Author – Ethan Bochicchio
The University of Southern California’s (USC) Office of Research and Innovation (OORI) is thrilled to announce that Arkisys Inc., a company founded and led by USC Professor David Barnhart, has been selected as the maintenance and commercial sustaining partner for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Astrobee, the free-flying robotic facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This effort was supported by OORI through its earliest phases through submission. Professor David Barnhart, who is a Research Professor in the Department of Astronautical Engineering, founded the company in January 2015. His company designs reusable space platforms and vessels that can be redocked and repurposed. NASA’s announcement is seen as a massive achievement not just for Dr. Barnhart but also for those who have worked with him at USC and across the University’s research ecosystem.
Notably excited about the partnership was OORI, who has worked with Dr. Barnhart for many years. Dr. Barnhart was awarded his SBIR/STTR Planning Award just last year, one of OORI’s internal funding programs. This award seeks to support faculty in preparing competitive proposals for federal Small Business Innovation and Small Business Technology Transfer funding. His Planning Award proposal titled “Proposal to Create a Space Engineering Pipeline for Science Engineering, and SBIR/STTR Research Funding within USC: USC Space Science and Engineering Research Park,” was submitted in partnership with Arkisys. Dr. Barnhart told OORI that this award helped support Arkysis, bringing what he called “a unique test capability” that USC will now have direct access to. Additionally, funds will secure future SBIR/STTR funding for new and ongoing research at USC and the Space Engineering Research Center. As part of the SBIR/STTR program, Dr. Barnhart received summer interns, described as an “IMMENSE help to the company and the new Astrobee effort!” Interns helped redesign the Arkysis website to accommodate a new Astrobee based service and orchestrated a video for an additional student competition from COSMIC (the NASA sponsored US consortium) that Arkysis is now a mentor to, benefiting from student involvement nationwide.
Dr. Barnhart was directly assisted in the application process by OORI’s the Office of Research and Innovation Strategy (RIS), who worked with Dr. Barnhart extensively on the NASA Astrobee proposal. The RIS unit assists faculty university-wide who are seeking funding for research or other academic endeavors, helping them navigate the grant writing process. Dr. Barnhart told us, “The support out of [RIS] was instrumental in the win for the Astrobee proposal!” He highlighted help from Program Manager Jordan Locy and Executive Director Robyn Hejmej who assisted gathering letters of support and facilitating cooperation between Dr. Barnhart’s team and the OORI generally. He noted that RIS helped facilitate the due diligence call between NASA and Interim USC President Beong-Soo Kim which Dr. Barnhart described as “an instrumental factor in our final selection as it showed background support from USC!”
Dr. Barnhart recently stated that “Astrobee gives us a rare chance to test autonomy in a true microgravity environment.” He added that it is “incredibly rare and valuable for universities and companies nationally and across the world.” Astrobee, the cube-shaped autonomous robot operated by NASA inside the ISS, is set to resume operations in 2026, now under the management of Arkysis. NASA’s Astrobee system includes three autonomous robots, their software, and a docking station on the ISS, enabling mobility, interaction, and microgravity experiments. These systems are designed to enhance technology development and facilitate faster and more dependable deployment of both human and robotic space missions.
The Arkisys Port Module, working with Astrobee, will provide a flexible, scalable platform for conducting critical experiments and advancing ongoing space technology. Arkisys has long been working to make its platform more accessible by partnering with the ISS National Laboratory to connect with international space agencies as well as commercial users. The company is building a three-level service model that includes software-based experiments, software integrated with existing hardware already on the ISS, and entirely new hardware deployments. To support this, ground testing will take place at NASA’s Ames Research Center, USC, and Arkisys’s own site in Los Alamitos, California. Additionally, this partnership will bring Arkisys in close collaboration with the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
During a presentation at an event hosted by USC’s Information Science Institute on October 13 titled “Astrobee Returns to Flight: Re-igniting Robotic Research and Innovation on the ISS,” Dr. Barnhart stated, “Astrobee is more than a robot, it’s a vessel for innovation, enabling the next generation of possibilities in orbit.” He added, speaking on behalf of Arkisys, “We’re honored to be able to share this project with the public and open opportunities across the globe to pave the way for the future of in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) ideas to take flight.”
Congratulations to Professor Barnhart and his team!