editorial

Satellites are used for GPS, weather forecasts, and more. Generally, satellites have to be small and tough enough to withstand launch. Repairing or upgrading them involves sending people to space—so they usually aren’t made to be serviced. In-space robotic servicing could change this and open the door to other advances, like in-space assembly and manufacturing. However, the technology is mostly unproven in space. Companies and U.S. agencies are hesitant to commit resources to it.

We offered policy options to address this and other challenges. For example, requiring satellites to be serviceable could create a user base for in-space service companies.

Space is increasingly important to the daily lives of Americans, to the economy, and to national defense. The number of active satellites in space providing critical services increased from 1,400 in 2015 to more than 11,000 in 2025. An additional 18,000 or more are projected to be launched by 2030, according to market analyses.

In-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) technology has the potential to improve current satellite capabilities and to open new capabilities, such as orbital debris removal, space-based solar energy, larger space telescopes, and human deep-space space exploration.

In 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy published a national strategy and an implementation plan to guide federal ISAM activities. The plan named various agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to lead these activities. DOD and NASA have spent more than $2 billion developing in-space servicing demonstration missions over the past decade, according to agency documentation and officials. Other countries are also developing and demonstrating ISAM technologies.

Definitions of in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing

While astronauts have repaired the Hubble Space Telescope and assembled and maintained the International Space Station, robotic ISAM functions are less mature. Robotic in-space servicing is not routinely used and has only been demonstrated on a handful of missions, but it is more mature than assembly and manufacturing.

Development of ISAM technology faces challenges largely related to what experts called a chicken-and-egg problem. Potential ISAM service providers are hesitant to develop the technology into servicing products (e.g., a satellite that can bring fuel to other satellites) until there is a user base (e.g., a refuelable satellite). Similarly, potential users are hesitant to design and deploy satellites that can be serviced until those products are available.

GAO identified four challenges contributing to this situation:

• Government agencies and industry have differing priorities for ISAM technology, and a single technology is unlikely to meet all priorities. This situation fragments demand for any given technology.

• Government and private satellite operators are generally not requiring that satellites be designed for future servicing, such as refueling or upgrading.

• Few in-space test opportunities are available for developers to test ISAM technology. As a result, ISAM providers have generally not demonstrated the capability to perform satellite servicing, which deters risk-averse satellite operators from committing to purchasing such servicing.

• Regulations and standards are unclear or emerging, both for space activities broadly and ISAM specifically.

GAO developed five policy options that could help address these challenges. These policy options are not recommendations. GAO presents them to help policymakers consider and choose options appropriate to the goals they hope to achieve. Policymakers may include legislative bodies, government agencies, standards-setting organizations, and industry.

Policy options to help address challenges with in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) technology development and use

Policy Option Opportunities Considerations

Maintain status quo efforts (report p. 24)

For example, federal agencies, ISAM providers, and other policymakers could sustain current planned demonstration missions and ISAM community efforts.

• Current efforts may address some challenges without additional resources.

• Resources that would have been allocated to further developing ISAM could be used for other opportunities.

• Current efforts are not likely to address all challenges, such as not being able to promptly respond to changing mission needs or satellite failures.

Evaluate, and potentially promote serviceability (report p. 25)

For example, federal agencies could study the economic benefits and costs of serviceability and then take actions, such as requiring that satellites be serviceable to enable repair, maintenance, or future technology upgrades.

• Evaluations of benefits could clarify whether and when serviceability can generate return on investment, which would help inform decisions about which other policy options to pursue.

• Requirements could establish a user base and incentivize servicing providers.

• Could be relatively inexpensive compared to the overall cost of a satellite.

• Historical data may not be sufficient to generate reliable evaluations.Some benefits of satellite servicing may not be easily quantifiable.

Support technology development and testing (report p. 27)

For example, the ISAM community could take steps to support testing opportunities on the ground and in space.

• More testing could enable smaller companies and academic research groups to participate in developing ISAM capabilities.

Could reduce technical risk, satisfy many potential users, and encourage adoption.

