Orbital Services

Orbital services technology enables the inspection, repair, refueling, life extension, repositioning, and debris removal of satellites and other objects in space, transforming orbital assets from use-once disposables into maintainable infrastructure. The on-orbit satellite servicing market reached approximately $3-5 billion in 2025 (estimates vary by scope definition) and is projected to grow to $8-13 billion by 2034 at 10-12% CAGR. The satellite life extension segment represents the largest current revenue category at approximately $4.7 billion cumulative through 2031. The in-orbit refueling segment reached $1.5 billion growing at 12.7% CAGR, and the space debris removal market reached $1.3 billion growing at 7.1% CAGR.

2026 is a pivotal year for orbital services with multiple demonstration missions that will prove commercial viability. The U.S. Space Force has four satellite servicing demonstrations planned for 2026, all in geostationary orbit where the most strategically valuable military communications and missile warning satellites operate. Astroscale will lead the first-ever refueling of a U.S. Space Force asset in GEO with its Tetra-5 mission launching summer 2026, using a 300 kg refueler spacecraft carrying hydrazine. Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) launches in 2026, carrying DARPA-developed advanced robotics capable of installing Mission Extension Pods that provide 6-year satellite life extensions. Northrop Grumman already demonstrated the category with its MEV-1 mission, which successfully undocked from Intelsat IS-901 in April 2025 after a 5-year life extension, while MEV-2 remains docked to Intelsat 10-02 for an additional 4-year extension.

Orbit Fab has established the first standardized refueling interface (RAFTI) and priced GEO hydrazine refueling at $20 million for 100 kg of fuel. ESA committed over $100 million to ClearSpace for debris removal missions, with ClearSpace-1 demonstrating commercial debris removal and the PRELUDE mission following in 2027 as a bridge to operational services. Astroscale raised $384 million for capture hardware, autonomous navigation, and disposal solutions. Infinite Orbits raised €40 million and signed a life extension agreement with SES for Europe's first commercial GEO life extension mission, with its Endurance Vehicle compatible with 70%+ of end-of-life GEO satellites. Starfish Space received $50 million from Lockheed Martin for collaborative debris removal.

For founders, orbital services in 2026 represent a market at the inflection point between demonstration and commercial operations. The most fundable approaches serve rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) software for autonomous satellite approach and docking, space situational awareness providing the orbital data needed for servicing missions, standardized interfaces and adapters enabling servicing of satellites not designed for it, ground segment software for planning and executing servicing missions, and the debris tracking and characterization technology that identifies which objects to remove and how to approach them safely.