Five Reasons why Agile Space is a Top Choice for U.S. Government Missions
Agile Space Industries is a trusted partner of the U.S. Government, and has supported prime contractors to the Department of Defense, NASA and other governmental agencies. We’ve been a trusted partner for testing and evaluation of liquid-propellant space-propulsion systems for critical missions since 2009. Our first propulsion product-development contract award in 2011 was for a NASA SBIR to study the use of ceramic additive manufacturing in rocket engine injectors, and we haven’t looked back. Since those early days, we’ve continued to listen carefully to the needs of government agencies and prime contractors and are acutely aware of the need for innovative propulsion solutions to support the exponential growth in planned space missions to support our national interests. We’ve developed and hot-fired 10 different thruster models along with other propulsion system solutions, have sold over 120 flight engines and are just getting started.
Why has Agile Space become a fast favorite for missions led by defense and civil-space primes as well as government customers such as NASA and the Air Force?
While the reasons fluctuate with mission requirements, these five reasons are consistently cited as why our propulsion solutions rise to the top:
SHORT LEAD TIME AND HIGH VOLUME. Our in-house metal additive manufacturing and modern manufacturing processes allow us to manufacture the highest quality components in less than a week. We eliminate the traditional many-months or even years long delivery schedules of traditional manufacturers. Part count and touch time is very low while the level of automation is high allowing us to scale without additional time or investment. Our chemical propulsion hot-fire test stands are vertically integrated so that our programs can allocate test time tomorrow for high importance missions. The US Government and its contractors need cost-effective, rapid solutions to meet their mission requirements.
PERFORMANCE. Our thrusters offer best-in-class capabilities, allowing spacecraft to quickly turn and efficiently move to desired orbits, making them perfect for tricky rendezvous or proximity missions. We utilize the best propellants for the mission and allow spacecraft to achieve orbit changes in days and maneuver without regret. These capabilities support Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and a high level of resiliency on-orbit, which are stated goals of the U.S. Air Force Space Command.
RELIABLE. Our solutions are have been hot fire tested before every delivery. We’ve invested in the infrastructure at our Space Propulsion Test facility in Durango, CO so that we can perform rapid and iterative hotfire testing throughout development of our products.
STEALTH. Our modern manufacturing processes allow us to pick our metal alloys based on properties, not manufacturability. This gives our thrusters a much smaller heat signature than those created by traditional methods. The far lower temperatures produced makes the spacecraft much harder to detect through thermal imaging, perfect for missions requiring stealth.
DOMESTIC PRODUCTION. Our products are designed, built and tested right here in the USA. This enables the ultimate supply chain security, and allows us to be in compliance with civil, defense and military contracts.
A new space race is just beginning, and we’re at a pivotal moment in the history of space exploration. The economic potential beyond the Earth is clear to commercial entities, and with space now declared as a “domain of warfare” along with land, sea and air, nations are also looking to gain the strongest foothold among the stars. Agile Space Systems is ready to serve both.
MORE FROM AGILE SPACE:
