Commercial Space Development

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. aka SpaceX

SpaceX was founded in in 2002 by Elon Musk. Its headquarters were originally located in Hawthorne, CA, but it was moved to Texas at the end of 2020. SpaceX developed the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit, the Falcon 1 that was also the first privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to put a commercial satellite in orbit, launching RazakSAT on a Falcon 1 on July 14, 2009. SpaceX also made the first commercial launch of a satellite into geosynchronous orbit.

Under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, SpaceX developed the Dragon Cargo vehicle. The first demonstration flight of Dragon was launched on December 8, 2010. Before the test could be launched SpaceX had to get a license for spacecraft re-entry from the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) through the Office of Commercial Space Transportation for the flight. It was the first vehicle re-entry license issued to a private enterprise! By the end of 2020, SpaceX had launched 22 resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

But Elon Musk and SpaceX didn't stop with Cargo flights. Working with NASA, the Dragon was improved to launch human beings to the ISS. In May of 2020, SpaceX launched Crew Dragon from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020, the first launch of human astronauts since the Shuttle program ended in 2011. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley flew on the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS and returned safely on Earth to August 2, 2020 for Crew Dragon's second demonstration mission. SpaceX launched NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the ISS on November 14, 2020, bringing the crew total for Expedition #64 to 7 astronauts, another space first!

- - Read more about the SpaceX on Astra's SpaceX Page

The Boeing Company

Boeing was founded by William Boeing in 1916. Boeing headquarters is in Chicago, IL, and it is perhaps the largest multi-national corporation on this "commercial" page. Today Boeing makes airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles. At Astra's our primary interest is in space-related products. Boeing is part of NASA's Artemis lunar exploration program as they are building the heavy-lift rocket that will take astronauts to the Moon.

The Boeing Model was the first Boeing product - - a single-engine biplane aircraft. The company expanded their business during two world wars and was important in the early history of air flight. Boeing aerospace history is long and involved. Through the years they purchased many aerospace companies, among them McDonnell-Douglas and Hughes Space and Communications.

We give only a few of Boeing's accomplishments during its long history. Boeing built the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) that was used on the Moon. Commonly called the "moon buggy", there were three vehicles sent to the moon in the Apollo program (missions 15, 16, and 17). A fourth LRV was built but never launched. The moon buggy's greatly increased the amount of time and distance the astronauts could spend exploring the surface. The LRV remain on the Moon today.

Boeing also built the Mariner 10 spacecraft that successfully studied Venus and Mercury. Mariner 10 was the first US spacecraft to use an interplanetary gravitational slingshot maneuver. The probe used the planet Venus to change its flight path and take it into Mercury's orbit in 1974. Mariner 10 and MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) are the only spacecraft to visit Mercury. MESSENGER arrived at Mercury in 2011.

Space Launch System (SLS)

Boeing is the prime contractor for the Space Launch System (SLS), the giant rocket that will lift the Artemis Mission off planet Earth. The Boeing-built core stage for the Artemis I mission is completed and being tested at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, MS. Boeing will continue building the core stages for Artemis II and Artemis III when the first woman and the next man touch down on the Moon.

Starliner (CST)-100

Boeing has also been building the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are scheduled to fly Starliner and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station in April 2024. They will be docked at the orbiting laboratory to evaluate the new spacecraft and its systems returning to Earth two weeks later. Read about Boeing and the Starliner spacecraft on Astra's ISS page.

SpectroLab, a Boeing Company

SpectroLab became a subsidiary of Boeing in 2000. The company was originally founded in 1956 by Alfred E. Mann. Spectrally is based in Sylmar, CA. Spectrally made the solar arrays that are currently orbiting with the International Space Station. Their XTJ Prime solar cells are used on the Starliner (CST)-100 spacecraft. In 2020, Spectrally won a contract to augment the International Space station solar array with their XTJ solar cells.

