With Voyager’s help, Icarus Robotics to test free-flyer on ISS

SAN FRANCISCO – Voyager Technologies announced plans March 30 to help Icarus Robotics test a free-flying platform, called Joyride, on the International Space Station.

Under the agreement, Voyager will handle payload integration, safety certification, coordination of a 2027 launch, on-orbit operations planning and execution for Joyride-1, a technology demonstration.

Icarus Robotics was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 2024 to develop dexterous mobile robots to handle routine, time-consuming and hazardous tasks in orbit. The Joyride-1 mission will "validate that our robot can safely maneuver and perform tasks on orbit alongside crew, not just in simulation or for short periods on a parabolic flight," Ethan Barajas, Icarus Robotics co-founder and CEO, told SpaceNews by email. "At the highest level, we are validating that our platform can carry out what we have designed it to do for our stakeholders: perform manipulation tasks on interfaces and test articles, execute cargo logistics operations, and demonstrate safe free-flight navigation.