List of spacecraft manufacturers
History
This section
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adding to it .
(April 2016 )
During the early years of spaceflight only nation states had the resources to develop and fly spacecraft . Both the U.S. space program and Soviet space program were operated using mainly military (ex Airforce) pilots as astronauts . During this period, no commercial space launches were available to private operators, and no private organization was able to offer space launches.
In the 1980s, the European Space Agency created Arianespace , the world's first commercial space transportation company, and, following the Challenger disaster , the American government deregulated the American space transportation market as well. In the 1990s the Russian government sold their majority stake in RSC Energia to private investors (although it has recently renationalized the Russian space sector in 2013–2014.[ 1] )
These events for the first time allowed private organizations to purchase, develop and offer space launch services; beginning the period of private spaceflight in the late-1980s and early-1990s.
Satellite manufacturers
There are 10 major companies that build large, commercial, Geosynchronous satellite platforms:
In addition to those above, the following companies have successfully built and launched (smaller) satellite platforms:
Company
Location
No of satellites launched
Comments
AeroAstro, Inc.
United States
Closed[ 5]
Argotec
Italy
CubeSats and Small Satellites
Astranis
United States
1
Geostationary & Small-scale Satellites
British Aerospace
United Kingdom
purchased Marconi Electronic Systems , to form BAE Systems
CBERS
Brazil China
5
EnduroSat
Europe (Bulgaria)
CubeSats and Nanosatellites
Fairchild Space and Electronics Division
United States
sold to Matra Marconi Space , then sold to Orbital Sciences Corporation
Fokker Space & Systems
Netherlands
then Dutch Space, now part of EADS Astrium Satellites
GAUSS Srl
Italy
9
CubeSats and Small Satellites (<50 kg)
General Electric
United States
then merged into Martin Marietta , now part of Lockheed Martin
Hawker Siddeley Dynamics
United Kingdom
now part of EADS Astrium Satellites
Dhruva Space [ 6]
India
Nano Satellites (>8 to <35 kg)
GomSpace [ 7]
Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden
Nano and Micro Satellites (1 to 50 kg) for global tracking, Earth observation and science, communications, constellations, Internet-of-Things, defence and security, and deep-space missions.
Hera Systems
United States
1
Smart satellite bus provider. Spacecraft manufacturing and integration services, for small satellites (50–250 kg).
Hughes Aircraft
United States
purchased by Boeing
IHI Corporation
Japan
In-Space Missions [ 8]
United Kingdom
Launching first satellite in Q2 2020
Innovative Solutions in Space[ 9]
Netherlands
490
CubeSats
Libre Space Foundation[ 10]
Greece
3
CubeSats, PocketQubes
NPO Lavochkin
Russia
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Japan
Northrop Grumman Space Technology
United States
NanoAvionics
United States
90
CubeSats and Small Sats
Pumpkin, Inc.[ 11]
United States
CubeSat Kit
OneWeb
United Kingdom
640[ 12]
OneWeb satellite constellation
Planet Labs
United States
≥592[ 13]
Earth observation satellite constellation
Philco Ford
United States
then Ford Aerospace , now Space Systems/Loral
QinetiQ Space N.V.
Belgium
3
then Verhaert Space
Rockwell
United States
purchased by Boeing
RKK Energiya
Russia
produced Sputnik 1
Satrec Initiative
Korea
5
SPAR Aerospace
Canada
8
bought by MacDonald Dettwiler
Sierra Space
United States
formerly SpaceDev , owned by Sierra Space
SpaceX
United States
6700 [ 14]
largest commercial satellite constellation operator in the world with the Starlink constellation[ 15]
Spectrum Astro
United States
bought by General Dynamics
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd
United Kingdom
now part of Airbus Defence & Space
Swales Aerospace
United States
bought by Alliant Techsystems , now Orbital ATK
TRANSPACE Technologies[ 16]
India
On-Board Satellite Systems Fabrication, Testing and Reliability Analysis
TRW
United States
nearly 200 [ 17]
now part of Northrop Grumman Space Technology
TsSKB-Progress
Russia
manufacturer of Bion-M , Foton-M , Resurs-P and Persona
Xovian[ 18]
India
Nanosat and services
York Space Systems
United States
1[ 19]
Up to 250 kg spacecraft production and launch services[ 20]
Yuzhnoye Design Bureau
Ukraine
Launch vehicle manufacturers and providers of third party services
Commercial wings of national space agencies:
Lander, rover and probe manufacturers
Spacecraft component manufacturers
Company
Location
Production
Notes
Orbital Machines AS
Trondheim, Norway and Berlin, Germany
Electric propellant pumps for launch vehicles and spacecraft
Comat
Flourens, France
Space Equipment mechanism expert, from design to MAIT (Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration, Test).
