OrbitAID Aerospace Pvt. Ltd.
"REFUEL. MANEUVER. ADAPT"
Chennai start-up building SIDRP docking/refuelling ports, a soft-capture robotic arm and AayulSAT servicers for in-orbit satellite refuelling.
OrbitAID Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian space technology start-up headquartered in Ayappakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, with an R&D facility in Yeswanthpur, Bengaluru, which opened in September 2025. It develops on-orbit refuelling and servicing technology to extend satellite lifetimes, under the tagline of building orbital fuel stations in space. The company was founded by CEO Sakthikumar R, an aerospace engineer with more than ten years in propulsion. He previously worked as a research associate at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and led R&D at BNG Spray Solutions. The co-founders are COO Nikhil Balasubramaniam, a Marie Curie fellow with a PhD from TU Munich, and CSO Mano Balaji K.
OrbitAID's product line centres on four elements. SIDRP (Standard Interface Docking and Refuelling Port) is a cooperative docking and refuelling interface with dual docking capability. The company lists a mass of 250 g, a maximum expected operating pressure of 35 bar, bidirectional fluid transfer and compatibility with more than ten propellants and with international passive interface standards. The Soft Capture Robotic Arm is a 6-DOF, multi-jointed arm with high-torque motors, machine vision to find load points, adjustable grip force, an extendable reach and an internal fluid pathway, so it can carry propellant during refuelling. The tanker satellite is a mass-producible refuelling vehicle with proximity sensors, real-time visual recognition and AI-based guidance for approach, docking and robotic connection of fuel lines. The Turnkey Propulsion System is a refuellable propulsion and docking module with integrated SIDRP, designed to drop into client satellites. OrbitAID markets these for life extension, active debris removal, on-demand orbital mobility and satellite inspection, for defence, commercial and insurance customers.
The company has run two parabolic-flight microgravity campaigns. Zero-G1, in November 2024, flew from Florida and demonstrated docking and fluid transfer, qualified SIDRP for flight-like operations, and tested PnP/EPnP pose-estimation algorithms on a target mock-up. Zero-G2, in May 2025, validated autonomous docking and fluid transfer with a focus on fluid slosh and used CNN-based pose estimation to track tumbling targets. Its first orbital demonstrator, AayulSAT, launched on ISRO's PSLV-C62 on 12 January 2026 to test in-orbit refuelling. The rocket failed near the end of third-stage operation, so the satellite was lost. According to DT Next (October 2026), OrbitAID plans to refly AayulSAT-1 on the first operational SSLV flight in early November 2026 to demonstrate fuel and power transfer. It then plans the twin-spacecraft AayulSAT-2A/2B mission, about 70 kg each, in February 2027. In that mission a chaser will approach the target and dock to its launch adapter ring with the proprietary ARCAS docking mechanism, then deploy a SIDRP-equipped robotic arm to refuel it and act as a propulsion 'jetpack'.
OrbitAID raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round in January 2025, led by Unicorn India Ventures, with support from the Tamil Nadu government's TANSIM start-up mission. In October 2025 it won an Indo-Australian MAITRI grant to deploy what it describes as India's first in-orbit refuelling interface. For the RobotToday landscape, OrbitAID belongs in the on-orbit servicing segment as a developer of docking and refuelling interfaces, a capture and refuelling robotic arm, and servicer spacecraft.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
SIDRP - Standard Interface Docking and Refuelling Port
Dual-docking cooperative refuelling interface: 250 g, 35 bar MEOP, bidirectional transfer of more than 10 propellants; tested in Zero-G1 (Nov 2024) and Zero-G2 (May 2025).
Soft Capture Robotic Arm
6-DOF multi-jointed servicing arm with machine vision, adaptive grip force, extendable reach and an internal fluid path for refuelling.
AayulSAT in-orbit refuelling demonstrator
Refuelling demo satellite; AayulSAT-1 lost on PSLV-C62 (Jan 2026), reflight planned on SSLV; twin 70 kg 2A/2B docking-refuelling mission planned for Feb 2027.
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Contact OrbitAID Aerospace Pvt. Ltd.
WEBSITE
https://orbitaid.comHEADQUARTERS
India
Company Facts
Founded
-
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Asia-Pacific
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
-
Keywords
- OrbitAID Aerospace Pvt. Ltd.
- SIDRP
- docking and refuelling port
- in-orbit refuelling
- soft capture robotic arm
- AayulSAT
- tanker satellite
- ARCAS docking mechanism
- satellite life extension
- Manufacturer
- Component Supplier
- End-effector & Grasping
- Navigation & Positioning
- Aerospace & Space
- Defense & Security
- On Orbit Servicing
