Partnership merges NASA’s pioneering free-flight platform with Arkisys’s Port to accelerate sustainable in-space innovation
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – Arkisys, a provider of on-orbit services on long duration platforms for post launch applications, announces today that it has been selected as the commercial sustaining and maintenance partner for NASA’s Astrobee, the free flying robotic facility aboard the International Space Station.
This agreement demonstrates the company’s commitment to advancing next-generation space technologies by working with NASA and supporting its efforts to drive commercial innovation and transform traditional space capabilities.
Arkisys will work with NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to extend the life and capability of Astrobee, continuing its legacy as a testbed for groundbreaking science, technology demonstrations, and in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) advancements.
The Arkisys Port Module is designed for long-duration and multi-use missions, and serves as a space-based platform to host, service, and integrate customer payloads in orbit. NASA’s Astrobee consists of three autonomous free flyer robots, software, and a docking station aboard the Space Station, providing mobility, interaction, and experimentation capabilities in microgravity. Together, they will establish an end-to-end pipeline that advances technology readiness and enables faster, more reliable deployment of human and robotic missions in space.
“It is an honor to be selected by NASA to sustain such a unique capability,” says David Barnhart, CEO of Arkisys. “Astrobee’s creation reflects the same reasons Arkisys was founded. By merging Astrobee’s free-flight agility with our Port architecture, we are creating a pipeline that accelerates academic, small business, and government technologies into real ISAM practice.”
Photo courtesy of NASA, Astrobee Free Flight Robot inside the International Space Station.
Astrobee’s microgravity test environment bridges the gap between lab-based testing and full orbital deployment, while Arkisys’s Ports offer scalable, serviceable, commercial platforms for sustained operations in space. They accelerate technology readiness and validation, reduce operational delays, and create new revenue and mission opportunities for customers.
This milestone further positions Arkisys for continued growth as it expands partnerships, capabilities, and opportunities for strategic investment in the rapidly evolving in-space economy.
“Arkisys is proud to help carry that legacy forward, ensuring the expertise developed and lessons learned on the International Space Station will thrive,” says Barnhart. The Arkisys new website will now feature more information on the Astrobee flight platform and events coming up to restart this groundbreaking capability.
About Arkisys:
Arkisys, Inc., established in 2015 and located in Los Alamitos, California, is a rapidly scaling on-orbit services company providing post-launch hosting, integration, and servicing capabilities through its proprietary spacecraft platform infrastructure, “Ports”. A trusted partner with over $30M in government contract revenue& scope to date, the company is expanding access to long-duration platforms that accelerate technology readiness and validation for commercial, government, and academic organizations. Arkisys works with system and subsystem providers to integrate their technology onto Port Modules, enabling innovation in components, payloads and new missions while capturing value across the rapidly growing on-orbit services market, estimated to reach $5.1 billion by 2030.
For more information, visit http://arkisys.com/.
