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Welcome to SATELLITE MANUFACTURERS & LAUNCH VEHICLE MAKERS
Humanity's interest in the heavens has been universal and enduring. Humans are driven to explore the unknown, discover new worlds, push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits, and then push further. The intangible desire to explore and challenge the boundaries of what we know and where we have been has provided benefits to our society for centuries. Human space exploration helps to address fundamental questions about our place in the Universe and the history of our solar system. Through addressing the challenges related to human space exploration we expand technology, create new industries, and help to foster a peaceful connection with other nations. Curiosity and exploration are vital to the human spirit and accepting the challenge of going deeper into space
Companies which manufacture complete satellites, payloads, buses as well as space segment hardware manufacturers.
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TOP 10 MAJOR SATELLITE BUILDERS
There are 10 major companies that build large, commercial, Geosynchronous satellite platforms:
ROCKET ENGINE DEVELOPMENT
COMPANY |
LOCATION |
TOTAL SATELLITES LAUNCHED |
DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
1.Airbus Defence and Space |
Europe(France/Germany/Spain/United Kingdom) |
|
Formerly Astrium |
2.OHB SE |
Europe(Germany/Italy/Luxembourg/ Sweden/France/Belgium) |
|
|
3.Boeing Defense,Space&Security |
United States |
|
Boeing Defense, Space&Security(BDS) is a division of The Boeing Company based in Arlington, Virginia. |
4.INVAP |
Argentina |
6 - SAC-A |
INVAP is developing new satellites ARSAT-3 SAOCOM SABIA-Mar |
5.JSC Information Satellite Systems |
Russia |
1160 |
Formerly NPO PM |
6.Lockheed Martin |
United States |
|
|
7.Northrop Grumman |
United States |
|
Formerly Orbital ATK |
8.Raytheon |
United States |
|
One of worlds largest space sensor providers. |
9.Space Systems/Loral |
United States |
240 |
Formerly Space Systems/Loral,LLC |
10.Thales Alenia Space |
Europe(France/Italy/United Kingdom/ Spain/Belgium/Germany/Poland) |
|
Thales Alenia Space is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer formed after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Leonardo, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio. |
In addition to those above, the following companies have successfully built and launched (smaller) satellite platforms:
COMPANY |
LOCATION |
TOTAL SATELLITES LAUNCHED |
DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
1.AeroAstro, Inc |
United States |
|
Closed |
2.Amsat |
International-United States,Canada, Germany,Italy,Japan,Brazil,India,United Kingdom,Argentina |
|
Consortium of amateur satellite constructors |
3.hruva Space |
India |
|
Nano Satellites (>8 to <35 kg) |
4.Berlin Space Technologies |
Germany |
|
Small Satellites (30-150kg) & Components |
5.British Aerospace |
United Kingdom |
|
Purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, to form BAE Systems |
6.CBERS |
Brazil & China |
5 |
|
7.Compagnia Generale per lo Spazio |
Italy |
|
part of OHB SE |
8.Clyde Space |
United Kingdom |
|
CubeSats and Nanosatellites (<10 kg) |
9.Fairchild Space and Electronics Division |
United States |
|
sold to Matra Marconi Space, then sold to Orbital Sciences Corporation |
10.Fokker Space & Systems |
Netherlands |
|
Then Dutch Space, now part of EADS Astrium Satellites |
11.GAUSS Srl |
Italy |
9 |
CubeSats and Small Satellites (<50 kg) |
12.General Electric |
United States |
|
Then merged into Martin Marietta, now part of Lockheed Martin |
13.Hawker Siddeley Dynamics |
United Kingdom |
|
now part of EADS Astrium Satellites |
14.Hughes Aircraft |
United States |
|
|
15.IHI Corporation |
Japan |
|
|
16.Millennium Space Systems |
United States |
2 |
|
17.SpaceX |
United States |
62 |
Starlink constellation (Space Internet) |
18.NanoAvionics |
Lithuania |
1 |
CubeSats and Small Sats |
19.OneWeb |
United Kingdom |
6 |
OneWeb satellite constellation |
20.QinetiQ Space N.V. |
Belgium |
3 |
then Verhaert Space |
21.SPAR Aerospace |
Canada |
8 - Alouette 1 (1) |
Bought by MacDonald Dettwiler |
22.SNC Space Systems |
United States |
|
Formerly SpaceDev, owned by Sierra Nevada Corporation |
23.SpaceQuest, Ltd |
United States |
16 |
Microsatellites & Components |
24.Xovian |
India |
|
Nanosat and services |
25.TRANSPACE Technologies |
India |
|
On-Board Satellite Systems Fabrication, Testing and Reliability Analysis |
26.TRW |
United States |
nearly 200 |
Now part of Northrop Grumman Space Technology |