Resources dedicated to test facilities and demonstrations would not be available for other agency or company priorities.

Demonstrations would not guarantee adoption by users.

Develop or clarify regulations and standards (report p. 28)

For example, government agencies and standards organizations could clarify licensing or promulgate standards.

• Could lower barriers for ISAM providers.

• Government and industry may not be prepared to specify regulations or standards.

• The ISAM industry is still developing, and regulations may inadvertently create unnecessary barriers to developing technology.

Designate a government champion (report p. 29)

For example, Congress or the White House could designate a government champion to support ISAM development and coordinate with the Consortium for Space Mobility and ISAM Capabilities.

• The government champion could oversee and coordinate activities described in the ISAM National Strategy and the National ISAM Implementation Plan, and the policy options identified in this report.

• A government champion without sufficient authority, resources, and clear direction could be ineffective.

Why GAO Did This Study
ISAM technology and capabilities could change the paradigm of how spacecraft are designed, built, operated, and discarded. Since the advent of artificial satellites, almost all have been “single use”: assembled on Earth, sustained in space with no outside intervention beyond communication, and discarded or abandoned when no longer functional. ISAM could reduce cost and risk, increase flexibility, and help to better address failures after launch.

NASA and others have used ISAM capabilities for more than 40 years, but largely involving crewed missions rather than uncrewed robotic missions. For example, astronauts repaired or upgraded the Hubble Space Telescope five times between 1993 and 2009.

This report describes potential benefits and status of ISAM capabilities as well as challenges facing their development and use. It also identifies options policymakers could consider that might help realize benefits and address challenges.

To conduct this technology assessment, GAO searched the relevant literature; reviewed documents and reports; interviewed federal officials, industry representatives, and stakeholders in academia and at federally funded research and development centers; conducted site visits; attended conferences and workshops; and convened a 2-day meeting of 20 experts from government, industry, academia, and federally funded research and development centers. GAO excluded sensitive and classified information. GAO is identifying policy options in this report.

View the PDF report at this direct link…

Would-be global satellite broadband operator AST SpaceMobile has made a satellite modification request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its operational fleet of satellites.

The modification was submitted a month ago by its AST & Science subsidiary and proposes two new 14-satellite shells (98.13° inclination @ 685 km) alongside its already approved 520 km & 690 km LEO shells.

AST is asking the FCC to approve its request “this summer,” as it moves on with the manufacture, launch, and operation of its satellites.

Within the application, AST says it is now ramping up to building six satellites per month this year.

These manufacturing and orbital launch schedules support continuous cellular broadband coverage goals in key markets such as the United States, Europe, Japan, the U.S. Government and other strategic markets during 2026,” said AST.

Space Forge launched and confirmed on-orbit communication with ForgeStar®-1, the UK’s first in-space manufacturing satellite, developed entirely in Wales.

The launch marks a major breakthrough for British-built space hardware and the next chapter in space-based industrial capability. This is the first time the UK has sent a spacecraft into orbit with the purpose of producing new materials in the unique conditions of space. Space Forge will also validate their re-entry technology that will eventually bring these materials home.

ForgeStar-1 launched aboard the Transporter-14 rideshare mission from SpaceX’s facilities at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. In the hours that followed, the satellite successfully activated and made contact with the Space Forge Mission Operations Centre in Cardiff, UK.

This successful launch marks the completion of more than four years of design, testing and regulatory milestones. The ForgeStar-1 satellite was built and qualified in-house by Space Forge’s Cardiff team. It became the first UK satellite to receive an in-space manufacturing license from the UK Civil Aviation Authority and was shipped across the Atlantic for integration and launch.

This first-of-its-kind in-orbit manufacturing demo is designed to prove the viability of producing advanced materials in the unique environment of space. The conditions in LEO offer advantages that are simply unattainable on Earth – from microgravity to ultra-clean vacuum conditions—and pave the way for scalable, returnable space-based manufacturing in the near future.

