Ottawa-based Obruta Space Solutions said it has signed an agreement with Resonate Testing, a lab in Newry, Northern Ireland, that would see its spacecraft docking hardware put through the vacuum, vibration and shock tests needed to prove it can fly.
The companies announced the Technical Collaboration and Mutual Support Agreement in a news release. The Ottawa company develops autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations and docking (RPOD) technology.
Its primary product is the RPOD Kit, a modular package aimed at satellite servicing, space debris removal and extending the life of aging satellites. The companies say the agreement is meant to move the kit up the technology readiness levels.
Resonate would run thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing, which mimics the airless heat and cold of orbit, along with vibration and mechanical shock tests. The work would be aligned with European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) requirements. The companies say that gives Obruta a path into European and European Space Agency (ESA) mission opportunities.
The testing, along with engineering and qualification planning support, would be carried out under future commercial contracts the two companies have yet to agree.
Kevin Stadnyk, Obruta’s chief executive, said the partnership “provides an established, ECSS-aligned environmental testing pathway that accelerates our RPOD Kit toward flight heritage.”
Resonate will introduce Obruta to contacts and programs in the U.K., Ireland and the European Union, and Obruta will do the same for Resonate in Canada and the wider North American commercial space sector. The two also plan to look at joint conference appearances, technical case studies and trade missions, subject to mutual approval.
Resonate is an independent, accredited lab that tests space hardware alongside battery, fire and mechanical work. It offers TVAC, vibration and shock testing in one location and says it recently passed 50 space customers. Tom Mallon, its founder and managing director, said the deal shows the role Northern Ireland can play in testing and qualifying new space technology.