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YC Root AccessCreating A New Universal Standard For Refueling Spacecraft
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WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Spaceium unveils OpenPort: a $1-licensed standard for in-space refueling
- Spaceium’s founders describe building fully automated orbital refueling stations where spacecraft dock, refuel, and depart without humans in the loop.
- They announce OpenPort as an open-standard spacecraft refueling interface, sharing technical drawings and part of the software via a $1 license so others can build it.
- They argue in-space refueling has lagged primarily because there hasn’t been a standardized interface designed for orbital fuel transfer, even though spacecraft have valves used for fueling on Earth.
- They outline a mission roadmap culminating in an ISS-adjacent xenon transfer demonstration and then a mid-2028 launch of their first full refueling station, which they say is already sold out.
- They describe running their hardware company with software-style iteration and extensive in-house testing, supported by AI-driven workflows and in-house component development to reduce time and cost.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasSpacecraft are frequently retired due to fuel limits rather than hardware failure.
Ashi Dissanayake said spacecraft often get discarded after running out of fuel even when most hardware still works, because they launch with all the fuel they’ll ever have for the mission and can’t refuel later.
In-space refueling has been held back by the absence of a usable, standardized in-orbit interface.
Ashi Dissanayake framed the main blocker as a lack of a refueling standard that works in orbit, noting existing spacecraft have an Earth-transfer valve that isn’t used for in-space transfer.
OpenPort is positioned as an enabling standard for Spaceium’s fuel-as-a-service model, not a standalone product business.
Ashi Dissanayake said OpenPort standardizes technical drawings plus part of the software so customers can manufacture the interface themselves, and that Spaceium’s core business is selling fuel as a service rather than selling the interface.
OpenPort’s design emphasizes high-pressure operation, docking robustness, and two-way compatibility.
Reza Fetanat described the mechanism as probe-and-drogue first contact followed by hard-locking features, with fuel transferred through valves; he highlighted operating pressure range, misalignment tolerance, and androgynous design where either side can give or receive fuel.
Spaceium is using a $1 license to accelerate adoption and lower a perceived cost barrier.
Ashi Dissanayake said the license costs $1 to encourage customers to go through Spaceium for access, and she described positive reactions from commercial and government organizations, contrasting it with existing interfaces she said can cost $30,000–$50,000 per side.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesThe whole spacecraft, most of the time, works perfectly, and they discard the whole spacecraft just because they don't have enough fuel to do the rest of the mission.
— Ashi Dissanayake
We don't throw away a car just by going from one city to the other just because we ran out of fuel.
— Ashi Dissanayake
It's gonna be the first time ever in the human history that we are transferring xenon in orbit, and we are using the OpenPort.
— Ashi Dissanayake
Second mission, like Ashi said, we are going to ISS, outside of ISS, and we are transferring xenon.
— Reza Fetanat
Our goal is to make refueling so boring that no one talks about it.
— Ashi Dissanayake
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SPEAKERS
Ashi Dissanayake
guestCo-founder of Spaceium (YC S24), working on an open standard refueling interface for spacecraft (OpenPort).
Reza Fetanat
guestCo-founder of Spaceium (YC S24), focusing on spacecraft refueling hardware and mission execution for OpenPort.
High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.
