LAS VEGAS — Dawn Aerospace has unveiled a docking and refueling port for the company's SatDrive propulsion systems.
The fluid transfer and docking port will enable Dawn customers to access future in-space refueling services. The port replaces the standard manual fill and dump valves used for fueling on the ground.
The DFT port, which weighs 0.6 kilograms more than the hardware it replaces, can handle pressurized propellants such as nitrous oxide and propane or ethane. It also serves as a power and data connection.
Dawn will begin providing the DFT port in 2025 as standard equipment for SatDrive customers with propulsion systems greater than 10 kilonewtons.
“With reduced mass, reduced risk and zero cost, we believe this is getting closer to a no-brainer for any Dawn customer who sees the value in refueling,” Dawn CEO Stefan Powell said in a statement. “This allows customers to make the leap to confidence, even if there are no established refueling services yet.”
Chicken and egg
It is still unclear how and when in-space refueling will be available.
“There’s a long way to go before there’s a real business and customers there,” Powell said. Space News By email. “This is the first step (in our opinion) to making it a financial possibility for the commercial space. Who exactly will be in charge of that replenishment is something the market will have to decide once there are customers.”
Dawn supplies nitrous oxide-based satellite propulsion systems to more than 20 customers. The company currently produces approximately one propulsion system per week.
“Not everyone will use DFT, but if a significant fraction does, we anticipate there will potentially be hundreds of resupply satellites in orbit by the 2030s,” Powell said. “That will go a long way toward establishing a customer base for satellite resupply.”
Removal of debris
In addition to refueling, Dawn's port is a contact point for debris removal operations in low Earth orbit. Dawn, based in the Netherlands and New Zealand, is a signatory to the European Space Agency Zero Waste Charter.
