Starfish Space has announced a second attempt at achieving the first commercial docking between two satellites in low Earth orbit, this time targeting success. The mission, Otter Pup 2, is set to launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare flight and aims to demonstrate a key capability for in-orbit servicing: docking with satellites that were never designed to be serviced. Unlike missions involving the International Space Station or other pre-equipped targets, the Otter Pup 2 spacecraft will attempt to latch onto a D-Orbit ION satellite with no docking adapter onboard.
Docking Without Docking Ports
Otter Pup 2 will carry Starfish’s proprietary Nautilus capture system. Rather than relying on mechanical latches or traditional interfaces, the spacecraft will use electrostatic adhesion to secure itself to the target. The system includes a specialist end effector designed to connect to unprepared surfaces, with an integrated electromagnet as a backup option should the primary method fail. The mission follows Otter Pup 1, which failed to complete its docking sequence due to a thruster malfunction. For this second flight, Starfish has upgraded the propulsion system with dual ThrustMe gridded ion thrusters, a fully electric setup intended to support precise, low-force manoeuvring in orbit.
Autonomy at the Core
Otter Pup 2 won’t be relying on ground commands to line up its docking attempt. The spacecraft is equipped with autonomous software capable of navigating and positioning itself using only onboard systems. That includes CETACEAN, a relative navigation programme that calculates distance and movement using a stereo imaging setup, and CEPHALOPOD, which handles guidance and control throughout proximity operations. The platform’s onboard Argus system combines stereo cameras with real-time image processing to estimate range and orientation. The mission profile includes a staged approach: initial proximity operations, trial dockings and separations, and final disengagement before atmospheric drag gradually brings the satellite down. The 40-kilogram spacecraft measures just under 1.1 metres when fully deployed and will operate from a 510 km sun-synchronous orbit.
Proving the Business Case
While the technology is headline-grabbing, the business model is what Starfish ultimately wants to validate. By proving that satellite servicing can be compact, cost-effective and scalable, the company hopes to make in-orbit maintenance a routine part of future missions.
“Our Otter platform is designed to be an order of magnitude smaller than existing servicing craft,” said co-founder Trevor Bennett. “That makes it faster to manufacture, easier to launch, and, crucially, financially viable across the commercial space sector.”
Future Otter missions already include customers such as NASA, the U.S. Space Force and Intelsat, with initial flights expected by 2026. Starfish sees the Otter Pup 2 mission not only as a technical milestone but as the first step towards changing how satellites are built, operated, and sustained, offering what the company calls “a practical alternative to abandonment in orbit.”
Transporter-14 is scheduled to lift off no earlier than 1 June 2025. If successful, this demonstration could reshape the economics of space infrastructure and bring long-promised satellite servicing into operational reality.
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