- - Read more about Spectrally on Astra's International Space Station Page

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.

Firefly is headquartered in Austin, TX. Firefly aspires to be an end-to-end space transportation company. Their work focuses on developing a family of launch vehicles and in-space vehicles, and to provide services to government and commercial customers. The company has developed its two-stage Alpha rocket, that was successfully launched in October 2022 when it became the first US commercial space company with a rocket in the 1300-kg payload lift class.

On September 14, 2023, Firefly launched the Alpha rocket on its first mission for the U.S Department of Defense and demonstrated rapid response capability. Firefly placed a spacecraft for Millennium Space Systems into orbit under the Victus Nox mission.

Firefly is developing its Beta rocket, now renamed as Medium Launch Vehicle, or MLV in partnership with Northrop Grumman. It will carry more than 16,000 kg to low Earth orbit, MLV will first launch from Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island and is designed to be compatible with additional launch ranges on the east and west coast.

Firefly is developing a Space Utility Vehicle (SUV) a solar-electric third stage spacecraft for the Alpha and the MLV launch vehicles. Now known as Elytra (firefly wings), it will provide in-space transportation, maintenance, and refueling options. Elytra has three vehicle design called Elytra Dawn, Elytra Dusk, and Elytra Dark that travel further into space to support larger, more advanced on-orbit missions. Elytra Dawn is optimized for low Earth orbit (LEO), Elytra Dusk is maneuverable for responsive on-orbit tasking and can work from LEO to geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Elytra Dark is ruggedized and can support transfers from LEO to lunar orbit and beyond.

Firefly is also developing the Blue Ghost lunar lander. The lander has entry, descent, and landing capabilities (EDL) and the ability to deliver as much as 150 km to the lunar surface. Firefly announced that it completed the landing structure for Blue Ghost in October 2023.

- - Read more about Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander at Astra's

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman (N-G) was founded in 1994 when Northrop Aircraft bought Grumman Aerospace. (Grumman Aerospace built the Apollo Lunar Lander.) Northrop Grumman bought Orbital ATK on June 7, 2018. The company has 4 main business sectors: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems and Space Systems. At Astra's we are primarily interested in the Aeronautic sector of N-G.

Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems is headquartered in Redondo Beach, CA. N-G is the primary contractor for the James Webb Space Telescope. Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket is a two-stage vehicle (3-stage optional) that can launch payloads weighing up to 8,000 kg into low-Earth orbit. Antares is primarily used to launch vehicles into orbit under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract. The last launch of the Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus resupply spacecraft was on August 1, 2023 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. (NG-19 Cygnus). The NG-19 Cygnus spacecraft was named "S.S. Laurel Clark." after female astronaut who perished on the last flight of Shuttle Columbia.

Antares first stage was built in the Ukraine, causing N-G to seek a partner. The Antares 330 will have a new first stage with seven Firefly Miranda engines and use existing launch and processing facilities that supported many other NG Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) flights. Like earlier versions of Antares, the 330 will fly from Launch Pad 0A at Wallops.

Cygnus Spacecraft

The Cygnus spacecraft has two modules: the Service Module (SM) including the avionics, propulsion and power systems and the Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) that carries the crew supplies, spares and scientific experiments. The SM is integrated and tested at Northrop Grumman's satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, VA.

Relativity Space

Relativity Space is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. It was founded in 2019 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone. Relativity is working to build a reusable rocket utilizing 3D printing for many rocket parts. They have a factory in California and test their rocket engines at NASA Stennis space center where they occupy a building. Relativity has built a "Factory of the Future" that features Stargate, the world’s largest metal 3D printer. Their patented technology makes building a rocket cheaper than conventional systems.

Relativity's first launch vehicle is an expandible. Terran 1 is a two-stage vehicle capable of lifting 1,250 kg to low earth orbit. Their rockets use Aeon engines that are 3D-printed,powered by liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas propellants. The Aeon engine has been fired over 500 times during testing. Terran 1 has 9 Aeon rockets on its first stage and 1 vacuum engine on the second stage. Terran 1 launched successfully on March 23, 2023 but did not achieve orbit. Terran 1 was retired after these failures but it was the largest 3d printed object to reach space.

