Icarus represents next-gen space builders, said mission partner Voyager’s space, defence and national security lead.

Irish co-founded space-tech start-up Icarus Robotics is sending its robots on a test mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in a deal with Voyager Technologies.

The demonstration to test the free-flying robotic platform Joyride in space is scheduled to take place in early 2027 and will focus on validating autonomous navigation, manoeuvrability and operational performance in a live space station environment.

Co-founded in 2024 by Ethan Barajas and Co Tyrone-born Jamie Palmer, Icarus is building a robot labour force for space with the ultimate goal of relieving astronauts from repetitive, time-consuming and menial tasks.

The start-up isn’t aiming for a humanoid model, but rather a fan-propelled robot with arms fitted with grippers for unpacking and stowing cargo.

As part of the deal, Voyager will oversee payload integration, safety certification, launch coordination, on-orbit operations planning and real-time mission execution support. The company has managed more than 1,400 space missions to date across government and commercial sectors.

The two companies, in a joint statement, said that the upcoming mission underscores the commercial market demand for business activities in low Earth orbit.

Speaking to RTÉ News, Palmer, 25, who grew up in Co Tipperary, said that Icarus is currently in a testing phase, with the goal of getting its robots onto the ISS next year.

The New-York headquartered start-up raised $6.1m in a seed round last September. The raise was led by Soma Capital and Xtal, with participation from Nebular, Massive Tech Ventures and others.

“Whether an established company or a new, innovative start-up, this is exactly what our mission management as a service is built for – helping companies move from ideas to proven flight heritage,” said Matt Magaña, the president of space, defence and national security at Voyager.

“Icarus Robotics represents the next generation of space builders and provides the turnkey solution for those seeking reliable, flight-proven access to space.”

‘Preparation is threefold’

Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, Palmer said that the start-up is “deep in preparation” for the ISS test.

“The preparation is threefold,” he said. “Firstly, we are doing a lot of technology development and test in house of our manipulation, flight, and sensing stacks. We have terrestrial facilities here in our New York HQ that allow us to do dynamic testing with real hardware for the space environment.

“We also pair this with computer physics simulations of our robot in the ISS under the conditions we would encounter in space. We are also planning a parabolic test flight this year in order to increase our technology readiness levels and test in a full physical microgravity simulation.”

Palmer added that the team is working “very closely” with its mission managers and support at Voyager to develop test plans, operational procedures and safety clearance for the ISS test.

“Finally, we are working closely with some key commercial partners to do some industry-informed payload tests that will provide immense value in space, which we will be excited to share soon.”

And if the test is successful, what’s next?

Palmer said success would unlock a number of key milestones for Icarus, including providing flight heritage for the start-up and maturing the “technology readiness” of its system.

“Proving our systems on a successful space flight will put us ahead in the race to proliferate space with robot workers and make us a key competitor for a multitude of government and commercial contracts,” explained Palmer.

He added that Icarus would also gain key operational data that would allow the start-up to deploy “productised versions” of the robot in the near future, and that the company would collect “important expert demonstration data of valuable on-station tasks”, allowing it “to train embodied AI for micro-gravity robotics”.

“Our goal after this test is to continue working closely with our partners to roll out full commercial deployments on the new commercial space stations and freeflyers, whilst also working closely with our government partners on some unique missions.”

Updated, 10.52am, 01 April 2026: This article was amended to add comments that Icarus Robotics’ Jamie Palmer provided to SiliconRepublic.com.

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