Satellites rarely fail in dramatic ways. Most stop working because they run out of fuel. The electronics, antennas, and payload often remain fully functional. But once fuel is depleted, a satellite can no longer hold its position in orbit, leaving operators with little choice but to abandon it.
In geostationary orbit, 36,000 kilometres above Earth, this problem is especially costly. These satellites remain fixed over a single region and provide television broadcasts, navigation signals, and long-distance communication. Replacing one can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet, until recently, there has been no reliable way to reach these satellites and keep them functional.
That act, approaching a satellite, matching its motion, and physically attaching to it, is known as space docking. While it sounds straightforward, in practice, it is one of the hardest manoeuvres in space.
There is no GPS to rely on, no real-time joystick control, and no room for error. Signals from Earth take time to travel, making human intervention impractical in the final moments.
A satellite must see, think, and move on its own. Hence, autonomy becomes unavoidable. Only a handful of nations have achieved this capability. The United States first mastered rendezvous and docking with its Gemini 8 mission in 1966. The Soviet Union followed with automatic docking tests in the late 1960s. Five decades later, China proved its capabilities during the Shenzhou 8 mission in 2011. It autonomously docked with its Tiangong-1 module.
With its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission in January 2025, India became the fourth country to achieve this feat by bringing two small spacecraft together in orbit without direct human control. This mission places India among a small group of nations that have demonstrated that a spacecraft can autonomously find and latch onto its partner.
Jetpacks in Space?
In the private sector, one Indian startup aims to go further than docking. Bengaluru-based Aule Space is building ‘jetpack satellites’, autonomous spacecrafts designed to dock with ageing satellites and extend their operational life.
Jay Panchal, founder and CEO of Aule Space and an early engineer at Pixxel, believes this is no longer a problem for the future. “If you had unlimited fuel, you could run the satellite for twice its life,” he says in an exclusive conversation with AIM.
Founded in 2024, Aule designs satellites capable of docking with spacecraft that were not originally built for servicing. Instead of replacing billion-dollar assets, the startup wants to keep them running longer.
But this is not a mission achieved with determination alone.
Panchal and his team secured $2 million in a pre-seed round, led by pi Ventures. It is backed by angel investors with experience in satellite communications and defence, including Intelsat board member Eash Sundaram (also founder of Utpata Ventures) and Tonbo Imaging CEO Arvind Lakshmikumar.
The company plans to use the capital to expand its engineering team, build ground testing infrastructure, and launch its first demonstration satellite next year. These satellites will validate Rendezvous, Proximity Operations and Docking (RPOD), the capability for a spacecraft to safely approach, manoeuvre near, and physically attach to other objects in orbit.
In the past year (2025), India’s space tech startups have received a total of around $177 million in funding, according to data by Tracxn.
Manish Singhal, founding partner at pi Ventures, says the combination of deep technical expertise and a clear commercial roadmap stands out. He adds that Aule Space is building the next phase of the space economy across satellite servicing, orbital sustainability and space security.
Aule Space’s initial focus is on the geostationary communication satellites, which form the backbone of television broadcasting and long-distance connectivity. Panchal says some of these geostationary satellites can cost up to $500 million and generate around $100 million in annual revenue. Once fuel runs out, operators often abandon them despite most systems remaining functional.
He painted the company’s jetpack solution as “an external power bank attached to a phone.”
Why This Docking Matters
While several global startups work on in-space refuelling, Aule Space takes a different approach. Panchal says the hardest problem is not fuel transfer but reaching and attaching to satellites that were never designed for servicing.
“We are solving the docking technology part,” he says. “We can do it with the existing satellites, which were not designed to be refuelled.” He adds that ISRO’s SpaDeX mission creates a favourable environment for Indian startups working on similar challenges.
According to Panchal, deploying a servicing satellite is significantly cheaper than launching a replacement. “It is three times cheaper than launching a new satellite,” he says.
Globally, only one commercial mission has demonstrated satellite life extension at scale. Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle docks with ageing satellites and repositions them to keep services running. Panchal says Aule Space wants to make similar missions cheaper and more routine.
From Ground Tests to Orbit
Aule Space plans to launch its first demonstration satellite next year, a critical milestone for unlocking commercial contracts. “If someone has to allow us to touch their $500 million satellite, it better be proven before,” Panchal says.
Before launch, the company builds ground setups to simulate space conditions. Panchal says microgravity and lighting conditions pose the biggest challenge. “In space, there’s so much more sunlight, and the background light blurs computer vision models.”
To address this, the team has built a dark room that simulates space lighting, with a single controlled light source acting as the sun. It also uses air-bearing tables to test docking algorithms in a frictionless environment.
The company develops onboard autonomy as communication delays make real-time control from Earth impractical. “We have to have that command and control centre on the satellite,” Panchal described.
This requires what he described as an ‘AI pilot’ that can handle final approach and docking without human intervention. The company will likely develop a satellite-agnostic docking mechanism combined with advanced AI-driven guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) algorithms.
This system allows them to create some of the world’s lightest and most cost-efficient fleets of RPOD-enabled satellites, which also support debris removal and defence applications, including satellite inspection for space domain awareness.
Aule Space is in discussions with both commercial and defence customers as it refines its technology. Panchal said the company will choose the most cost-effective launch option available for its first mission.
The Next Space Economy
Beyond commercial servicing, Aule Space sees defence applications for its docking technology. Panchal says modern military operations depend heavily on communication and navigation satellites.
“If you want to disable someone’s communication, you cut the satellite,” he says, adding that the future conflicts increasingly extend into space.
Recent incidents highlight the importance of close-proximity operations. Panchal compares examples of Chinese satellites approaching and inspecting foreign spacecraft. He compares the capabilities to a fighter jet in orbit.
“In a true sense, what we are building can also be used as an F-16 in space,” he says, adding that the satellites can move fast, refuel and complete their mission.
For now, the company focuses on execution. Over the next two years, Aule Space aims to build and validate its technology before scaling commercially. Looking further ahead, Aule Space wants to support a broader in-space economy. Panchal says routine docking and servicing could enable manufacturing and assembly in microgravity environments.
This could lead the company to delve into other domains, such as robotics. “We want to build a robotic workforce for that large-scale industrialisation of space,” he says.
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