[Los Angeles, CA & Washington D.C.] — ORBES and Symphony Space announced a letter of intent for external imaging and on-orbit servicing for their uncrewed space infrastructure. Under the agreement, ORBES's Exo-ORB escort satellite will fly aboard Symphony Space's prelude demonstrator mission, targeting launch in late 2027 to early 2028, with plans to expand to Symphony's full-scale Adagio uncrewed space station beginning in 2029.
Affordable Access to Space On A Modular Station
Symphony Space is building a fundamentally different model for orbital infrastructure. Instead of launching a satellite and locking in its configuration for life, Adagio is designed so its platform stays in orbit while the payloads come and go. It's a reconfigurable, uncrewed station capable of hosting over 1,200 kg of customer payloads. Symphony describes it less as a satellite and more as a rack: standardized, power-managed, thermally regulated, with swappable modules that can be serviced and replaced on orbit.
"We built Adagio to make space missions simpler, more cost-effective, and faster to deploy and reconfigure. We also build Adagio to last, with a lifetime of at least 15 years. ORBES will ensure our station is regularly serviced, without the need for a crew, allowing us to extend the lifetime well beyond autonomous orbital stations in operation today. Capturing images and video of the work performed will not only support maintenance, but visually translate the work being in orbit to Earth." Said Merry Walker, co-founder and CEO of Symphony Space.
Adagio's onboard robotic arms are central to the platform. They grapple incoming modules, handle berthing, and perform close-range manipulation that requires precision and physical contact.
But arms are limited. To achieve full-station situational awareness, standoff observation during payload arrivals, and capturing the entire platform in a single frame: a different tool is needed.
Exo-ORB: An Outside Perspective
Exo-ORB is a compact, autonomous escort satellite that undocks from its host and flies freely around it, drawing on heritage from NASA's R5, and Seeker & Kenobi inspection missions. It's designed to complement the station's onboard systems by providing what they structurally cannot: an independent perspective from outside.
Exo-ORB can position itself tens of meters out and capture the entire station in one frame, or close in on a specific area from any angle. Importantly, it can do this with zero disturbance to Adagio's payloads. As a free-flyer with its own propulsion and attitude control, Exo-ORB inspects the station without imparting reaction torques or vibration on precision payloads. When not in-use, Exo-ORB lives idle on a port of the station, recharging independent batteries with solar power.
If the station has an anomaly, Exo-ORB is there to assist, operating on its own power and comms and providing situational awareness exactly when onboard systems may be compromised.
As new modules arrive via tugs or rideshare, Exo-ORB can observe the full approach and berthing sequence from a safe standoff, complementing the arm's hands-on role in docking.
A complete third-person view brings transparency to the space station, allowing Symphony Space to communicate status to the customers, investors, and insurers who depend on the platform. For stakeholders on Earth, it delivers a visceral memory they will never forget: video of their hardware nestled within Adagio, suspended against the black of space.
"Cheaper, faster access to space enabled by Adagio is essential. Access to on-orbit testing is a real bottleneck for space companies like ours. Symphony Space’s stations are both our early test bed and infrastructure that will need Exo-ORB long-term. We're excited to fly Exo-ORB with them, showcase our value, and become long term partners in their mission." Said Founder and CEO Anna Shaposhnik.
From Eyes to Hands
In its final configuration, Exo-ORB will carry robotic arms of its own, evolving from an inspection tool into a mobile servicing platform. It adds reach where the station's arms can't go, provides redundancy if an arm needs servicing, and handles maintenance that would otherwise require a crewed mission or a replacement launch.
ABOUT ORBES
ORBES is developing ORB, a free-flying robot inside space stations, and Exo-ORB, an autonomous free-flying satellite platform for external inspection, imaging, and servicing of space infrastructure. ORB is targeting a first ISS mission early 2027, and first Exo-ORB demonstration late 2027. Learn more at orbes.space.
ABOUT SYMPHONY SPACE
Symphony Space Inc. is building Adagio, commercial uncrewed space stations designed for modular payload hosting, technology demonstration, and sustained orbital operations. Founded in 2025, Symphony Space is targeting its demonstrator mission in early 2028 and a full-scale Adagio launch in 2029. Learn more at www.symphony-space.com.