Following the successful demonstration outside the ISS, GITAI is set to further accelerate the in-house development of a robotic satellite for on-orbit services, with the aim of commencing on-orbit servicing by 2026.

TORRANCE, Calif. – (March 19, 2024) — GITAI USA Inc. (GITAI), a leading space robotics startup headquartered in Los Angeles, USA, is thrilled to announce the successful completion of all planned tasks in an external demonstration focusing on in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM). These tasks are crucial for on-orbit satellite servicing and were accomplished using a 1.5-meter-long autonomous dual robotic arm system (S2) outside the International Space Station (ISS). This milestone marks GITAI’s second successful demonstration, following an earlier demonstration inside the ISS in 2021.

About the Demonstration

GITAI’s goal is to offer on-orbit satellite servicing in both Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The company is actively developing in-house robotic satellites capable of performing tasks such as rendezvous, docking, inspection, de-orbiting, and life extension services for customer satellites. In this external demonstration at the ISS, the GITAI 1.5-meter-long autonomous dual robotic arm system (S2) successfully executed all planned in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) tasks outside the ISS Bishop Airlock. Although all tasks for this demonstration have been completed, reliability evaluation tests will continue for the remaining five months of the six-month demonstration period.

Below is a list of tasks performed by GITAI robots during this demonstration.

With the successful demonstration outside the ISS, the GITAI 1.5-meter-long autonomous dual robotic arm system (S2), developed by GITAI with all major components manufactured in-house, has attained NASA’s Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7, confirming that the technology is fully operational in space. Moreover, the demonstration’s success has shown that GITAI’s inchworm type robotic arm, sharing many major components with the S2 system, also achieves NASA TRL7 equivalence.

Leveraging the success of this external demonstration, we are poised to accelerate the in-house development of a robotic satellite for on-orbit services, aiming to begin providing on-orbit servicing in 2026.

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About GITAI

GITAI aims to reduce the cost of labor in space by 100 times, thereby providing a safe and affordable means of work in space. GITAI operates in two business areas: on-orbit services and lunar infrastructure construction. For more on GITAI’s products, services, and upcoming missions, visit: GITAI.tech.

Media Contact

Company: GITAI USA Inc. (Headquarters) / GITAI Japan, Inc. (Japan Subsidiary)
CEO: Sho Nakanose
URL: https://gitai.tech/
Contact Us: [email protected]