SmallSat off-the-shelf solutions including ADCS (reaction wheels range), SADM, deployable structure and electric propulsion (Plasma Jet Pack)
COMAT's reaction wheels and deployable antennas have been selected for use on the upcoming Kineis IoT constellation.
Astro- und Feinwerktechnik Adlershof GmbH [de ]
Berlin, Germany
Design, Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and Verification of small satellite buses (TET-1, launched July 2012) and components. Attitude control components (reaction wheels, gyro system, GPS receiver, magnetometer)
Supplier of space systems and ISS payload NightPod
Bradford Space
New York, NY
Supplier of green propulsion systems, rocket engines, Sun sensors , reaction wheels, acceleration measurement units, and astronaut workstations.
Over 100 thrusters in-space
Dynetics
Madison, AL United States
used on Sundancer and Ares I
Tethers Unlimited, Inc.
Seattle, WA United States
De-Orbiting Devices, Deployable Solar Arrays, Propulsion Systems, Radio Communications, and Robotics
RUAG Space
Switzerland
Structures, Fairings, Mechanisms, Opto-Electronics
AB 360 Space
United States
manufacturer of CLEPS-C100 Combined electric Propulsion systems, Adjustable Thruster Engines for Mars travel
GAUSS Srl
Rome, Italy
Complete Space Platforms, Nanosatellites Structures and Deployers, OBDH, EPS, Radio Communications, Solar Panels and Groundstation systems
GomSpace
Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden
1U to 16U platforms and structures, propulsion systems, software-defined radio, S-/X-/VHF band antennas, ADCS suite, electrical power systems, solar panels, on-board computers, ground equipment etc.
Andrews Space
Seattle, WA United States
Jena-Optronik [de ] [ 25]
Jena, Germany
Attitude and Orbit Control Systems (AOCS) sensors: star sensors, Sun sensors, rendezvous- and docking sensors; Optical space instruments and components: multi-spectral imager (e.g. JSS 56 for RapidEye satellite constellation), efficient radiometer (e.g. METimage), electronic as well as opto-mechanical subsystems and components for operational Earth observation (e.g. for Copernicus Sentinel missions)
Pumpkin, Inc
San Francisco, CA United States
CubeSat Kits[ 26]
Mynaric
Munich Germany
Laser communication equipment for airborne and spaceborne communication networks, so called constellations .
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace [ 27]
Kongsberg Norway
Kongsberg Adaptive Rotational Mechanism Assembly [KARMA] in configuration as Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM), used on Rosetta (spacecraft) , Mars Express , Venus Express , Sentinel 1 , Sentinel 3 and BepiColombo MTM.
Drive electronics for Sentinel 1 and BepiColombo MTM.
Booster attachment struts, including separation function, for Ariane 5 .