27.Yuzhnoye Design Bureau |
Ukraine |
|
Now part of Northrop Grumman Space Technology |
28.TsSKB-Progress |
Russia |
|
manufacturer of Bion-M, Foton-M, Resurs-P and Persona |
29.Swales Aerospace |
United States |
|
Bought by Alliant Techsystems, now Orbital ATK |
30.Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd |
United Kingdom |
|
Now part of Airbus Defence & Space |
LAUNCH VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS AND PROVIDERS (Third Party services)
COMPANY |
LOCATION |
TOTAL SATELLITES LAUNCHED |
DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
1.Arianespace |
Europe(France/Germany/Italy/ Belgium/ Switzerland/Sweden/Spain/Netherlands/Norway/Denmark) |
|
Ariane(Rocket Family) |
2.COSMOS International |
Russia/Germany |
|
Commercialises the Kosmos-3M launcher |
3.Delft Aerospace Rocket Engineering |
Netherlands |
|
Suborbital student-built sounding rockets |
4.Eurockot Launch Services |
Europe(Germany/France/United Kingdom/ Spain/Netherlands/Russia) |
|
Owned by EADS Astrium |
5.International Launch Services |
United States,Russia |
97/100 |
|
6.ISRO |
India |
58/71 |
PSLV, GSLV, GSLV III |
7.ISC Kosmotras |
Russia/Ukraine/Kazakhstan |
|
|
8.Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau |
Russia |
|
Commercialises the Volna and Shtil' launchers |
9.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
Japan |
62 |
|
10.NPO Mashinostroyeniya |
Russia |
|
Commercialises the Strela launcher |
11.Orbital ATK |
United States |
|
Manufacturer of Antares, Minotaur and Pegasus |
12.Rocket Lab |
New Zealand/United States |
|
Manufacturer of Electron launch vehicle |
13.Sea Launch |
United States/Russia/Ukraine/Norway |
28/31 |
Provider of Sea Launch and Land Launch service |
14.SpaceX |
United States |
54/58 |
Falcon 1,Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy |
15.Starsem |
Europe(Germany/France/United Kingdom/ Spain/Netherlands/Italy/Belgium/Switzerland/Sweden/Norway/Denmark/ and Russia) |
|
Commercialises the Soyuz launcher |
16.The Spaceship Company |
United States |
|
Reusable spaceship launched from the White Knight Aircraft for space tourism and zero-g experimentation |
17.TsSKB-Progress |
Russia |
|
Manufacturer of Soyuz launch vehicle |
18.United Start Launch |
United States |
|
Commercialises the Start-1 launcher |
19.Virgin Galactic |
United States |
|
Space Tourism Using 'The Spaceship Company spacecraft |
20.Virgin Orbit |
United States |
|
Manufacturer of LauncherOne air-launched launch vehicle |
COMMERCIAL WINGS OF NATIONAL SPACE AGENCIES
COMPANY |
LOCATION |
TOTAL SATELLITES LAUNCHED |
DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
1.Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL) |
Bengaluru (HQ) |
|
Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space. |
2.China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) |
Haidian District, Beijing, China |
|
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. |
3. TAIWAN AEROSPACE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION/Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) |
Taichung,Greater Taiwan |
|
AIDC was privatized through a public stock offering on August 25th, 2014 with the Taiwanese Government retaining a 39% stake. |
LANDER, ROVER & PROBE
COMPANY |
LOCATION |
TOTAL PROBES LAUNCHED |
DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
1.Brown Engineering Company |
Huntsville, AL United States |
|
Rover for Apollo lunar program |
2.Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) |
India |
|
Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, Mars Orbiter Mission(MOM-1), MOM-2 (2022 Est) |
3. Deep Space Industries |
Mountain View, CA United States |
|
|
4.NASA JPL(Jet Propulsion Laboratory) |
Pasadena,USA |
|
For ATHLETE lunar missions, Mars Pathfinder, Opportunity and Spirit rover |
5.Planetary Resources |
edmond, WA United States |
|
Arkyd-100 for asteroid searching |
6.Lavochkin |
Russia |
|
Rovers for Lunokhod 1 |
7.China National Space Administration (CNSA) |
China |
|
For Chang'e 3 program in 2013 |
SPACECRAFT COMPONENTS MANUFACTURERS
COMPANY |
LOCATION |
PRODUCTION |
DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
1.Antenna Development Corporation |
Las Cruces,NM,United States |
Design, Manufacturing, Assembly, and Test of satellite antennas. |
|
2.Astro- und Feinwerktechnik Adlershof GmbH |
Berlin, Germany |
Attitude control components (reaction wheels, gyro system, GPS receiver, magnetometer). |
|
3.Dynetics |
Madison, AL United States |
|
Used on Sundancer and Ares I |
4.American Technology Consortium |
Oxnard, CA United States |
