List of spacecraft manufacturers
History
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 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 8 major companies that build large, commercial, Geosynchronous satellite platforms:
Company | Location | No of satellites launched | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Airbus Defence and Space | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
formerly Astrium | |
OHB SE | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||
Boeing Defense, Space & Security | ![]() |
formerly Boeing Integrated Defense Systems | |
INVAP | ![]() |
6 - SAC-A SAC-B SAC-C SAC-D ARSAT-1 ARSAT-2 |
INVAP is developing new satellites ARSAT-3 SAOCOM SABIA-Mar |
JSC Information Satellite Systems | ![]() |
1160 | formerly NPO PM |
Lockheed Martin | ![]() |
||
Northrop Grumman | ![]() |
formerly Orbital ATK | |
Raytheon | ![]() |
One of worlds largest space sensor providers. | |
Space Systems/Loral | ![]() |
240[2] | formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC |
Thales Alenia Space | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
formerly Alcatel Alenia Space |
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. | ![]() |
Closed [3] | |
Alén Space | ![]() |
5 | |
Amsat | International - ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
consortium of amateur satellite constructors | |
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. | ![]() |
||
Berlin Space Technologies | ![]() |
Small Satellites (30-150kg) & Components | |
Blue Canyon Technologies | ![]() |
13 | Small spacecraft and components; mission services |
British Aerospace | ![]() |
purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, to form BAE Systems | |
CBERS | ![]() ![]() |
5 | |
Compagnia Generale per lo Spazio | ![]() |
part of OHB SE | |
Clyde Space | ![]() |
CubeSats and Nanosatellites (<10 kg) | |
EnduroSat | ![]() |
CubeSats and Nanosatellites | |
Fairchild Space and Electronics Division | ![]() |
sold to Matra Marconi Space, then sold to Orbital Sciences Corporation | |
Fokker Space & Systems | ![]() |
then Dutch Space, now part of EADS Astrium Satellites | |
GAUSS Srl | ![]() |
9 | CubeSats and Small Satellites (<50 kg) |
General Electric | ![]() |
then merged into Martin Marietta, now part of Lockheed Martin | |
GomSpace | ![]() |
Cubesats and nanosatellites (<10 kg) | |
Hawker Siddeley Dynamics | ![]() |
now part of EADS Astrium Satellites | |
Dhruva Space[4] | ![]() |
Nano Satellites (>8 to <35 kg) | |
Hughes Aircraft | ![]() |
purchased by Boeing | |
IHI Corporation | ![]() |
||
In-Space Missions[5] | ![]() |
Launching first satellite in Q2 2020 | |
Innovative Solutions In Space[6] | ![]() |
CubeSats | |
NPO Lavochkin | ![]() |
||
Orcho Aerospace | ![]() |
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MicroSat Systems Inc. | ![]() |
formerly Space division of Dynacon Incorporated | |
Millennium Space Systems | ![]() |
2 | |
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | ![]() |
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Northrop Grumman Space Technology | ![]() |
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NanoAvionics | ![]() |
1 | CubeSats and Small Sats |
Pumpkin, Inc.[7] | ![]() |
CubeSat Kit | |
OneWeb | ![]() |
40[8] | OneWeb satellite constellation |
Planet Labs | ![]() |
298[9] | Earth observation satellite constellation |
Philco Ford | ![]() |
then Ford Aerospace, now Space Systems/Loral | |
QinetiQ Space N.V. | ![]() |
3 | then Verhaert Space |
RCA Astro | ![]() |
purchased by General Electric, then by Martin Marietta, now part of Lockheed Martin | |
Raytheon | ![]() |
||
RAL Space | ![]() |
part of STFC | |
Rockwell | ![]() |
purchased by Boeing | |
RKK Energiya | ![]() |
produced Sputnik 1 | |
Satrec Initiative | ![]() |
5 | |
SPAR Aerospace | ![]() |
8 - Alouette 1 (1) Anik-E (1) RADARSAT 1 and 2 (2) Olympus-1 (1) MSAT 1, 2 and SA (3) |
bought by MacDonald Dettwiler |
SNC Space Systems | ![]() |
formerly SpaceDev, owned by Sierra Nevada Corporation | |
SpaceQuest, Ltd | ![]() |
16 | Microsatellites & Components |
SpaceX | ![]() |
422[10] | largest commercial satellite constellation operator in the world with the Starlink constellation[11] |
Spectrum Astro | ![]() |
bought by General Dynamics | |