Production Corporation Polyot
Russia
Rocketstar Robotics Inc[ 28]
Camarillo, CA United States
Space Interferometry Mission Optical Shutter Mechanisms
Sierra Space
United States
formerly SpaceDev , owned by Sierra Space
Clyde Space
Glasgow , Scotland
Power System Electronics, Batteries, Solar Panels, Attitude Control Systems
Acquired by ÅAC Microtec[ 29]
Astro Aerospace[ 30]
Carpinteria, CA United States
Deployable mechanisms, spacecraft structures, AstroMesh deployable reflector, deployable booms, large and small aperature mesh reflector antennas, STEM (Storable Tubular Extendable Member), hinge mechanisms,
A special business unit of Northrop Grumman
TRANSPACE Technologies[ 31]
Bangalore, KA India
On-Board Satellite Sub-Systems Fabrication, Testing, Reliability Analysis and PCB Design
Approved Vendor for ISRO Satellite Center, India
RadioBro Corporation[ 32]
Huntsville, Alabama United States
Small Spacecraft Communications, Flight Readiness Testing, Training Services[ 33]
Howco Additive Manufacturing[ 34]
Houston, Texas, United States
3D Printing Aerospace Components in In718 and Titanium
Solar MEMS Technologies [ 35]
Spain
Sun Sensors for Satellites[ 36]
krypton technology solutions
United States
Small Spacecraft components, on-orbit servicing,1U to 24U spacecraft buses
CisLunar Industries
United States
Power supplies for electric propulsion systems and space hardware
Propulsion manufacturers
Company name
Country
Engine
Engine type
Comments
Dawn Aerospace
Netherlands
B20, B1, SatDrive, Cubedrive
Bi-Propellant, Cold Gass
Nitrous Oxide based, turnkey propulsion systems
ArianeGroup
Lampoldshausen, Germany
S10, S20, S200, S400
CHT-1N, CHT-20N, CHT-400N
RIT-10, RIT-2x
propellant and Monopropellant Thrusters, Gridded Ion Thrusters
Main manufacturer for Propulsion Systems, Equipments and Services in Europe, serving major space projects like ATV, ORION-ESM, ExoMars, JUICE, MTG, GEO and EO satellites with Propulsion Solutions .
Comat
Flourens, France
Plasma Jet Pack
Vacuum Arc thruster ; Modular installation (PPSU + Nozzles)
To be used on @Isispace and @U-space platforms for French and European missions.
Modular Thruster with up to 4 nozzles per PPSCU.
AB 360 Space
Washington DC, United States
CLEPS X-100, CLEPS C100
hybrid Thrusters, Combined Liquid Electric Propulsion Systems, Methane/ Oxygen Ion Thrusters
Uses Electric and Liquid Propulsion simultaneously for space propulsion for LEO/MEOsatellites[ 37]
Moog-ISP (In Space Propulsion)
Westcott, Buckinghamshire United Kingdom
Niagara Falls, NY United States
All Forms of Chemical Propulsion including Main Apogee Engines and AOCS Thrusters
Bipropellant and Monopropellant Product Families Include: LEROS , MONARC Thruster, LTT Thruster
Division of Moog Inc .
Bradford Space
New York, NY
LMP-103s thrusters,
Water based thrusters
LMP-103s green monopropellant propulsion systems & thrusters,
COMET water based propulsion systems
>100 thrusters on flight satellites
Busek
Natick, Massachusetts United States
BHT-200, BHT-1500, BHT-20k, BET-1, BmP-220, BIT-1, BIT-3, BIT-7, uPPT-3
Hall-effect thruster , Gridded Ion , Electrospray, micro Pulsed Plasma, Green Monopropellant, Electrothermal, Hollow Cathodes, Field Emission Cathode
TacSat-2, FalconSat-5, FalconSat-6, ST-7/LISA Pathfinder. Licensed technology for BPT-4000 aboard AEHF 1, AEHF 2, AEHF 3. Propulsion options ranging from CubeSats to GEO Communications Satellites to Asteroid Redirect Mission Spacecraft.[ 38]
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Rancho Cordova, California United States
Numerous
liquid rocket engine , Solid rocket engine , Hall-effect thruster , Gridded Ion thruster .
Hanwha Aerospace
South Korea
KRE-075, KRE-007 and Monopropellant Thrusters
Bipropellant, Monopropellant and Motor
Hanwha aerospace manufacturing liquid rocket engine for KSLV-II and monopropellant enginesd spacecraft (Lunar Orbiter , KOMPSAT series, etc.). The engines are co-developed with KARI .