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. |
5.Tethers Unlimited, Inc |
Seattle, WA United States |
De-Orbiting Devices, Deployable Solar Arrays, Propulsion Systems, Radio Communications, and Robotics |
|
6.RUAG Space |
Switzerland |
Structures, Fairings, Mechanisms, Opto-Electronics |
|
7.TRANSPACE Technologies |
Bangalore, KA India |
On-Board Satellite Sub-Systems Fabrication, Testing, Reliability Analysis and PCB Design |
Approved Vendor for ISRO Satellite Center, India |
8.GAUSS Srl |
Rome, Italy |
Complete Space Platforms, Nanosatellites Structures and Deployers, OBDH, EPS, Radio Communications, Solar Panels and Groundstation systems |
|
9.Andrews Space |
Seattle, WA United States |
|
|
10. Jena-Optronik |
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). |
|
11.Pumpkin, Inc |
|
CubeSat Kits[ |
San Francisco, CA United States |
12.Mynaric |
Munich Germany |
Laser communication equipment for airborne and spaceborne communication networks, so called constellations. |
|
13.Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace |
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. |
|
14.Production Corporation Polyot |
Russia |
|
|
15.Rocketstar Robotics Inc[ |
marillo, CA United States |
Space Interferometry Mission Optical Shutter Mechanisms |
|
16.SNC Space Systems |
United States |
|
Formerly SpaceDev, owned by Sierra Nevada Corporation |
17.Astro Aerospace[ |
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 |
18.Clyde Space |
United Kingdom |
Power System Electronics, Batteries, Solar Panels, Attitude Control Systems |
Acquired by ÅAC Microtec |
19. RadioBro Corporation |
Huntsville, Alabama United States |
Small Spacecraft Communications, Flight Readiness Testing, Training Services[ |
|
20.Solar MEMS Technologies |
Spain |
Sun Sensors for Satellites |
|
PROPULSION MANUFACTURERS
COMPANY |
LOCATION |
ENGINE |
ENGINE TYPE |
DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1.Aerojet Rocketdyne |
Rancho Cordova, California United States |
Numerous |
liquid rocket engine, Solid rocket engine, Hall-effect thruster, Gridded Ion thruster. |
|
2.American Rocket Company |
United States |
|
Hybrid rocket |
Intellectual property acquired by SpaceDev |
3.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. |
4.CU Aerospace |
Champaign, IL United States |
PUC,CHIPS,PPT-11 |
MCD/Resistojet/PPT |
|
5.Exotrail |
Massy, France |
ExoMG |
Hall-effect thruster |
|
6.Frontier Astronautics |
Valencia, CA United States |
VIPER & ASP |
VIPER: Liquid rocket engine |
Reusable rocket engine & Reusable monopropellant rocket engine |
7.Ad Astra Rocket Company |
Webster, TX United States |
VASIMR |
magnetoplasma |
MAY be used for future Mars missions |
8.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. |
9.Reaction Engines Ltd |
Oxfordshire,United Kingdom |
SABRE |
Combined cycle precooled jet engine and closed cycle rocket engine |
Planned to be used in Skylon |
10.SpaceDev |
Poway, CA, United States |
Hybrid rocket |
Used on SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo |
|
11.SpaceX |
Hawthorne,California, United States |
Merlin | Raptor | Draco | Kestrel |
Liquid Rocket Engine |
Used on Falcon Rockets |
12.TGV Rockets |
Washington,DC,United States |
PF-X / Electrocycle |
Liquid Rocket Engine |
Used on customer vehicles |
13.ArianeGroup |
Vernon, France |
Vinci / Viking / Vulcain / HM7B |
Liquid Rocket Engine |
Used on Ariane rockets |
14.NPO Energomash |
Russia |
Vinci / Viking / Vulcain / HM7B |
Liquid Rocket Engine |
Used on Ariane rockets |
15.NPO Energomash |
Russia |
|
Liquid Rocket Engine |
Used on R-7, Molniya, Soyuz, Energia, Zenit, Atlas III, Atlas V, Angara, Antares |
16.KBKhA |
Russia |
|
Liquid Rocket Engine |
used on Soyuz, Proton, Energia |
17.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 |
18.NIIMash |
Russia |
|
Liquid Rocket Engine |
used on Almaz, Buran, Briz-M |
19.TsNIIMash |
Russia |
|
Liquid Rocket Engine |
used on STEX |
20.Kuznetsov Design Bureau |
Russia |
|
Liquid Rocket Engine |
used on N1, Soyuz-2-1v, Antares |
21.OKB Fakel |
Russia |
|
Hall-Effect Thruster |
used on SMART-1, LS-1300 |
22.Proton-PM |
Russia |
|
Liquid Rocket Engine |
used on Proton, Angara |
23.Keldysh Research Center |
Russia |
|
Liquid Rocket Engine |
|
24.Voronezh Mechanical Plant |
Russia |
|
used on Vostok, Voskhod, Molniya, Soyuz, Proton, Energia, Luna |
|
25.Yuzhnoye Design Office / Yuzhmash |
Ukraine |
RD-8 |
1.Oxygen+kerosene and N204+UDMH 2.liquid Rocket engine |
Used on Vega, Zenit, Cyclone and lot of soviet missiles Okean-O, Sich-1, EgyptSat 1 and lot of soviet spacecrafts |
LAUNCH VEHICLE MAKERS
