Tethers Unlimited, Inc.

{{Use American English|date=April 2019}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Tethers Unlimited

| logo = Tethers Unlimited Logo.png

| type = Private

| industry = Aerospace

| foundation = 1994{{cite web|url=http://www.tethers.com/AboutTUI.html|title=About Tethers Unlimited|author=|date=|website=www.tethers.com|access-date=April 28, 2019}}

| founder = Robert L. Forward, Robert P. Hoyt

| location_city = Bothell, WA{{cite web|url=http://www.tethers.com/Contact.html|title=TUI: Engineering the Future|author=|date=|website=www.tethers.com|access-date=April 28, 2019}}

| key_people = Robert P. Hoyt

| products = space tethers, orbital robotic assembly and fabrication technologies

| revenue =

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| num_employees = ~50 (2019){{cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2019/tethers-unlimited-layoffs-nasa-shutdown/|title=Tethers Unlimited space venture lays off 20 percent of staff due to NASA shutdown|author=|date=January 13, 2019|website=GeekWire|access-date=April 28, 2019}}

| footnotes =

| location_country = United States

| slogan =

| homepage = {{URL|https://arka.org/}}

}}

Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) is an American private aerospace company headquartered near Seattle, Washington, which performs research and development of new products and technologies for space, sea, and air.

Founded in 1994 by Robert P. Hoyt and Robert L. Forward, Tethers Unlimited began developing products based on space tether technologies, including concepts for removal of space debris{{cite magazine |last=Schwartz |first=Evan I. |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/05/ff_space_junk/ |title=The Looming Space Junk Crisis: It's Time to Take Out the Trash |magazine=Wired |date=May 24, 2010 |page=3}} and momentum exchange tethers for launching payloads into higher orbits. TUI has since broadened its suite of technologies to include power, propulsion, actuation, and communications systems for small satellites, robotic technologies for on-orbit fabrication and assembly, optical fiber winding and deployment, software defined radio communications, and 3D printed radiation shielding.

In 2007, in collaboration with Stanford University, the company launched the Multi-Application Survivable Tether (MAST) experiment to test the survivability of tethers in space.Hoyt, Robert; Slostad, Jeffrey; Twiggs, Robert (2003). [http://www.tethers.com/papers/MASTJPC2003Paper.pdf "The Multi-application Survivable Tether (MAST) Experiment"]. Tethers Unlimited, Inc.{{cite web |last=Greenfieldboyce |first=Nell |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9574513 |title=Space Tethers: Slinging Objects in Orbit? |publisher=NPR |date=April 16, 2007}}{{cite news |last=McKee |first=Maggie |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11466 |title='Inspector Gadget' to star in space tether test |work=New Scientist |date=March 28, 2007}}

In 2016 it was reported by SpaceNews and Yahoo that the company's subdivision Firmamentum signed a deal with SSL to fly its in-space manufacturing technologies on SSL's Dragonfly program which is funded by NASA's Tipping point initiative.{{cite web|url=http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tethers-unlimited-firmamentum-strikes-deal-204248920.html|title=Tethers Unlimited's Firmamentum strikes deal to demonstrate orbital manufacturing|author=|date=October 7, 2016|website=finance.Yahoo.com|access-date=April 28, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://spacenews.com/tethers-unlimited-expands-to-fulfill-additive-manufacturing-orders/|title=Tethers Unlimited expands to fulfill additive manufacturing orders|author=|date=December 8, 2017|website=SpaceNews.com|access-date=April 28, 2019}}

In December 2018 it was reported that Tethers Unlimited delivered a Refabricator to the ISS that accepts plastic material and converts it into high-quality 3D printer filament,{{cite web|url=https://www.design-engineering.com/tethers-unlimited-inc-delivers-3d-printer-plastic-recycler-hybrid-to-nasa-1004032285/|title=Tethers Unlimited Inc. delivers 3D printer, plastic recycler hybrid to NASA|author=|date=December 17, 2018|website=Design Engineering|access-date=April 28, 2019}} for the mission duration of October 2018 to April 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7321|title=Experiment Details|author=|date=|website=www.nasa.gov|access-date=April 28, 2019}}

According to TUI's website, Firmamentum is currently working on building the 'Spiderfab' technology to "enable on-orbit fabrication of large spacecraft components such as antennas, solar panels, trusses, and other multifunctional structures."{{cite web|url=http://www.tethers.com//SpiderFab.html|title=TUI|author=|date=|website=www.tethers.com|access-date=April 28, 2019}} Through this technology a spacecraft would be able to build structures far greater than itself in orbit.{{cite web|url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/02/building-lighter-and-huge-in-the-low-gravity-of-space.html|title=Building lighter and huge in the low gravity of space – NextBigFuture.com|author=|date=|website=www.nextbigfuture.com|access-date=April 28, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/10/several-ways-to-1000-meter-space-telescopes.html|title=Several ways to 1000-meter space telescopes – NextBigFuture.com|author=|date=|website=www.nextbigfuture.com|access-date=April 28, 2019}}

On May 6, 2020 it was announced that Amergint Technologies acquired Tethers Unlimited,{{Cite web|url=https://spacenews.com/tethers-unlimited-acquired-by-amergint-technology/|title=Tethers Unlimited acquired by Amergint Technology|date=May 7, 2020}} and Amergint and Tethers Unlimited are now subsidiaries of Arka (also based in Colorado).{{Cite web |title=Our Legacy |url=https://arka.org/our-legacy/ |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=Arka |language=en-US}}