Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
NASA is partnering with Eta Space of Rockledge, Florida, on an orbital technology demonstration called the Liquid Oxygen Flight Demonstration (LOXSAT) to advance cryogenic fluid management required for long-term deep space exploration. The mission will test 11 cryogenic fluid management technologies over nine months, supporting in-space propellant depots—often described as gas stations in space—to refuel spacecraft traveling to destinations such as the Moon and Mars.
LOXSAT was built by Eta Space through a NASA Tipping Point opportunity and integrated with Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite bus. Rocket Lab will launch the payload aboard its Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula, no earlier than July 17.
The selected technologies aim to solve challenges of handling super-cold propellants in microgravity, including reducing boiloff, transferring fluids, maintaining tank pressure, and measuring fuel levels. Data gathered from these tests will help develop in-space refueling depots for future exploration missions.
The LOXSAT team includes members from the Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, Glenn Research Center in Ohio, and Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This portfolio involves more than 20 technology development activities under NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.