CONFERS

In addition to pursuing joint activities, Virgin Orbit recently joined The Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS), an international industry group representing the on-orbit servicing ecosystem. Astroscale is already an active member of CONFERS, which is advancing the on-orbit servicing industry by leveraging best practices from government and industry to research, develop, and publish technical and operational standards for OOS and Rendezvous and Proximity Operations.

SpaceLogistics and Astroscale are just the beginning of a new wave of global companies that are developing, testing, and operationalising satellite servicing technologies. The Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS) now counts more than 50 private sector entities among its membership, hailing from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States (US).

Birk was selected to co-chair the Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations Technical Working Group to leverage best practices from government and industry for consensus standards for on-orbit servicing and rendezvous and proximity operations as a foundation for new commercial space capabilities and a future in-space economy.