Sun Space and Information Systems (Pty) Ltd | ![]() |
||
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd | ![]() |
now part of Airbus Defence & Space | |
Swales Aerospace | ![]() |
bought by Alliant Techsystems, now Orbital ATK | |
TRANSPACE Technologies[12] | ![]() |
On-Board Satellite Systems Fabrication, Testing and Reliability Analysis | |
Turkish Aerospace Industries | ![]() |
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TRW | ![]() |
nearly 200 [13] | now part of Northrop Grumman Space Technology |
TsSKB-Progress | ![]() |
manufacturer of Bion-M, Foton-M, Resurs-P and [[Persona (satellite)|Persona] | |
Xovian[14] | ![]() |
Nanosat and services | |
York Space Systems | ![]() |
1[15] | Up to 250kg spacecraft production and launch services[16] |
Yuzhnoye Design Bureau | ![]() |
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Launch vehicle manufacturers and providers of third party services
Commercial wings of national space agencies:
Lander, rover and probe manufacturers
Company | Location | No. of probes launched | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Brown Engineering Company | Huntsville, AL ![]() |
Rover for Apollo lunar program | |
China National Space Administration | ![]() |
for Chang'e 3 program in 2013 | |
Deep Space Industries | Mountain View, CA ![]() |
||
Lavochkin | ![]() |
rovers for Lunokhod 1 | |
NASA JPL | ![]() |
for ATHLETE lunar missions, Mars Pathfinder, Opportunity and Spirit rover | |
ISRO | ![]() |
Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, Mars Orbiter Mission | |
Planetary Resources | Redmond, WA ![]() |
Arkyd-100 for asteroid searching |
Spacecraft component manufacturers
Company | Location | Production | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Antenna Development Corporation | Las Cruces, NM ![]() |
Design, Manufacturing, Assembly, and Test of satellite antennas, primarily Low Gain Antennas (Many units in LEO and Deep Space missions) Antenna hats (couplers) and environmental testing.
Supplier of microstrip patch antennas, helix antennas, quadrifilar helix antennas, antenna couplers, circumferential array antennas, and power splitters |
|
Astro- und Feinwerktechnik Adlershof GmbH | Berlin, ![]() |
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 |
|
Dynetics | Madison, AL ![]() |
used on Sundancer and Ares I | |
American Technology Consortium | Oxnard, CA ![]() |
Mars Pathfinder Airbag Retraction Actuator Planetary Gearboxes, Mars Pathfinder Camera Pointing Mechanisms, Stardust Scan Mirror Mechanism, Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) Robot Arm Brush Motors, MVACS Camera Pointing Mechanisms, Genesis Array Deployment Mechanism, Shuttle Radar Topography Mapper (SRTM) Mast Deployment Actuators, SRTM Harmonic Drive Actuators, A2100 & A2100M Bus Antenna Pointing Mechanism Linear Actuators, Orbview 3 & 4 Antenna Gimbals, Sirius Satellite Radio Antenna Gimbal Motors, Champollion Cryogenic Comet Drill Actuator, TES Filter Wheel Actuator, Mars Odyssey Mission PanCam Mast Deployment Actuator, Mars Odyssey PanCam Azimuth Twist Capsule and Actuator Assembly, Mars Odyssey PanCam Elevation Actuator, Mars Odyssey Drill Mechanism Gearboxes, and Mars Phoenix Camera Pointing Mechanisms | Asset sale to competitor in 2000, Original corporation renamed to Rocketstar Robotics Inc in 2006 |
Tethers Unlimited, Inc. | Seattle, WA ![]() |
De-Orbiting Devices, Deployable Solar Arrays, Propulsion Systems, Radio Communications, and Robotics | |
RUAG Space | ![]() |
Structures, Fairings, Mechanisms, Opto-Electronics | |
GAUSS Srl | Rome, ![]() |
Complete Space Platforms, Nanosatellites Structures and Deployers, OBDH, EPS, Radio Communications, Solar Panels and Groundstation systems | |
Andrews Space | Seattle, WA ![]() |
||
Jena-Optronik[20] | Jena, ![]() |
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 ![]() |
CubeSat Kits[21] | |
Mynaric | Munich ![]() |
Laser communication equipment for airborne and spaceborne communication networks, so called constellations. | |
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace[22] | Kongsberg ![]() |
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 | ![]() |
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Rocketstar Robotics Inc[23] | Camarillo, CA ![]() |