ForgeStar-1’s manufacturing platform, once fully operational, will enable Space Forge to test manufacturing techniques for next-generation semiconductors. As ForgeStar-1 completes its payload objectives, the mission will shift focus to testing a suite of pioneering return-enabling technologies. This includes the deployment of Pridwen, Space Forge’s proprietary heat shield; on-orbit aerodynamic control to steer and decelerate the satellite; and real-time orbital tracking paired with predictive re-entry mapping using the company’s Aether software.

While ForgeStar-1 won’t return to Earth, its mission will provide the critical test data, telemetry, and confidence needed to unlock future manufacturing missions—ones that will forge materials in space and bring them home.

Joshua Western, CEO and Co-founder, Space Forge, said, “We’ve built and launched Britain’s first manufacturing satellite and it’s alive in orbit, that’s a massive technical achievement. Now, we take the next step: proving that we can create the right environment for manufacturing in space. This is the start of a new era for materials science and industrial capability.”

Dr. Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, which has previously supported Space Forge with funding, said, “This isn’t just another satellite—it’s a testament to British engineering and our commitment to developing in-space manufacturing technologies that can benefit life here on Earth. ForgeStar-1 exemplifies how the UK space sector is pushing boundaries in sustainable space technology, with its ability to return to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. This approach aligns directly with our ambitions to develop environmentally responsible access to space while creating high-skilled jobs across the UK. I’m immensely proud of the Space Forge team in Cardiff, and all those who supported this mission, demonstrating that the UK space sector is thriving and ready to tackle the opportunities and challenges of the future.”

Indra Group completed the engineering development for the mission involving the Startical IOD-2 satellite—all within two years. The company was created by ENAIRE and Indra to provide communication and surveillance services via space and improve air traffic management.

The demo satellite, launched via the SpaceX Transporter-14 mission, will contribute to the development and design of the future constellation of more than 200 low-orbit satellites set to provide global coverage and transform aviation, delivering greater efficiency, capacity and sustainability around the world.

The payload is based on an advanced high-power VHF amplifier that’s key to enabling long-range satellite communications, particularly in oceanic and remote areas without any current coverage. The amplifier, developed by Indra Group, will facilitate new tests as part of the IOD-2 mission. With its VHF antenna measuring nearly four meters, the largest ever built and launched into space, the aim of the Startical-led mission is to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the system for real-time voice, data and aeronautical surveillance communications via space.

With the creation of Indra Space, the company will be able to cover the entire value chain of a space project, from mission design to satellite development and manufacturing, ground segment deployment and mission operations.

This project for IOD-2 not only reflects the technological maturity of Indra Group’s solutions for a sector as highly demanding as space, it also shows that we’re fully capable of taking on the leadership of comprehensive space missions, with critical technologies validated and qualified for the purpose. This milestone offers proof of our status as a reliable and internationally competitive strategic integrator,” said Fernando García Martínez-Peñalver, Indra’s director of Space.

Lacuna Space recently launched new satellites under the company’s Call of the Wild mission banner, a major step forward in scaling their direct-to-device (D2D) IoT network.

This is the first of several launches planned for 2025, bringing increased global capacity to meet the fast-growing demand for ultra-low-power, infrastructure-free sensor connectivity in remote environments.

The satellites feature Lacuna’s proprietary LoneWhisper® payload, designed and built entirely in-house. It is optimized to receive small, infrequent messages from low-power devices and transmit them directly to orbit, enabling true global coverage without the need for ground-based communication infrastructure.

Water is among the most critical, and least connected,resources on the planet. Traditional monitoring often depends on manual sampling and site visits, making it expensive, inconsistent, and impractical in remote or dispersed areas. Lacuna’s direct-to-device connectivity changes that. With low-power sensors transmitting data directly from the field, organizations can now monitor water quality continuously, in real time, without relying on cellular networks or gateways.

Field deployments are already supporting:

• Monitoring boreholes and wells for pH, turbidity, and salinity

• Tracking salinity and runoff in agriculture

• Detecting pollution in rivers and coastal zones

These sensors typically send only a few small messages per day, and often operate for years on a single battery. The Call of the Wild satellites are the first of several new missions launching this year. Together, they will significantly expand Lacuna’s coverage and message throughput, strengthening its position as a global leader in direct-to-orbit IoT for remote monitoring. Water quality monitoring is just one example of how Lacuna’s network is being used to solve critical challenges in hard-to-reach environments across the globe.

