Technology
When cars run out of gas or charge, we simply drive to a petrol station and fill them back up or plug them into a charger. Single-use vehicles would be wildly inefficient, costly, and unsustainable. Humanity probably wouldn’t be where it is today if all our cars and commercial vehicles were discarded after using up one tank of gas.
Yet satellite systems, which cost $100 million to $300 million on average and take years to develop, are all single use. Satellite lifetimes are set by the amount of fuel onboard when they leave the ground, even if the satellite itself is still in working condition. Once the satellite runs out of fuel, it either burns up in Earth’s atmosphere or is pushed into a graveyard orbit, which lies outside other satellites’ operational orbits, depending on its location. With about 2,600 objects launched into orbit in 2023 — and that number gradually rising every year — a lot of objects are competing for space.
To help the aerospace community make satellites more efficient and sustainable, Orbit Fab is creating the first commercial spacecraft refueling service. It aims to end single-use spacecraft and enable the next generation of missions based on extended satellite lifetimes and unlimited flexibility for maneuvering. Customer spacecraft will be equipped with the Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface (RAFTI™), which can be plumbed into the existing propulsion system. A fuel shuttle or depot with a robotic grapple, docking and refuelling interface will rendezvous with the customer to refuel them.
Founded in 2018, Orbit Fab became the first private company to resupply water to the International Space Station (ISS), launched and tested the first fuel propellant depot, and has secured partnerships with other government and commercial customers to refuel their respective satellites in the coming years.
Biography
Jacob is Orbit Fab’s Managing Director in the UK and Europe, having joined in March 2024. He leads a team building a bustling orbital economy by allowing spacecraft to be refuelled. He is also a current trustee of the UK SEDS charity and is passionate about supporting young people from across the UK into the space sector.
Before joining Orbit Fab, Jacob spent 15 year working in the UK government on Defence and Space. He was most recently the UK Space Agency Chief of Staff, a role in which he oversaw the Agency’s transformation and steered a £1.75bn civil space portfolio.
Before this Jacob led the UK’s civilian Space Surveillance, Active Debris Removal, In-Orbit Servicing, Space Sustainability and National Launch programmes. He has led multilateral space engagement with European Space Agency, European Union, United Nations, G7 bilateral projects with a number of other nations.
His career in Defence saw Jake complete two civilian tours of Afghanistan before leading Science and Technical support to the UK’s strategic headquarters, supporting operations in Sierra Leone, Iraq, Libya, Syria and elsewhere with rapid technical advice.