Space Interferometry Mission Optical Shutter Mechanisms | |
SNC Space Systems | ![]() |
formerly SpaceDev, owned by Sierra Nevada Corporation | |
Clyde Space | ![]() |
Power System Electronics, Batteries, Solar Panels, Attitude Control Systems | Acquired by ÅAC Microtec[24] |
Oxford Space Systems | ![]() |
Spacecraft antennas, deployable booms and other structures | Startup on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus |
Astro Aerospace[25] | Carpinteria, CA ![]() |
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[26] | Bangalore, KA ![]() |
On-Board Satellite Sub-Systems Fabrication, Testing, Reliability Analysis and PCB Design | Approved Vendor for ISRO Satellite Center, India |
RadioBro Corporation[27] | Huntsville, Alabama ![]() |
Small Spacecraft Communications, Flight Readiness Testing, Training Services[28] | |
Solar MEMS Technologies[29] | ![]() |
Sun Sensors for Satellites[30] | |
Propulsion manufacturers
Company name | Country | Engine | Engine type | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
ArianeGroup | Lampoldshausen, ![]() |
S10, S20, S200, S400
CHT-1N, CHT-20N, CHT-400N RIT-10, RIT-2x |
propellant and Monopropellant Thrusters, Gridded Ion Thrustersi | 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. |
ThrustMe | France | NPT30, I2T5 | Gridded ion thruster, Cold gas thruster | Fully integrated propulsion systems for small satellites using solid iodine propellant. |
Exotrail | Massy, ![]() |
ExoMG | Hall-effect thruster | |
Moog-ISP (In Space Propulsion) | Westcott, Buckinghamshire![]() Niagara Falls, NY |
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. |
Busek | Natick, Massachusetts ![]() |
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.[31] |
Aerojet Rocketdyne | Rancho Cordova, California ![]() |
Numerous | liquid rocket engine, Solid rocket engine, Hall-effect thruster, Gridded Ion thruster. | |
American Rocket Company | ![]() |
hybrid rocket | intellectual property acquired by SpaceDev | |
CU Aerospace | Champaign, IL ![]() |
PUC, CHIPS, PPT-11 | MCD[32] / Resistojet / PPT[33] | Small satellite / CubeSat Propulsion Modules [34] |
Frontier Astronautics | Valencia, CA ![]() |
VIPER | liquid rocket engine | reusable rocket engine [35] |
Asp | high test peroxide | reusable monopropellant rocket engine | ||
Ad Astra Rocket Company | Webster, TX ![]() |
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.[36] |
PLD Space | ![]() |
TREPEL family | used on Miura Rockets | |
Reaction Engines Ltd. | Oxfordshire, England ![]() |
SABRE | combined cycle precooled jet engine and closed cycle rocket engine | planned to be used in Skylon |
SpaceDev | Poway, CA ![]() |
hybrid rocket | used on SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo | |
SpaceX | Hawthorne, California, ![]() |
Merlin / Raptor / Draco / Kestrel | liquid rocket engine | used on Falcon Rockets |
TGV Rockets | Washington, DC, ![]() |
PF-X / Electrocycle | liquid rocket engine | used on customer vehicles |
ArianeGroup | Vernon, ![]() |
Vinci / Viking / Vulcain / HM7B | liquid rocket engine | used on Ariane rockets |
NPO Energomash | ![]() |
liquid rocket engine | used on R-7, Molniya, Soyuz, Energia, Zenit, Atlas III, Atlas V, Angara, Antares | |
KBKhA | ![]() |
liquid rocket engine | used on Soyuz, Proton, Energia | |
KBKhM | ![]() |
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 | ![]() |
liquid rocket engine | used on Almaz, Buran, Briz-M | |
TsNIIMash | ![]() |
used on STEX | ||
Kuznetsov Design Bureau | ![]() |
liquid rocket engine | used on N1, Soyuz-2-1v, Antares | |
OKB Fakel | ![]() |
Hall-effect thruster | used on SMART-1, LS-1300 | |
Proton-PM | ![]() |
liquid rocket engine | used on Proton, Angara | |
Keldysh Research Center | ![]() |
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Voronezh Mechanical Plant | ![]() |
liquid rocket engine | used on Vostok, Voskhod, Molniya, Soyuz, Proton, Energia, Luna | |
Yuzhnoye Design Office / Yuzhmash | ![]() |
|
used on
|
See also
- List of private spaceflight companies including only companies with primarily private funding and missions ("NewSpace")
- Russian aerospace industry
References
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- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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