Lacuna Space was the first to fly Semtech’s high-capacity LoRa® chipset back in 2019. Since then, the team has run multiple missions, completed detailed global spectrum surveys, and fine-tuned every element of the system. This deep experience means they understand how to get the best out of the technology, whether it is tracking soil moisture for smart agriculture or monitoring water quality in remote regions, the system is built for dependable performance in the toughest environments.

The demand for remote IoT connectivity is accelerating fast—and that’s what’s driving this next phase of growth,” said Rob Spurrett, CEO, Lacuna Space. “We’ve already proven that our technology works where others simply can’t: in remote, infrastructure-free environments. Now we’re scaling to meet real-world demand. This mission marks a step-change: from pilot projects to large-scale, operational deployments. With LoneWhisper®, we’ve built the highest-capacity direct-to-device LoRa® receiver in orbit—giving us the ability to support more devices, more reliably, than any other solution in the market. Our system is designed not just to reach remote places, but to scale across the globe.”

From early flood warning systems and pollutant tracking to compliance monitoring for agriculture and industry, the demand for low-power, wide-area connectivity is only increasing. Satellite IoT, as delivered by Lacuna Space, is uniquely positioned to meet this demand,” said Clifford Shapland, Digital Development Officer at Ceredigion County Council. “The ability to capture consistent and accurate measurements in hard-to-reach areas has unlocked a new level of granular environmental insight. We see this use-case as effectively limitless in scale and duration. Wales alone has over 33,000 km of rivers and streams, many of which pass through rural or isolated terrain.”

Lacuna Space is a prime example of UK innovation in satellite communications, addressing real-world needs,” said Dr. Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency. “Their low-power, direct-to-device connectivity brings the benefits of space down to Earth by enabling efficient and affordable IoT services, including monitoring of vital resources such as water infrastructure. The UK Space Agency is proud to support Lacuna’s journey to becoming a global leader in satellite-based IoT, showcasing the UK’s leadership in new satellite communications markets.”

Oxford Space Systems has announced the successful on-orbit deployment of an S-band isoflux helical antenna for Astro Digital—this isoflux pattern enables wide and consistent coverage on the ground, enhancing satellite communication capabilities. This deployment builds on a strong collaboration between Oxford Space Systems and Astro Digital, supporting multiple satellites with advanced antenna solutions.

The S-band antenna was designed and manufactured by Oxford Space Systems to meet Astro Digital’s mission requirements. Its compact stowage and robust deployment mechanism ensure efficient use of spacecraft volume and mass, while delivering high-performance S-band communications for data transmission and ground coverage.

Following deployment, the antenna underwent a transmit test, which confirmed its operational performance on-orbit.

Sean Sutcliffe, CEO of Oxford Space Systems, said, “The successful deployment and performance verification at high power of our S-band isoflux helical antenna for Astro Digital is a clear demonstration of our engineering expertise and commitment to mission success. We are proud to continue supporting Astro Digital with agile and reliable deployable antenna solutions.”

Chris Biddy, CEO of Astro Digital, said, “We value our partnership with Oxford Space Systems and are pleased with the successful deployment of this S-band antenna. Their innovative approach to deployable antennas continues to support our mission needs and enables us to deliver reliable communications for our customers.”

On June 23, 2025, D-Orbit launched Space Bound and Skytrail, the 18th and 19th commercial missions of ION Satellite Carrier (ION), the firm’s orbital transfer vehicle (OTV), aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-14 mission.

The two IONs were launched from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 02:25:00 PM PT (09:25:00 PM UTC). Following liftoff, the OTVs, ION SCV Charismatic Carlus and ION SCV Passionate Paula, were released into a Sun-synchronous Orbit (SSO) at an altitude of approximately 590 km and 510 respectively

ION Satellite Carrier is a versatile space vehicle capable of transporting and releasing satellites into distinct orbital slots and can also accommodate third-party payloads, including innovative technologies, research experiments, and instruments requiring on-orbit testing. Additionally, ION can support edge computing and space cloud services, providing satellite operators with advanced storage and computational capabilities in orbit.