Terran R is expected be the first fully reusable 3d printed rocket. The first versions of Terran R will have some parts that are not printed, but Relativity is developing a third-generation aluminum alloy that will make the whole system 3d printed. It will be lifted by 7 reusable Aeon rockets (Aeon R), and 1 Aeon vacuum engine on the second stage that will take the vehicle into orbit. It can lift payloads up to 23,500 kg to low-Earth orbit. It may be returning to an earth landing site or landing on the water. It is expected to launch in 2026.

Stoke Space

Stoke Space is headquartered in Kent, WA near Seattle. It was founded in October 2012 by former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees. Stoke is working to build a fully reusable rocket. Their facility is located in Moses Lake, Washington. They are working on fully reusable rockets. Their rocket has been named Nova.

Stoke won a $225,000 SBIR Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation helping to fund their work on an integrated propulsion solution for reusable rocket upper stages. In March 2023, Stoke was allotted Launch Complex 14 (LC-14) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida by U.S. Space Force. NASA launched John Glenn and the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission on February 20, 1962 from LC-14. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth. Launch Complex 13 and 15, were also allotted to other commercial space companies.

Stoke has been building test articles for their second stage that they are testing in Moses Lake. The first test article, Hopper 1, was lost during testing. On September 17, 2023, Stoke successfully tested Hopper2, it ascended to ~30 feet (9 meters), traveled horizontally and landing at the intended site. The flight lasted 15 seconds. This will be the last test of its kind because the data collected was sufficient for Stoke to move forward.

United Launch Alliance (ULA)

United Launch Alliance is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security in December 2006. ULA provides launch services using expendable launch systems Delta IV Heavy and Atlas V. As of January 2021, the Atlas V has been launched 86 times!

From their website:

Atlas V Rocket

ULA’s Atlas V rocket is a workhorse for the U.S. military, intelligence community and scientific researchers. Developed as a modular vehicle, each Atlas V is tailored to the needs of its passenger by adding as many as five side-mounted solid rocket boosters for increased lift performance and a variety of available payload fairings in various diameters and lengths to protect satellites during atmospheric ascent. The high-energy Centaur upper stage, which has been used to send spacecraft to every planet in our solar system, is incorporated into Atlas V to deliver the payloads to their intended destinations.

The Atlas V rocket has two main stages. The first stage uses a Russian manufactured RD-180 engine that burns kerosene and liquid oxygen. The upper stage is a Centaur has two Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engines that use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The vehicle often uses strap-on solid rocket boosters (SRBs) that are Graphite-Epoxy Motor GEM 63 SRBs. To end reliance on Russian manufactured engines, there is a limited number of flights for Atlas V that is based on current inventory.

Vulcan Centaur

The Vulcan Centaur is a 2-stage rocket developed by ULA to lift satellites to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO). Vulcan is intended to be reusable and will eventually be a Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV). The first stage is equipped with two Blue Origin BE-4 engines. It uses liquid methane propellant and liquid oxygen. Vulcan Centaur will be used with Northrop Grumman Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM) 63XL solid rocket boosters (SRB) and can be configured to launch with 0, 2, 4, or 6 SRBs.

Vulcan uses the Centaur V for its upper stage. The upper stage uses two Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C engines operating on liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Centaur is a rocket with a long history, originally conceived in the 1950's. This rocket was intended as a high-energy upper stage from the beginning. Through the years, there were many versions and Centaur V is an upgrade to the Common Centaur/Centaur III that is currently used on the Atlas V. ULA plans to upgrade the Centaur V with Integrated Vehicle Fluids technology that will reduce the electronics and batteries in the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES). Special insulation will protect cold fuels from boiling off to increase mission duration. It will also be refuelable.

