Orion Space Solutions (Orion) and its teammates recently completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) on the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Tetra-5 program. The Tetra-5 mission will demonstrate multi-agent autonomous Rendezvous, Proximity Operations and Docking (RPOD) for on-orbit refueling.

“Having completed a successful CDR, Orion Space Solutions and our extended team look forward to our ongoing close teamwork with the government to begin production work on the Tetra-5 vehicles and sensors,” said William Armijo, Orion’s Vice President of Space Systems.

The constellation of three prototype spacecraft will have at least a two-year mission life at Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO). Orion and its team will demonstrate key docking capabilities for on-orbit refueling and next-generation autonomous collaboration techniques for inspection as a precursor for on-orbit servicing and anomaly resolution.

The CDR maintained an accelerated pace and was completed within 13 months of the award announcement.

SSC selected Orion, along with their subcontractors Hera Systems, Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton, SCOUT Space Inc., Sedaro, Utah State University, and ICR, Inc. for the Tetra-5 mission to design, develop, and demonstrate its Tetra-5 spacecraft and autonomous collaboration capabilities. This CDR marks a significant milestone for Orion as the company continues to expand its portfolio of space-based solutions.

About Orion Space Solutions: Orion Space Solutions (OSS) was born from the vision to apply fundamental space physics knowledge to real-world problems. Founded in 2005, OSS is a leader in the “New Space” small-satellite industry. We leverage our scientific and engineering expertise to develop unique solutions to address complex space-based challenges. OSS turns science into data, data into knowledge.