Space Pocket
Description
Space Pocket is a revolutionary sharing economy solution for sending sample materials into Earth orbit for testing and inspiration. Developed by Avaru Space in collaboration with Aurora Propulsion Technologies, it enables companies of any size — including those with no prior space experience — to fly their materials, products, or samples aboard existing small satellite missions as rideshare payloads.
Space Pocket offers two service tiers: Inspirational Flights for marketing-focused missions that give companies a genuine space story to tell, and Science Flights for research-focused missions that test how products behave in the space environment (microgravity, vacuum, radiation, extreme thermal cycling). Each customer receives a custom-made Space Pocket unit, one for orbit and one for display, along with professional photography and 3D animation videos documenting the mission.
The service is fully managed end-to-end: Avaru Space and its network partners handle satellite integration, launch booking, on-orbit operations, and post-flight sample return where applicable. The compact, easy-to-integrate design allows the Space Pocket to be accommodated even aboard the smallest nanosatellites, making orbital access genuinely democratic.
The world's first Space Pocket launched on May 3, 2022 aboard AuroraSat-1 on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand, carrying KONE UltraRope® — a revolutionary elevator hoisting rope — as its inaugural test payload. The mission was a full success, demonstrating the viability of the sharing economy model for satellite payloads.