Vulcan Centaur launched on its maiden flight on January 8, 2024, at 2:18 EST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The name of this flight was Cert-1. This flight carried Astrobotic's Peregrine moon lander that was to land on the Moon. Unfortunately, the spacecraft lost too much propellent and was no longer able to achieve lunar orbit. Vulcan performed flawlessly, discarding its boosters after two minutes of flight, and cut out the first-stage engine about three minutes later. The Centaur upper stage released the Peregrine lander exactly as planned. Vulcan carried 21 payloads, including 6 from NASA and 8 from other U.S. customers. The other payloads were from many different countries. The last payload delivered was the Celestis Memorial Spaceflights deep space Voyager mission, known as the Enterprise Flight after Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, Nichelle Nichols, and James Doohan from the "Star Trek" universe were among those whose ashes were flown destined for deep space.

Some Testing Milestones

On June 7, 2023, United Launch Alliance completed the final flight readiness test of the heavy-lift rocket at Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 41. The rocket’s two BE-4 engines fired for four seconds, then throttled up two seconds before shutting down. The entire test lasted for about six seconds. This successful static fire was good news for ULA.

On October 4, 2021, the flight-configuration Vulcan core stage, named the Pathfinder Tanking Test (PTT) booster, was tested at the Spaceflight Processing Operations Center (SPOC) at Cape Kennedy. It was transported 2.7 miles (4.3 km) to Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 aboard the Vulcan Launch Platform (VLP). The test flight included mounting the rocket to the launch pad and fueling. A mock countdown went all the way day to T-0, before the test ended.

+ Check out ULA's Countdown to Vulcan

#AstrasStargate #ImaRocketFan

Yuzhnoye Design Office

Located in Ukraine, the Yuzhnoye State Design Office was founded in 1954. It was once part of a design department of the Yuzhnoye Machine-Building Plant. Yuzhnoye developed the Kosmos rocket. The Kosmos vehicles were launched from Kapustin Yar and Plesetsk launch sites 165 times completing 143 successful missions. Yuzhnoye built other launch vehicles, notably the Kosmos-2, Cyclone-2. Zenit-2.

Work on spacecraft design began at Yuzhnoye in 1960 when space exploration was a new field. Their successful space missions made important contributions to the study of Earth’s atmosphere, clouds, and its surface. The office was also involved in the Interkosmos program fostering international cooperation in space exploration. The design office supported astronomical research as well as defense.

Collins Aerospace

Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Collins Aerospace was founded in November 2018 from a merger of Rockwell Collins and UTC Aerospace Systems. Owned by Raytheon Technologies, Collins Aerospace is a large aerospace and military contractor. Focusing on Collins space exploration activities, the company is developing space suits, environmental controls and life support systems (ECLSS), power management and distribution systems, and other technologies. Recently Collins has been awarded a part of the Explorations Extravehicular Activity (xEVAS) contract that give Collins Aerospace and Axiom Space a part of a $3.5 billion contract that is based on the spacesuits they provide, lasting through 2034.

Dynetics

Dynetics (a subsidiary of Leidos) was founded in 1974 is based in Huntsville, AL. Dynetics is supporting the Artemis lunar mission with a Universal Stage Adapter (USA) for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).

Dynetics was developing lunar lander Autonomous Logistics Platform for All-Moon Cargo Access (ALPACA) with ascent and descent capabilities that would have launched on the ULA Vulcan launch system. Dynetics assembled a team composed: Sierra Nevada Corp., Oceaneering, Paragon Space Dev. Corp., and Maxar Technologies to on the ALPACA. The ALPACA was not chosen to continue in the competition that was eventually won by SpaceX.

Dynetics is now working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) on the Air Combat Evolution (ACE).

