NASA is gearing up for the launch of LOXSAT (Liquid OXygen flight demonstration), an experimental mission designed to showcase one of the most critical technologies for the future of space exploration: the management and transfer of cryogenic propellants directly in space.
After years of development, the satellite is ready for flight and is scheduled to launch no earlier than July 17, 2026, aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand.
This mission is a collaborative effort between NASA and Eta Space, which developed the vehicle under the agency’s Tipping Point program. It involves various NASA centers dedicated to developing technologies for space exploration. The LOXSAT payload has already been integrated with Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite.
The LOXSAT Mission
LOXSAT’s primary objective is to test a suite of technologies for managing liquid oxygen in orbit. Liquid oxygen is a propellant that must be maintained at extremely low temperatures to remain in its liquid state. However, storing cryogenic propellants in space is incredibly challenging; even minor temperature fluctuations can cause gradual evaporation, reducing engine efficiency or preventing them from functioning correctly.
To address this, LOXSAT will test systems designed to minimize propellant loss, control tank pressure, accurately measure available propellant, and transfer liquids between tanks in microgravity.
Technologies like these could enable the construction of propellant depots in orbit in the future, which would be invaluable for refueling vehicles en route to the Moon or Mars. Currently, rockets must carry all necessary propellant from Earth, increasing weight and cost. With orbital refueling stations, spacecraft could launch lighter and refuel during their journey.
LOXSAT will remain in orbit for approximately nine months, during which it will demonstrate 11 different technologies related to cryogenic fluid management. The mission is intended as a proving ground to verify the performance of systems that have, until now, been primarily tested on the ground or in limited experiments.
NASA considers this capability vital for the Artemis program, and similar technologies could also be employed for human missions to Mars.
