\u201cThe robot worked way better than we expected,\u201d CEO and cofounder Ethan Barajas told Payload. \u201cWe have very, very high confidence in our ISS deployment now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flying colors: The test campaign included 66 periods of weightlessness across four flights, totaling 22 minutes of active testing. Icarus had to first travel to Canada for the mission, as the US currently lacks the capability for parabolic flights. In July 2025, Zero Gravity Corporation sustained \u201cextensive damage,\u201d to its Boeing 727-200 aircraft G-Force One during maintenance operations, and the company doesn\u2019t expect to return to flight<\/a> until next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Icarus has tested JOY terrestrially, the parabolic flights allowed the team to briefly validate three critical capabilities in zero gravity for the first time, including:<\/p>\n Manipulation: JOY followed commands, and was able to move its arms and handle temporary disturbances, as the company\u2019s preflight models predicted.Positioning: The robot was able to consistently track its position and velocity during each period of weightlessness, including the initial and final moments of zero-G.Movement: JOY also demonstrated its ability to control its flight, despite experiencing a \u201csettling period as the robot adjusted to being released,\u201d according to Barajas, who added that the issue is a known problem in parabolic-flight campaigns and not due to a flaw in the flight-control system itself.<\/p>\n Icarus is planning to make minor improvements in JOY subsystems to ensure the robot can operate reliably over its year-long ISS mission, but the parabolic flight campaign represents the final major step before Icarus ships JOY to NASA in January.<\/p>\n By popular demand: While the ISS mission was originally designed as a demo flight, Barajas told Payload that JOY has been promoted to a full-fledged mission operator due to market demand.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the robot has grown in maturity\u2026we\u2019ve been receiving interest from the industry in what this capability looks like, and what it unlocks,\u201d Barajas said. \u201cIt\u2019s actually going to be a true capability and a true platform that we see operating on ISS, working on ISS, and working with hardware that has heritage and that has done experimentation before.\u201d<\/p>\n The ISS mission will begin with a week-long test campaign to validate JOY\u2019s ability to move around the station and wave its arms controllably. From there, JOY will get to work, taking over tasks like rearranging cargo bags\u2014a notorious time-suck for astronauts in the cramped station\u2014and carrying out biological experiments \u201cthe same way that a NASA astronaut would,\u201d according to Barajas.<\/p>\n Icarus\u2019 intention for the ISS mission is to prove that robotic labor is not just nice-to-have, but a necessity for humanity\u2019s off-world future to remain a productive one.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re talking about a lunar base, if we\u2019re talking about sustained human presence in orbit, and an entire economy in orbit, labor has to increase,\u201d Barajas told Payload. \u201cFor us, the only way we see to increase labor is [with] robotic labor.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s next: Icarus\u2019 ambitions lay well beyond the walls of crewed stations, however. The company aims to build future robotic systems to fly in the vacuum of space and on other planetary bodies, offering services like debris removal and spacecraft servicing, as well as logistics and infrastructure construction on the lunar and Martian surfaces.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s our goal to unleash that first on the ISS, and then across every single orbit,\u201d Barajas said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s ISAM\u2026whether it\u2019s the logistics on the Moon base, or whether it\u2019s our first missions to Mars\u2026It\u2019s become clear that robots are a need. There\u2019s going to be a continued need.\u201d<\/p>\n Update: This story was updated at 10:30am ET on Sept. 17. <\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n Very rarely can someone offer you the best of both worlds, but Hydrosat\u2019s newest constellation claims to do just that.<\/p>\n Orbital compute startup Sophia Space and space asset leasing company SLI have set terms for a $300M asset-financing deal.<\/p>\n Antares announced today that it won a $161M DoD contract to advance nuclear power for space\u2014which Antares says is the largest DoD space nuclear award to date.<\/p>\n Galaxia raised $4.5M CAD ($3.25M) to continue its mission to make EO sats that can process info in orbit at the speeds required for today\u2019s decision-makers.<\/p>\n More Stories<\/p>\n Impulse Space announced a $308M extension to its Series D round yesterday\u2014bringing the round\u2019s total to $808M.\u00a0<\/p>\n The in-space mobility company announced the first $500M<\/a> in June, at a $4.26B valuation. A source close to the company told Reuters<\/a> that the valuation for the extension has risen to $5.4B.\u00a0<\/p>\n The extension featured many returning faces, including 137 Ventures, BANNER VC, DFJ Growth, Linse Capital, Lux Capital, and Valor Equity Partners, among others.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Hydrosat](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Constellation-Visual-304x171.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sophia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Sophia-ODC-1-delivering-up-to-1-MW-of-dedicated-compute-power-via-2000-TILEs.-1-304x163.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Antares](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_0502-304x160.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Galaxia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6a4623103db396a2e6399e91_IMG_6380-Large-285x190.jpeg\")
<\/a>International<\/a> \u2022 Startups<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Impulse-Helios-Kick-Stage-1-948x632.jpg\")
Helios kick stage. Image: Impulse Space<\/p>\n