VAST

Vast or Vast Space was founded in 2021 by Jed McCalebis and is headquartered in Long Beach, California. Vast wants to create an artificial gravity space station. With the purchase of the aerospace firm, Launcher, Vast gained the Orbiter and the Light launch vehicle. Orbiter is a satellite transfer vehicle and platform.

Astrolab

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is headquartered in Hawthorne, California. This aerospace startup is working with Venturi on FLEX, a new lunar robot that can deliver payloads to the lunar surface and also provide an unpressurized rover for two astronauts enabling mobility on the lunar surface.

Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) Rover

Astrolab's FLEX rover is intended to support human operations and lunar exploration to help build a sustained human presence on the Moon. It will be constructed to deliver payloads from under the rover's chassis as well as on the top of the vehicle. FLEX will also have a robotic arm that can lift up to ~25 kilograms. When crossing the lunar surface, it will be able to raise its body to avoid obstructions.

On March 31, 2023, Astrolab announced that the FLEX lunar rover will be launched on the SpaceX's Lunar Starship on an upcoming mission to the Moon.

Lockheed-Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace and defense company formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. Lockheed Martin is also a major defense contractor and has built advanced satellites that are in use by the military and civilians. Lockheed-Martin has contributed to Mars missions with orbiters and landers, including the ill-fated Mars Climate Orbiter. Its headquarters is in North Bethesda, MD. NASA selected Lockheed Martin to provide payload delivery services under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract.

Lockheed Martin is a member of the Blue Origin "National Team" along with Northrop Grumman and Draper developing a human lunar lander for NASA to incorporate into NASA’s Artemis Moon mission. If selected it will take the US astronauts back to the lunar surface.

McCandless Lunar Lander

Lockheed Martin's McCandless Lunar lander is named in honor of astronaut Bruce McCandless II who passed away in 2019. McCandless is well known for flying the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). L-M is building the lander under the CLPS program based on their Mars InSight lander design. It will be capable of transporting large payloads to the surface of the Moon. These may be scientific instruments, deployable rovers, or even sample return vehicles.

Honeybee Robotics

Honeybee was founded in 1983 by Steve Gorevan and Chris Chapman. With headquarters based in New York (Brooklyn Navy Yard), the company also has facilities in Longmont, CO and Pasadena, CA. In 2015, Honeybee Robotics established the Santoro Scholarship fund to support engineering students interested in robotics. The scholarship is in honor of electrical engineer Christopher Santoro, a valued employee who began working at Honeybee in 2005 as an intern and passed away in 2015.

Honeybee Robotics has supported many of NASA’s Mars exploration missions building systems for drilling, coring, and taking samples on Mars missions. Honeybee supported the Mars Exploration Rovers with its Rock Abrasion Tool, and Phoenix Mars Lander mission with the Icy Soil Acquisition Device, and Curiosity Rover with the Dust Removal Tool. Honeybee is also interested in asteroid mining. They designed an Asteroid Water Extractor to gather icy soil samples and extract the water.

Trans Astronautical Corporation aka TransAstra

TransAstra was founded in 2015. They desire to build the "transcontinental railroad of space" to open the solar system for exploration. They envision a future where humans are homesteading the solar system and living off the resources of the asteroids.

TransAstra has plans for asteroid mining. They are developing a family of spacecraft they call APIS (Asteroid Provided In-situ Supplies). The smallest is named the Mini Bee - - a technology demonstration spacecraft. The Honey Bee that will be capable of capturing a 10m asteroid and mining its resources. The Queen Bee that will be capable of capturing a 40m asteroid. These vehicles will use an asteroid containment system similar to the one they proposed for the original Asteroid Redirect Mission. An orbital transfer vehicle called the Worker Bee, intended to transport payloads to high Earth orbits and beyond.

Astrobotic Technology, Inc.

