InternationalOSAM

D-Orbit USA Rolls Out Satellite Bus Plans

D-Orbit
Image: D-Orbit

Italian space logistics startup D-Orbit launched a US branch on Wednesday that will transform the startup’s flight-proven orbital transfer vehicle into a satellite bus to better court American government customers.

Meet D-Orbit USA: Mike Cassidy, who previously co-founded Apollo Fusion, is leading the seven-person team based in Boulder, CO. The company’s goal is to take a “LEGO approach” to a satellite bus, where metrics from solar power requirements to batteries to mass can be scaled up or down for various payloads—or if the payload changes during the course of a mission. 

But rather than start from scratch, D-Orbit US will use D-Orbit’s ION orbital transfer vehicle as a starting point to create a standalone bus.

Cassidy laid out two core groups of potential customers:

  • The Space Development Agency, which is launching small sat constellations to beef up missile defense and secure comms capabilities
  • Communications companies trying to compete on everything from space internet to direct-to-cell tech

Win-win-win: One big draw of partnering with D-Orbit was that the Italian company already had 13 successful flights under its belt, giving the US operation instant flight heritage, Cassidy told Payload. 

The Italian parent company, however, is also getting something out of the partnership—an expanded US presence and the ability to more easily work with government agencies. 

Dollars and cents: The US team has licensed D-Orbit’s intellectual property, and any profits from the American office will be split with the group in Italy, Cassidy said. 

Related Stories
International

Around the World in 365 Days

From rockets taking flight to alliances forming in orbit to Space Race 2.0 with all eyes on the Moon, it’s clear that the busy year in space extended well beyond America’s borders.

CivilInternationalSatcom

Europe Lays Out Plans for IRIS2 Constellation

The constellation is the latest effort by the EU to advance its autonomy in space.

InternationalLaunch

Virgin Galactic Considers Launching From Italian Spaceport

The aim is for the Grottaglie Spaceport to serve as a Mediterranean homebase for Virgin’s suborbital commercial and scientific crewed spaceflight, which has been on pause while the company works on its next-generation space tourism vehicle.

InternationalPolicy

Artemis Accords Celebrate 50 Signatories

More than a quarter of the world’s countries are now part of the Artemis Accords after Panama and Austria signed on in a pair of ceremonies on Wednesday at NASA HQ in Washington.