The two ION vehicles carried payloads from a diverse range of commercial, institutional, and research entities. These included:

Two LEMUR 4U satellites by Spire Global: the satellites combine a Spire-built platform, and a Lacuna-built IoT gateway, expanding Lacuna Space‘s IoT constellation, which is designed to deliver low-cost, reliable global connections to sensors and mobile equipment in remote locations. The constellation supports IoT services across agriculture, environmental monitoring, smart metering, and the blue economy— with use cases ranging from measuring soil moisture to improve crop yields in remote regions to tracking the movement of critical assets.

Early Test Payload by Constellation Technologies & Operations: a regenerative 5G mmWave payload enabling low-latency, high-speed connectivity from Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), with initial testing and validation for future satellite operations.

PBI (Water Ion Thruster) by Pale Blue: a miniaturized gridded ion thruster delivering best-in-class total impulse per unit. Its no-high-pressure and propellant-preloaded design eliminates the need for fueling work at launch site. Fully integrated and clusterable, PBI supports a wide range of nanosats and microsats with missions that require high efficiency and reliability.

Rogue Thrusters by Magdrive: the company’s first In Orbit Demonstration of their Rogue thruster. Compact, powerful, and radically efficient, Rogue uses solid metal as its propellant, turning it into plasma to generate bursts of thrust far beyond what traditional electric systems can manage. It delivers up to 10 mN of force, enough to shift satellites with precision, last minute collision avoidance, and tackle deep-space maneuvers. Built with internal energy storage, it’s not just fast, it’s sustainable.

ROQuET—Reconfigurable lower Orbit Quantum Computer for Earth observation Technology by University of Vienna (Austria) in collaboration with CNR Milano (Italy) and the support of the German Aerospace Center in Berlin, Munich, and Trauen: a compact, energy-efficient photonic quantum computer designed to operate reliably in the harsh environment of space missions. Sized like a shoebox, it withstands thermal and mechanical shocks without the need for the controlled conditions typical of terrestrial quantum computers. This mission aims to explore the potential of quantum technologies in the context of space operations, especially for Earth observation scopes.

DNAV (Deep Space Navigation) by Telepix: an onboard processor with deep space navigation algorithm. It is a system designed for satellites to autonomously navigate and determine their position in deep space, far from Earth, independent of ground station communication. It combines a wide-angle, high-resolution camera and advanced image processing algorithms to track celestial bodies like stars and planets, thereby enabling precise calculation of the satellite’s position and velocity. To handle the data processing for this image-based navigation, the system is also equipped with TelePIX’s TetraPLEX, a high-performance onboard AI processor that was successfully space-qualified last year.

AIX-1: A project by Planetek, in collaboration with D-Orbit and AIKO, and co- funded by ESA Φ-lab’s InCubed program, AIX-1 follows the successful launch of AI-eXpress 1 Precursor (AIX-1p) in January. The project leverages cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain in Space to enhance satellite capabilities in terms of reactivity, responsiveness, and low- latency data delivery. Building on the in-orbit validation of AIX-1p, AIX-1 expands the functionalities of a hybrid edge/cloud ecosystem hosted on a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) platform. The system integrates Earth observation payloads, deployable CubeSats, and a modular software framework that dynamically manages on- board sensors and computing resources.

This mission marks a further step for D-Orbit toward the development of the “satellite-as-a-service” model, bringing us closer to a fully operational space “App Store,” a new frontier for accessing, managing, and monetizing space infrastructure.

On two additional ports of the Transporter-14 mission, D-Orbit also launched four satellites from Plan-S Satellite and Space Technologies (Connecta IOT-9, -10, -11, – 12), deployed via two, NPC Spacemind CubeSat deployers. With this launch, D-Orbit has now deployed 190 payloads in orbit since the inaugural ION mission in 2020.

