ORBES, a California startup building robotic spacecraft for in-orbit servicing missions, unveiled its first inspection satellite today—called Exo-ORB. According to company officials, the vehicle addresses high costs and operational inefficiencies tied to traditional maintenance approaches for large orbital infrastructure.
Exo-ORB and ORB: Dual Robotic Architectures
The robotic spacecraft is one of two models ORBES is building, according to company disclosures. ORB is a free-flying robot designed to fly inside pressurized space stations, replacing or flying alongside astronauts to perform tasks like inventory management. Meanwhile, Exo-ORB is the external alternative, designed to fly 10 m to 20 m away from its host spacecraft to perform up-close inspection on-orbit with a high-resolution camera. Later iterations of Exo-ORB will come equipped with robotic arms to perform in-space maintenance tasks, such as repairs and component replacements, according to ORBES specifications.
Did you know? According to NASA estimates, an hour of ISS crew time costs $130,000, making astronaut spacewalks both complex and expensive for routine maintenance.
The Economics of In-Orbit Servicing
ORBES was founded in 2024 on the idea that large structures in space—such as data centers, commercial space stations, and other proposed projects with massive solar arrays—need a cheaper, more efficient maintenance option. Today’s large space structures don’t have a lot of options when it comes to identifying and fixing problems in orbit. On the ISS, astronaut spacewalks remain complex, risky, and expensive.
Several companies are working on in-orbit inspection and servicing missions from ISAM spacecraft that can launch and rendezvous on orbit, but ORBES officials argued this method can be costly and inefficient. The company’s solution is to instead fly alongside future customers. Exo-ORB is a ~12U, sub-26-kg spacecraft designed to launch on-board customer infrastructure, so that in-orbit servicing capabilities are built-in from the get-go. It is equipped with both electric- and cold-gas-propulsion capabilities to raise its orbit and maneuver around the host spacecraft for imaging at any angle.
“Our belief is that the most efficient way to do [in-orbit servicing] is to have robots that ride along with that large infrastructure,” ORBES CEO Anna Shaposhnik told Payload. “If you need a small thing fixed locally, you don’t have to pay for all of the fuel to travel from a completely different orbit to do so.”
Commercial Milestones and Upcoming Missions
ORBES announced its first commercial mission today, unveiling a letter of intent (LOI) with Symphony Space to fly Exo-ORB on the demo mission of Symphony Space’s Adagio Platform in late 2027 or early 2028. However, that will not mark the startup’s first mission to orbit. In early 2027, ORBES will fly its internal ORB spacecraft to the ISS to validate its ability to fly in microgravity and study how to use its robotic arms to manipulate components on the station, according to company announcements.
Beyond the Symphony Space agreement, ORBES is working toward an Exo-ORB mission with the Space Force, according to Shaposhnik, and plans to roll out an upgraded Exo-ORB equipped with robotic arms for missions beginning in 2028.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Exo-ORB?
Exo-ORB is a ~12U, sub-26-kg external inspection satellite built by ORBES to fly 10 m to 20 m away from host spacecraft for high-resolution imaging and future in-space repairs.
ORBES plans to fly its internal ORB spacecraft to the ISS in early 2027 to validate microgravity flight and robotic arm manipulation.
ORBES was founded in 2024 by CEO Anna Shaposhnik.
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