Bengaluru Startup Aule Space Tests Satellite ‘Jetpack’ Docking to Extend Satellite Life

Aule Space, headquartered in Bengaluru, is creating small “jetpack” spacecraft that can attach to existing geostationary communications satellites and assume their station-keeping responsibilities. The method avoids complex in-orbit refuelling by connecting to the standard liquid apogee motor nozzle, a feature common to most GEO satellites. The company recently demonstrated its camera-only guidance, navigation and control system at ISRO’s ISITE Rendezvous Simulation Laboratory, becoming the first non-government entity to use the lab.

Unlike typical docking systems that employ LiDAR and infrared sensors, Aule relies on a single optical camera driven by onboard AI, trained on internally generated data. It aims to launch two test units next year for an autonomous low-Earth-orbit docking demonstration, potentially the world’s first private non-cooperative docking mission. Success could add up to five years of service to satellites valued at over $300 million each.