Astrobotic was founded in 2007 as a commercial space development company. From the start, they planned to land their own rover on the Moon. Their lunar lander, Peregrine, will deliver payloads to the Moon for a variety of customers. The Astrobotic Mission Control Center (AMCC) in Pittsburgh, PA, will be used for Peregrine lunar cargo missions. Peregrine’s guidance and navigation system uses recently developed algorithms for navigation. It uses off-the-shelf sensors to provide reliable flight and lunar orbit. Astrobotic’s own Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) will be used during descent and landing. Scanning Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) may also be used to detect and avoid slopes, rocks, craters, and other hazards during landing.

Peregrine can deliver payloads (up to 90 kg) to lunar orbit or to the lunar surface. Peregrine can arrive at three distinct lunar orbits. The orbital inclination is determined by the landing site. Peregrine's first landing, Mission One will land near Gruithuisen Domes on the northeast edge of Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storms, at 36.3° N, 319.8° E. Astrobotic will plan missions to maximize payload operation time on the lunar surface based on landing site. For Mission One, Peregrine will land 55-110 hours after sunrise. A lunar day (from local sunrise to sunset on the Moon) is equivalent to 354 hours, or approximately 14 Earth days. At mid-latitudes, Peregrine operates for 192 hours, or 8 Earth days after landing. Polar missions may be able to operate for longer than a single lunar day due to lighting conditions.

Peregrine lander was launched on January 8, 2024 on ULA's Vulcan Centaur. After being released in the proper orbit, Peregrine lost propellent when a valve stuck open after it made its first orbiting maneuver. The spacecraft cannot reach or land on the Moon.

In April 20, 2022, Astrobotic unveiled the flight model of its Peregrine lunar lander at their headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA. This is the model for the spacecraft that will launch to the Moon under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The lander is on NASA's flight schedule for 2023 to be launched on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket.

Astrobotic purchased Masten Space Systems in September 2022. Astrobotic retained many Masten employees as well as Masten's suborbital launch vehicles and propulsion test centers. Astrobotic will keep suborbital flight operations at Masten’s test sites at Mojave, California. The company plans to continue to be a key testing site for hot fire rocket tests for commercial developers.

- - Read more about the Astrobotic on Astra's Lunar Exploration Page

Intuitive Machines, llc.

Intuitive Machines was founded in 2013 and has its headquarters in Houston, Texas. Intuitive Machines won a NASA contract under Commercial Lunar Payload Services program (CLPS) to deliver scientific instruments to the Moon using their robotic spacecraft, the Nova-C. They have been tasked to deliver 2 missions to the lunar surface, The first mission is scheduled for October 2021 and the second IM-2 is a polar mission scheduled to launch sometime in 2022. Both scheduled missions will launch on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

- - Read more about the Intuitive Machines Nova-C on Astra's Lunar Exploration Page

Intuitive Machines is also working on the Universal Reentry Vehicle (URV) system that can be used to return payloads from low Earth orbit or the Moon. The URV may someday be used to enter Mars' atmosphere. This vehicle will represent an advancement in precision Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) technology.

Nanoracks, llc.

Nanoracks's HQ is in Houston, Texas with additional offices in Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Turin, Italy. Nanoracks was founded in 2009 by Jeffrey Manber and Charles Miller to provide commercial hardware and services for the U.S. National Laboratory on board the International Space Station. Nanoracks has flown more than 1,000 projects to the space station from more than 30 nations. In 2019, Nanoracks opened its UAE space research facility because of its partnership with the United Arab Emirates to advance knowledge and technology for food produced in space and in extreme climates on Earth.

Nanoracks has deployed small CubeSats into orbit from the ISS through the Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer via the airlock in the Japanese Kibō module. The expertise gained from launching those small satellites will be applied to the Nanoracks' Bishop airlock installed in December 2020.

