Space Machines Company targets 2026 for its next launch
The Australian space tech company wants to be “roadside assistance” for satellites, and launched its first spacecraft in March.
Australian space tech startup Space Machines Company says it will send an operational fleet of Optimus satellites into orbit within the next two years, bringing it closer to its ambition of providing the galactic equivalent of NRMA’s roadside assistance service.
After a successful maiden test launch last month that trialled deploying an Optimus spacecraft and maintaining communication with it, Space Machines’ next fleet will, if all goes well, enable it to start providing services to the nearly 10,000 satellites currently in orbit.
“The second, third and fourth vehicles will start to deliver services like inspection, monitoring and the rest of it,” founder Rajat Kulshrestha said. “We expect that in the next 24 months, 18-24 months.”
Despite its lofty ambitions, relatively little is known about Space Machines Company. Both its investors and its customers, of which Kulshrestha says there are many, have not been publicly disclosed. Yet the startup's credibility is buoyed by the reality that it did in fact launch the largest commercial spacecraft in Australia's history.
