OrbitAID targets February 2027 for satellite refuelling demonstration

Chennai-based OrbitAID plans to send AayulSAT-2A and AayulSAT-2B into low Earth orbit in February 2027 for a satellite-servicing demonstration. Founder and chief executive R Sakthikumar described the timetable to DT Next in a report updated on 12 October.

The two spacecraft would separate after launch, then test close approaches, docking, refuelling and power transfer, according to the report. Sakthikumar outlined a chaser spacecraft that would dock with a target, demonstrate fuel transfer through a robotic arm and use its propulsion system to change orbit before returning to its original altitude.

The February plan remains a target, rather than a completed refuelling demonstration. The mission timetable and proposed operations rest on Sakthikumar’s interview with DT Next; independent confirmation was unavailable at publication. DT Next identifies an Indian launch vehicle but does not name it for the two-spacecraft mission.

Before that mission, OrbitAID is targeting an early November 2026 relaunch of AayulSAT-1 on the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle, DT Next reported. The earlier spacecraft could not complete its mission after the PSLV-C62 launch failure in January 2026. The planned replacement would test fuel and power transfer.