Nanoracks has 4 platforms to help microgravity researchers succeed on the ISS. Nanoracks Mainframe (Nanode) is a payload rack system that transports, accommodates up to up to 12 Nanolab Modules. The Nanoracks Nanode interfaces between Nanolab Modules and the ISS. This provides mounting points and electrical connections for power, data, and communication. Nanoracks Plate Reader-2 is a Molecular Devices SpectraMax M5 modified for space flight and the microgravity environment. This is a spectrophotometer that analyzes samples by shining light (200-1000 nm) on the samples inside a microplate. It can operate in absorbance, fluorescence intensity, or fluorescence polarization modes. Nanoracks Mixture Enclosure Tubes (Mixstix) hold up to 24 mixing sticks. These may be analyzed on the ISS, or returned to Earth. Nanoracks Black Box is a platform or rack system was designed to protect ISS astronauts from materials or investigations that might be too risky for open exposure.

In 2017, the Company announced their Nanoracks Space Outpost Program. This is intended to reuse and repurpose the upper stages of launch vehicles normally discarded in space and converting them into commercial habitats. They may be both human crewed or robotic and can be located throughout the solar system.

Mars Demo-1 (OMD-1) is a Nanoracks' first mission in the Outpost program scheduled to fly mid-2021 on a SpaceX Rideshare mission.

- - Read more about Nanoracks on Astra's International Space Station page

Maxar Technologies

Maxar Technologies was founded in 1969 by John MacDonald and Vern Dettwiler known as MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA). Its headquarters is in Westminster, CO. The organization has a complex and diverse history. It has relevance in the space industry today as a holding company for Space Systems Loral with headquarters in Palo Alto, CA; Digital Globe with headquarters in Westminster, CO and Radiant Solutions with headquarters in Herndon, VA. Its primary industry is satellites, satellite imaging, data modeling for satellite data, and satellite building and design.

Maxar has contributed to five NASA missions on Mars and provided some of the technologies that were sent to Mars in 2020 on Perseverance Rover. Maxar provided the Sample Handling Assembly (SHA) robotic arm that takes the sample and puts it into storage inside the rover. In the next step the sample is measured and secured. Maxar built Perseverance’s camera focus system, part of the SHERLOC and WATSON system mounted on the turret , which will support this mission by enabling the rover to identify promising samples on the surface of Mars.

Read more about Perseverance Rover at Astra's

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004 by Sir Richard Branson, a British entrepreneur and Burt Rutan to build commercial spaceships and launch vehicles that were aircraft, not rockets, for space travel. Headquarters are located in Mojave, CA. Unfortunately, Virgin Orbit, a subsidiary of Virgin Galactic has recently filed for bankruptcy after the failure of its first European launch on January 9, 2023. The mission was lost with 9 commercial payloads onboard.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceshipOne was funded by Paul Allen and designed by Burt Rutan as a venture to take paying passengers into suborbital space. Tickets would be available to the public priced at $200,000 using the Scaled Composites White Knight Two, a cargo aircraft. The first White Knight Two was named VMS Eve after Richard Branson's mother Eve. Its maiden voyage was on December 21, 2008.

When SpaceShipOne takes off from the ground, it is attached to White Knight and under its power. The combination of SpaceShipOne and White Knight can take off, land, and fly under jet power. When launched, the combined craft flies to an altitude of ~14 km (8.7 mi). SpaceShipOne is then dropped or released, and briefly glides until the rocket is ignited otherwise it can glide to the ground. When the rocket engine is ignited, SpaceShipOne can make a 65-degree climb. It can allow crew members to float in "zero" gravity and then it may also be possible to conduct microgravity research. SpaceShipOne is similar to the X-15 vehicle concept. SpaceShipOne was built to compete for the international Ansari X Prize, the race to launch the first privately built spacecraft. In October 2004, it won $10 million.

Manufactured by Virgin Galactic's The Spaceship Company, SpaceShipTwo was first presented on December 7, 2009 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. SpaceShipTwo is launched as SpaceShipOne was described above. The company planed to operate a fleet of 5 SpaceShipTwo spaceplanes to serve as a private passenger-carrying service, with a suborbital flight costing $250,000.

