Aule Space Reaches TRL-6 With Satellite Docking Technology as India’s Orbital-Servicing Ecosystem Expands

Bengaluru-based space robotics startup Aule Space has reached an important development milestone in its effort to build autonomous spacecraft capable of approaching, docking with and eventually servicing satellites already operating in orbit.

The company has successfully tested its relative guidance, navigation and control (GNC) stack at ISRO’s Rendezvous Simulation Laboratory, a facility used for validating technologies associated with rendezvous and docking. Aule says the tests demonstrated its system in a relevant simulated environment and advanced the technology to Technology Readiness Level 6, or TRL-6.

Aule also says it became the first private company to test its technology at ISRO’s Rendezvous Simulation Laboratory. This particular distinction is company-reported, but multiple reports confirm that its autonomous navigation system underwent testing at the ISRO facility.

The technology addresses one of the most demanding areas of modern spaceflight: rendezvous, proximity operations and docking, or RPOD. A servicing spacecraft must locate another satellite, determine its relative position and movement, approach it safely and eventually establish physical contact without causing a collision.

Aule is developing this capability specifically with non-cooperative satellites in mind. Unlike spacecraft designed from the beginning with dedicated docking ports or servicing interfaces, many satellites already in orbit were never intended to receive assistance. Some may have stopped communicating, lost propulsion or begun tumbling after a malfunction. Aule’s proposed system uses computer vision and autonomous navigation to estimate a target’s position, speed and rotation before making a controlled approach.

The startup describes its eventual spacecraft as something resembling a “jetpack” or tow truck for satellites. After docking with a spacecraft that has exhausted its propellant, a servicing vehicle could potentially remain attached and supply the propulsion required for orbital corrections or station-keeping. Such an approach could extend the useful life of expensive satellites rather than forcing operators to replace otherwise functional spacecraft simply because their fuel has run out.

The same underlying technology could eventually support several other areas of the emerging in-space economy. Autonomous rendezvous and docking are fundamental to satellite life extension, orbital relocation, debris removal and future in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing operations. Aule says its broader objective is to develop robotic infrastructure for these activities.

However, the TRL-6 milestone should not be confused with an orbital docking demonstration. The latest achievement involved ground-based testing in a relevant simulated environment. The more demanding step will be proving that the system can perform autonomous rendezvous and docking aboard actual spacecraft in orbit.

Aule is already preparing for that phase. The company has indicated that it aims to conduct an orbital demonstration of autonomous docking, which would move the programme much closer to commercial satellite-servicing operations if successful.

The startup has also secured $2 million in pre-seed funding, led by pi Ventures, to accelerate development. Aule says the funding will support expansion of its engineering team, construction of ground infrastructure for RPOD testing and development of its first demonstration satellites.

The development comes as India builds its own institutional expertise in spacecraft docking. ISRO’s SpaDeX mission successfully demonstrated rendezvous and docking in orbit in January 2025 and undocking in March 2025, giving India indigenous capability in a technology considered essential for future missions involving space stations, sample return and complex multi-spacecraft operations.

Aule Space represents the private-sector extension of that broader capability. Rather than focusing only on launching new satellites, the company is attempting to develop technology for maintaining and manoeuvring spacecraft after they are already in orbit.

India could gain an indigenous private capability in a field that is likely to become increasingly important as Earth orbit becomes more crowded and satellite operators seek ways to extend the lives of expensive spacecraft. The TRL-6 test does not yet constitute an operational satellite-servicing capability, but it moves Aule Space a significant step closer to demonstrating one in orbit.