OrbitAID Lines Up an SSLV Flight and a 2027 Docking Mission to Prove Satellites Can Be Refuelled in Orbit

Chennai space start-up OrbitAID Aerospace has set out a two-step plan to prove that satellites can be refuelled in orbit. First, a roughly 30 kg satellite, AayulSAT-1A, is due to fly on ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in November 2026 to test fuel transfer inside a single spacecraft. Then, in the first quarter of 2027—reports this week point to February—two satellites will try to meet, dock and refuel one another in low Earth orbit.

If both succeed, OrbitAID would be the first Indian company to demonstrate a service that only a handful of organisations worldwide have attempted: topping up a satellite's tank in space so it can keep working longer.

Why refuelling matters

Most satellites do not stop working because their electronics fail. They stop because they run out of propellant. Satellites use small thrusters to hold their orbit, avoid debris and point in the right direction. When the fuel is gone, an otherwise healthy spacecraft becomes uncontrollable and is retired, often becoming another piece of space junk.

Being able to refuel would change the economics. Operators could extend the life of costly satellites, move them to new orbits as needs change, and plan missions around servicing instead of replacement. OrbitAID's founder and CEO, Sakthikumar Ramachandran, has described the goal as building "a fuel station in space".

Step one: AayulSAT-1A on SSLV

OrbitAID's first attempt did not get off the ground. Its AayulSAT satellite was on ISRO's PSLV-C62 flight in January 2026, which suffered a launch failure and did not reach orbit.

The company is now preparing AayulSAT-1A for an SSLV ride-share mission. Reports in mid-October said the launch is targeted for November, with a tentative window around the middle of the month, though the date is not final. Ramachandran said final tests were due in the following week. The satellite carries two spacecraft buses, two tanks and the interfaces and mechanisms needed to test transferring fuel, power and data inside the satellite, along with inspection functions. The company says this is not merely a replacement for the mission lost on PSLV-C62.

At the heart of these tests is OrbitAID's refuelling interface, which it calls SIDRP. The company has said this hardware was validated in microgravity during a zero-gravity flight test in Florida, reported in December 2024.

Step two: two satellites, one docking

The bigger test comes in 2027. Reports published on 13 October by DT Next and Indian Defence News say OrbitAID plans to launch two satellites of about 70 kg each—AayulSAT-2A, the "chaser", and AayulSAT-2B, the "target"—together on an Indian rocket in February 2027. A company post has given the window as the first quarter of 2027.

The planned sequence is:

1. Separation: The two satellites are released together into low Earth orbit and then move apart.
2. Rendezvous and docking: The chaser manoeuvres back to the target and docks using ARCAS, OrbitAID's own docking mechanism. ARCAS is designed to grip a satellite's standard launch adapter ring—the ring that attaches nearly every satellite to its rocket. This means a future customer's satellite would not need special docking hardware.
3. Refuelling: Once docked, the chaser uses a robotic arm with the SIDRP interface to transfer fuel.
4. Boosting: OrbitAID also plans to show a "jetpack" function. For satellites without a refuelling port, the chaser would act as an external engine, raising the target to a higher orbit and then returning it.

A January 2026 report had said the chaser would fly by the end of 2026. That has now moved to 2027, so the schedule should be read as a plan rather than a fixed date.

Why it is hard

Moving fuel between tanks in space is harder than it sounds. In microgravity, liquids do not settle at the bottom of a tank, so pumps and valves must be designed to move fluid that floats freely. Many satellite propellants are toxic and corrosive, so any leak at the connection point could damage both spacecraft. The interface also has to seal reliably after years of exposure to vacuum, radiation and large temperature swings.

Docking adds another layer of risk. Two spacecraft travelling at about 7.5 km per second must close to within centimetres of each other without colliding. All of this has to happen with little or no help from controllers on the ground.

Where this fits in India's space story

Docking is one of the hardest things to do in orbit. ISRO showed India could do it with its SpaDeX mission in January 2025, when two of its satellites docked autonomously. That made India only the fourth country to achieve the feat. OrbitAID's plan would carry that capability into the private sector, and add refuelling on top.

The mission also fits a wider shift in India's space economy, which is moving from government-only programmes to a mix of public and private players. Small start-ups can now buy rides on ISRO's rockets, and in-orbit services—refuelling, inspection, life extension and moving satellites—are among the newer business areas they are targeting. Abroad, companies such as Northrop Grumman's SpaceLogistics have already docked servicing vehicles with commercial satellites to extend their life. That shows there are paying customers for such services.

For India, an indigenous refuelling and docking capability could matter for strategic as well as commercial reasons. It could help keep national satellites working longer, reduce dependence on frequent replacement launches and support future projects such as the planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station, where docking and fluid transfer will be routine needs.

What to watch

The near-term milestone is the SSLV launch of AayulSAT-1A and whether its internal fuel-transfer tests work as planned. Success would give OrbitAID flight data to take into the 2027 docking mission. The two-satellite demonstration is the real test: an autonomous rendezvous, docking and fuel transfer between free-flying spacecraft would put the company in a small global group.

Sources

• https://www.dtnext.in/news/tamilnadu/orbitaid-to-demo-satellite-refuelling-with-new-spacecrafts-in-february
• https://www.indiandefensenews.in/2026/10/indias-space-servicing-leap-orbitaid.html
• https://idrw.org/orbitaid-prepares-to-demonstrate-satellite-refuelling-in-orbit-in-2027/
• https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/orbitaid-will-launch-aayulsat-1a-in-november-2026-to-test-refueling/tldr
• https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/indian-start-up-plans-to-refuel-satellites-in-space/story
• https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/space-satellite-refueling-startup-orbitaid-s-tech-clears-zero-gravity-tests-124122300483_1.html
• https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/space-startup-orbitaid-to-showcase-in-orbit-refuelling-tech-for-satellites-126011100240_1.html