Unfortunately, the first SpaceShipTwo broke up in flight and crashed in the Mojave desert. A pilot named Michael Alsbury was killed and another severely injured due to parachuting from the craft. The second SpaceShipTwo spacecraft was unveiled in February 2016. Its first flight to space (above 50 miles altitude) took place in December 2018.

SpaceShipTwo needs 2 pilots and can carry six six passengers. Its apogee is ~110 km (68 mi) that is 10 km (6.2 mi) higher than the Kármán line. SpaceShipTwo will reach 4,200 km/h (2,600 mph), on a single rocket engine — the RocketMotorTwo. It launches from White Knight Two at an altitude of 15,000 metres (50,000 ft.). After 70 seconds, the rocket engine shuts down and the spacecraft coasts to its peak altitude. Virgin Galactic launches from their facilities at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC)

Sierra Nevada was founded in 1963 by John Chisholm and was purchased in 1994 by the husband and wife team of Fatih and Eren Ozmen. Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems is a business area of aerospace and defense company. SNC has multiple contracts to supply critical hardware for the Mars 2020 mission. Launched in July 2020, Mars Perseverance rover will use the descent brake developed by SNC to land on Mars. The actuators for robotic arm and sample caching system were also supplied by SNC. SNC also provided the descent brake for Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover that landed on Mars in 2012. SNC has been supporting NASA’s Mars exploration missions since 1992.

Dream Chaser Spaceplane

SNC’s Dream Chaser spaceplane is a vehicle designed to transport crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit (LEO) destinations such as the International Space Station. Dream Chaser will provide NASA cargo delivery, return and disposal service for the ISS under the Commercial Resupply Service 2 (CRS-2) contract. The first Dream Chaser orbital vehicle has been named, "Tenacity". Dream Chaser will provide at least 6 cargo resupply missions to ISS. After launch, Dream Chaser will return to Earth gently landing on a runway. Dream Chaser was originally conceived to be a human-rated spacecraft.

Dream Chaser will be attached to "Shooting Star" a 15-foot-long cargo module. It will be used to deliver more than 12,000 lbs. of cargo to ISS. SNC will use United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket as the launch vehicle. Because of delays caused by covid-19, Dream Chaser is now scheduled to launch in 2023.

Aevum, Inc

Aevum, Inc was founded in 2016 by Jay Skylus. Its headquarters is located in Huntsville, AL. Aevum seeks to break down communication barriers by launching equipment on satellites into low-earth orbit. (2,000 km above the Earth's surface) The payloads they launch are small satellites, sometimes called "CubeSats". Aevum has developed autonomous launch architecture software to reduce the amount of human involvement in launching satellites. By reducing human involvement, the cost of launching satellites will go down.

The U.S. Air Force awarded a $4.9 million contract to Aevum for the Agile Small Launch Operational Normalizer (ASLON)-45 space lift mission in October 2019. RavnX will launch multiple 3U and larger CubeSats to low Earth orbit at a 45-degree inclination. The mission is currently scheduled to fly in September 2021.

Ravn X Autonomous Launch Vehicle

The Ravn X is large, about 80 feet long, with a 60-foot wingspan. It's 18 feet tall and weighs ~55,000 pounds. Aevum claims that it is 70% reusable now and eventually will be 95% reusable. On December 3,2020, Aevum rolled out the Ravn X.

Ravn X is a three-stage, totally autonomous system. The first stage is a fully reusable aircraft. The second and third stages are rockets that use liquid fuels. The Ravn X takes off and lands horizontally, on a one-mile long runway. The first stage starts the journey, lifting the rocket off the ground. It separates from the rockets and returns home. The rockets continue until they reach orbit.

Aerum's hangar is located in Jacksonville, FL at Cecil Spaceport. In 2010, Cecil Airport became the eighth licensed commercial spaceport in the United States. It is the first facility in Florida authorized to fly space vehicles that take off and land horizontally.