American Rocket Company
United States
hybrid rocket
intellectual property acquired by SpaceDev
CU Aerospace
Champaign, IL United States
PUC, CHIPS, PPT-11
MCD [ 39] / Resistojet / PPT [ 40]
Small satellite / CubeSat Propulsion Modules[ 41]
VIPER
liquid rocket engine
reusable rocket engine[ 42]
Ad Astra Rocket Company
Webster, TX United States
VASIMR
magnetoplasma
may be used for future Mars missions
Enpulsion GmbH
Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Propulsion Systems for Cubesats, Small Sats, and Medium/Large Satellites
Field Emission Electric Propulsion
Enpulsion is commercializing a technology that has been developed for ESA science missions for more than 10 years.[ 43]
PLD Space
Spain
TREPEL family
used on Miura Rockets
Reaction Engines Ltd.
Oxfordshire, England United Kingdom
SABRE
combined cycle precooled jet engine and closed cycle rocket engine
planned to be used in Skylon
LIA Aerospace Ltd.
England United Kingdom
KX11
Pressure Fed, bipropellant, green, non-toxic, storable regen cooled
used in Zonda 1.0
Sierra Space
United States
VR35K-A[ 44]
hybrid rocket , liquid rocket engine [ 45]
Commercial space subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation
SpaceDev
Poway, CA United States
hybrid rocket
acquired by Sierra Space ; used on SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo
SpaceX
Hawthorne, California, United States
Merlin / Raptor / Draco / Kestrel
liquid rocket engine
used on SpaceX rockets and spacecraft (Falcon , Starship , Dragon )
ArianeGroup
Vernon, France
Vinci / Viking / Vulcain / HM7B
liquid rocket engine
used on Ariane rockets
NPO Energomash
Russia
liquid rocket engine
used on R-7 , Molniya , Soyuz , Energia , Zenit , Atlas III , Atlas V , Angara , Antares
KBKhA
Russia
liquid rocket engine
used on Soyuz , Proton , Energia
KBKhM
Russia
liquid rocket engine
used on Vostok , Voskhod , Zenit , Soyuz , Progress , Salyut 1 , Salyut 4 , Salyut 6 , Salyut 7 , Mir Core Module , Zvezda , GSLV Mk I
NIIMash
Russia
liquid rocket engine
used on Almaz , Buran , Briz-M
TsNIIMash
Russia
used on STEX
Kuznetsov Design Bureau
Russia
liquid rocket engine
used on N1 , Soyuz-2-1v , Antares
OKB Fakel
Russia
Hall-effect thruster
used on SMART-1 , LS-1300
Proton-PM
Russia
liquid rocket engine
used on Proton , Angara
Keldysh Research Center
Russia
Voronezh Mechanical Plant
Russia
liquid rocket engine
used on Vostok , Voskhod , Molniya , Soyuz , Proton , Energia , Luna
Yuzhnoye Design Office / Yuzhmash
Ukraine
used on
Independence-X Aerospace
Malaysia
ID-1, ID-2, ID-3 and unnamed 2-stage rocket engine for DNLV
solid rocket motor and liquid rocket engine
used on ID-1, ID-2 and DNLV rocket
Borneo SubOrbitals
Malaysia
hybrid rocket
used on yet-to-be-named rocket
Apollo Fusion
United States
ACE, ACE Max
Hall-effect thruster
To be used on Spaceflight, Inc. 's Sherpa-LTE space tug [ 46]
Benchmark Space Systems
United States
Starling, Halcyon, Peregrine
Warm gas thruster, High-test peroxide thruster, Hypergolic thruster
To be used on Spaceflight, Inc. 's Sherpa-LTC space tug [ 46]
ThrustMe
France
NPT30, I2T5
Gridded ion thruster ,[ 47] [ 48] Cold gas thruster [ 49]
first in-orbit demonstration of an electric propulsion system powered by iodine[ 50] [ 51]
See also
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