Two space startups prove you don’t need to break the bank to rendezvous in space

A quiet revolution is reshaping in-space transportation, leading to exciting new possibilities. Earlier this year, a compact spacecraft, the Mira, crafted by California's Impulse Space, was launched alongside several satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Once in orbit, the rocket's upper stage deployed the satellites for their respective missions, including the Mira, which functions as an orbital transfer vehicle. On this mission, Mira successfully delivered multiple CubeSats and executed several high-thrust maneuvers to showcase its capabilities. This marked the spacecraft's second flight, and Impulse Space was keen to continue its testing. However, an unexpected twist occurred this summer when Impulse Space transferred control of Mira to another firm, Starfish Space, which equipped the vehicle with its own software. Eric Romo, Impulse Space's president and COO, described the unusual situation, noting, "I would walk past mission control, and our teams would be on a call together, and I would just pop my head in and say, 'Hey, don’t crash the spaceship, please.' It was definitely a new thing.” Fortunately, Starfish Space managed to operate Mira without incident. They activated the onboard camera and began piloting the spacecraft to demonstrate their technology. Founded in 2019, Starfish Space is focused on creating cost-effective spacecraft designed to service satellites, offering propulsion and other assistance to extend their operational lives. By operating Mira, Starfish aimed to illustrate how a lightweight camera system, combined with their closed-loop guidance, navigation, and control software, could autonomously rendezvous with another spacecraft. The target was the original Mira, launched in November 2023, which, although lacking propellant for orientation control, still could communicate with engineers back in California thanks to its solar panels receiving intermittent charge.