Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: Kall Morris Inc (KMI)

A robotic system outfitted with mechanical tentacles has been tested onboard the International Space Station.

Called REACCH, this system can carefully clutch and move objects in space, even objects not designed to be embraced.

Kall Morris Inc (KMI), a space logistics company, is headquartered in Marquette, Michigan and has completed the first commercial demonstrations of REACCH on the ISS.

Capture cycles

Launched aboard SpaceX CRS-31 on November 4, 2024, REACCH spent over eight months within the ISS where it was operated in six separate test sessions by astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, and Takuya Onishi.

Following 172 capture cycles aboard the ISS, REACCH was returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX CRS-32 Dragon capsule on May 25, 2025.

Operated by the Astrobee payload, REACCH became the largest ever Astrobee payload by both mass and volume. Additionally, KMI became the first commercial entity to capture an unprepared object in space and became the first private company to capture objects repeatedly in space.

REACCH patent and digital mockup of Astrobee with REACCH during ISS experiment.
Image credit: Kall Morris Inc (KMI)

KMI is reviewing what was learned in flexing the REACCH tentacles and is continuing technology iteration, embarking upon the next stage of development.

A full-scale, commercial-ready flight demonstration is planned for the first quarter of 2028, using lessons learned from the ISS campaign.

Long and short of it

REACCH is short for Reactive Electro-Adhesive Capture ClotH. “The short name is a play on the robotic ‘octopus tentacles’ that quite literally ‘reach’ for satellites and other space objects,” said Gabby Muehlenbeck, KMI’s design and communications coordinator.

“The long name references the electro-adhesion and Gecko adhesion capture cloth material that is hosted on the robotic tentacles of REACCH,” Muehlenbeck told Inside Outer Space.

Image credit: Kall Morris Inc (KMI)

Making use of its bio-inspired tentacle arms, REACCH is designed to provide satellite operators an in-space capability to safely move objects of nearly any shape, size, or surface without damage or leaving residue.

REACCH supports KMI’s Relocation as a Service (RaaS), an innovative approach for commercial, national security, or scientific satellite repositioning, repair, or retiring spacecraft.

The results of this demonstration will further enable REACCH for its critical mission of orbital debris collection.

“The success of these tests showcase the immense capability of the REACCH system and most notably advance the state of the art of microgravity capture of uncontrolled objects,” said Austin Morris, KMI co-founder and director of engineering in a company statement.