Nearly 20 years ago, two commercial satellites conducted a U.S. government mission that transformed the trajectory of the U.S. space economy. While the 2007 Orbital Express mission may not have the same household name recognition as other space programs, it proved what the entire national space community can achieve through collaboration to develop autonomous in-space servicing.

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Greg Richardson is the executive director of COSMIC and a senior project leader at The Aerospace Corporation, a national nonprofit that operates a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) for the U.S. space enterprise.