boulder at Colorado and sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab and Space Systems Command’s Assured Access to Space.

When we asked customers if they wanted to save money and get more revenue, they obviously said yes. We then asked if leaving their labs in space and just shipping their products would allow them to achieve that, they also said yes. We then asked if they had any idea how to do that, they said no, and we happily sought to solve that problem for them.

Our solution was the Resource Exchange Module (REX). This is a module robotic system that sorts and exchanges materials between itself and other space assets, such as stations, manufacturing equipment, or another REX. We prototyped and built the first version that operates in an autonomous mode to transfer a resource between itself and another REX. See the video here:

https://inorbit.docsend.com/view/2jkmce9n7jba2d7y

For our first re-entry mission in 2024, In Orbit had a milestone to fill the payload bay. This re-entry mission featured a 20cm x 20cm x 10cm payload bay with a total mass capability of 10kg. We received more demand for this mission than we had room for!

The reservation agreement is signed and final contract is in progress.

To lock in our future pipeline and also provide a low-risk method for our customers to secure future flights, we developed a memoranda of understanding with terms committing to a future flight. These terms are binding and contingent on us performing a successful re-entry mission in advance of the terms becoming binding.

We received our first signed agreement of this form from a well established Space Pharmaceutical company. This agreement generates $20k per kilogram for no less than 24 kilograms of payload for a $480k value.

As a dual use company, it is important for us to submit and receive government proposals. After probably a dozen submissions, and numerous ‘selectable/unfunded’ results, we were selected and funded.

In partnership with University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder), we received a $75k phase I STTR to perform a feasibility study on electro-adhesive docking. Under this study, CU Boulder would develop the physics and force model and In Orbit would perform on-orbit simulations of the docking procedure.

To get a sense of the scale of our vehicle and confirm we could manufacture the capsule structure to mass specifications on a low-budget, we set out to produce a carbon-fiber prototype structure of our Haven Retriever re-entry vehicle. This vehicle is 1.2m in diameter, 1.3m tall, weighs just 15kg (but feels indestructible!), and is quite imposing.

To gain initial traction in our specific service and validate the market, we set out to build relationships with customers and get letters of intent and support. With the letters of intent, we were able to capture what our customer base was willing to pay and how often they were looking to fly over the coming years.

In Orbit understands these letters are non-binding and don’t represent sales contract. These, along with letters of support and memoranda of understanding, served to capture the value our customers see in our service.