Atomos Space Announces First Orbital Demonstration Mission

In-space logistics provider Atomos Space will launch two internally designed spacecraft into orbit February 2024, the Broomfield, Colo.-based company announced today.

The vehicles, named Quark and Gluon, will perform rendezvous, docking, refueling, and orbital transfer in a demonstration mission dubbed “The Singing Astronomer” (after astronomer and opera singer Caroline Herschel, the first woman to receive a salary as a scientist), the company says.

Atomos Space was founded in 2018 and has raised more than $26 million in three rounds of funding and $5.5 million in United States government contracts. The February 2024 launch will be the company’s first orbital mission.

 The Quark Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) and Gluon spacecraft will launch on SpaceX’s Transporter 10. After separation from the launch vehicle, the OTV will attempt to rendezvous and dock autonomously to Gluon. Once docked, Quark will refuel from Gluon before commencing further release, docking, propulsive and orbital transfer demonstrations, the company says.

“Nothing like this mission has been attempted since DARPA’s Orbital Express, which had a budget more than 20x ours,” notes Atomos CEO Vanessa Clark. “The size of our team–less than 40–makes this especially extraordinary.”

Atomos calls its OTVs “space-residents,” as they are intended to reside in low orbit. This architecture puts the “last mile delivery vans at the arrival airport and not on the plane with the cargo,” Clark says. “We gain performance and greatly reduce our costs by making it reusable. Having our OTVs staged on-orbit is a huge change to the status-quo.”