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Orbital Robotics plans to send robot arms to space station

Combination image: Illustration showing Astrobee robot with Orbital Robotics' arms at left, and picture showing astronaut and Astrobee robots on ISS at right
An illustration shows an Astrobee free-flying robot equipped with Orbital Robotics’ arms, at left. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur shows off three Astrobees aboard the International Space Station, at right. (Credits: Orbital Robotics for illustration at left, NASA for photo at right)

A free-flying NASA robot aboard the International Space Station will soon demonstrate a system for capturing and servicing satellites in orbit, using a pair of autonomous robotic arms built by Seattle startup Orbital Robotics.

“This demo will prove our ability to capture, manipulate and upgrade satellites on orbit, moving humanity one massive step forward towards reusable satellites,” Orbital Robotics CEO Aaron Borger said today in a news release.

Borger told me the company plans to send its arms to the space station in the third quarter of 2027. Three separate demonstrations would be conducted, each about a month apart, he said.

The mission will mark a major milestone for Orbital Robotics, which was founded in 2024 by Borger and other veterans of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, including lead hardware engineer Riley Mark, lead software engineer Sohil Pokharna and adviser Doug Kohl.

Orbital Robotics has been developing arms controlled by artificial intelligence for use on free-flying spacecraft, and this will be the company’s first opportunity to prove out its capture technology and autonomous control software together in microgravity under real spaceflight conditions.

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Startup has big plans for robotic arms powered by AI

Illustration: Spacecraft with robotic arms next to Hubble Space Telescope in orbit
An artist’s conception shows a spacecraft with robotic arms preparing to grapple the Hubble Space Telescope. (Orbital Robotics Illustration)

A space startup founded by veterans of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is recruiting partners in its quest to build robotic arms powered by artificial intelligence.

Founded in late 2024, Puyallup, Wash.-based Orbital Robotics is still in its infancy — but it has already raised about $310,000 in funding. Orbital Robotics CEO Aaron Borger told GeekWire that the company is working with a stealthy space venture on an orbital rendezvous project for the U.S. Space Force, with a series of demonstration missions scheduled in the next year and a half.

And that’s just the start: Borger and his teammates are trying to get traction for a plan that could give NASA’s aging Hubble Space Telescope a much-needed boost.

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