LOXSAT
Helping to build and launch a fuel depot in orbit
In 2020, Rocket Lab was selected by Eta Space to use Electron and Photon to conduct a flight demonstration of a complete cryogenic fluid management system in orbit for NASA - essentially, build, launch, and test a cryogenic fuel depot in low Earth orbit.
Through NASA's Tipping Point program to advance technologies that could, in future, support human space exploration, LOXSAT will test liquid oxygen storage technologies and collect critical fluid management data while in orbit for nine months, all the while supported by Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft bus.
LOXSAT is scheduled to launch on a dedicated Electron rocket in 2024.