Against all odds, Starfish Space has managed to pull its first orbital mission back from the brink of catastrophe, with the startup saying Tuesday that it has re-gained control over the Otter Pup spacecraft that had been rapidly tumbling through space.
The Kent, Washington-based startup said it will now move ahead with an “extensive checkout” of the spacecraft’s onboard systems and a search for a new partner for its rendezvous, proximity and docking (RPD) mission.
The mission seemed doomed to failure back in June. Starfish was one of several companies that hitched a ride to orbit on a space tug operated by Launcher (now owned by Vast). But shortly after reaching low Earth orbit, …