The launch of these two new missions further validates our ability to deliver timely, precise, and reliable orbital transportation services,” said Renato Panesi, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at D-Orbit. “We continue to expand our capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our customers, and these missions mark another step forward in our long-term vision for space infrastructure.”

Seven satellites developed by Argotec have been launched for the Italian Earth observation mission, IRIDE.

The satellites form part of the Hawk for Earth Observation (HEO) constellation, which carries multispectral optical instruments.

The seven HEO satellites join HEO Pathfinder, the first IRIDE satellite in orbit, which was launched in January of 2025. Pathfinder captured the program’s first image – a view of Rome and central Italy in high resolution – which was presented at ESA’s site in Italy, ESRIN, earlier this year.

The launch by SpaceX occurred on Monday June 23rd, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Acquisition of signal was confirmed at Argotec’s mission control about four hours after launch.

Coordinated by ESA with support from the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the IRIDE program involves the deployment of six satellite constellations.This is an ambitious space initiative by the Italian government with funding from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

This milestone represents an important step for the IRIDE program,” said Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programs. “The program’s satellite data will support the protection of our planet, the management of resources and global security. I would like to thank all the teams involved that made this important result possible. In particular, I would like to congratulate Argotec, Officina Stellare, Exprivia and all the companies involved in the creation of this constellation. This is another important step, but I would like to point out that soon new IRIDE constellations, created by other industrial groups, will be sent into space, further expanding the capabilities of the programme. With this mission, we demonstrate once again our ability to put technology at the service of humanity to support the most urgent challenges.

There have been many variables in the development of these seven satellites, so it’s with great satisfaction that we see the launch occur,” said David Avino, CEO and founder of Argotec. “Our team has shown commitment to offering our country state-of-the-art tools to monitor our planet. If even one step counts, today we have taken seven.”

The goal of TUM‘s QUICK³ is to make fast and secure communication possible. The QUICK³ nano satellite will test components for use in future quantum satellite systems.

The satellite, developed by a research consortium headed by TUM professor Tobias Vogl, was launched into orbit with a booster rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday, June 23rd. The mission is expected to deliver its first results by the end of this year.

The QUICK³ satellite is no bigger than a shoebox and weighs around 4kg and it is to test quantum communication components that will achieve fully secure data transmissions from the sender to the receiver.

Unlike conventional communications through fiber-optic cables, the information transmitted by a quantum communication satellite is not contained in light pulses comprised of many photons, but rather in individual, precisely defined photons. These photons have quantum states that make the transmission absolutely secure.

As any attempt to intercept the message will change the state of the photons,such actions will be immediately detected. The individual photons can neither be copied nor amplified. This limits their range in fiber-optic cables to a few hundred kilometers. Satellite-based quantum communication use the special characteristics of the atmosphere. In the upper atmospheric layers, there is minimal scattering or absorption of light. This results in ideal conditions for secure data transmissions over long distances.

The second goal of the mission is to test the Born probability interpretation of the wave function under zero gravity conditions. The function describes the probability of finding a quantum particle in a measurement at a specific location—a central concept of quantum mechanics. The question of whether this rule also applies universally, even in outer space, has never been experimentally verified.

To make quantum communication an everyday reality, a globe-spanning network of several hundred satellites will be needed. Before that, however, the QUICK³ mission aims to demonstrate that the individual components of the nano satellite can withstand conditions in space and successfully interact. The QUICK³ smallsat uses single photon source instead of laser beams

In addition to the researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the QUICK³ satellite was developed, primarily, by scientists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik (FBH) and Technical University Berlin (TUB) along with international partners at the Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies (CNR-IFN) in Italy and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

In this mission we are testing single photon technology for nano satellites for the first time,” said Tobias Vogl, Professor of Quantum Communication System Engineering at TUM and leader of the project. “At present there is no comparable project anywhere in the world. Either the satellites are much heavier and therefore more expensive or they operate with lasers, which greatly reduces the data transmission rate. The transmission speed is a key advantage of our system, but the satellites have only a few minutes of line-of-sight contact with ground stations on each orbit.”