Inspection cubesat demo planned as first step toward orbital defense mothership

TAMPA, Fla. — Bulgarian satellite maker EnduroSat and British defense tech startup Shield Space aim to deploy a cubesat next year capable of maneuvering near other satellites for inspection, ahead of plans to develop a mothership that could house dozens of them for on-demand missions.

The partnership combines EnduroSat's standardized satellite platform architecture with Shield Space's autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) software, which was originally developed for drones used in Russia's war in Ukraine.

The companies announced a partnership April 8 that they say will initially enable defense customers to move from contract signature to in-orbit operations in as little as nine months, compared with several years for traditional programs, by bundling software, spacecraft and services.