In Orbit Aerospace drops re-entry vehicles for spacecraft autonomy software
The Torrance startup has won NASA and Space Force contracts for onboard software that runs spacecraft without ground control.
In Orbit Aerospace has swapped re-entry vehicles for autonomy software, with NASA and the Space Force funding the shift. The Torrance, California, startup has won new government contracts for its onboard system, which the company says can run a spacecraft's operations without waiting on ground control.
The company was founded in 2020 as an in-space logistics business building re-entry vehicles. CEO and cofounder Ryan Elliott said the team found a handful of companies already working on the return route from space. "We were just slightly too late," he said.
Its software, called INTELLACT, targets a different re-entry problem. Plasma around a returning vehicle can cut off GPS and communications, so no one on the ground can react if something goes wrong mid-descent. CTO and cofounder Ishaan Patel said the aim is to move operators from "in the loop" to "on the loop."
The latest awards are a NASA Phase I SBIR for spacecraft swarms and a SpaceWERX Phase I STTR focused on low Earth orbit constellations. The SpaceWERX award came through the Space Force's Adaptive and Intelligent Space Challenge, where In Orbit's proposal was one of about 29 selected from more than 300 submissions this summer.
Sourcepayloadspace.com