Boeing officials say the company’s Orbital Express system transferred propellant and a battery from one spacecraft to another, “marking industry firsts for the revolutionary system.” The Orbital Express was one of the six spacecraft launched March 8 aboard an Atlas V evolved expendable launch vehicle. The Boeing Autonomous Space Transport Robotic Operations (ASTRO) servicing spacecraft transferred the propellant and a battery to a prototype receiving NextSat spacecraft developed by Ball Aerospace.
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.