What does it take for the launch component of your satellite mission to succeed? Having worked with nearly every launch provider to launch a wide range of spacecraft types and sizes, we are uniquely qualified to provide insight on some of those hard questions early.  We offer mission feasibility analysis as a standalone service to help you design for success.

The Spaceflight team has launched more than 100 satellites to date, and is intimately familiar with the standards and regulations in the field, constraints of the different launch vehicles and separation systems, and other issues associated with rideshare missions that affect early mission planning and spacecraft design.  While many challenges are common across programs, we seek to tailor each analysis to provide the specific answers you need to have confidence moving forward.

Some initial questions we are often asked:

• What mission environments envelope the largest variety of launch opportunities?
• What primary structures should I design for integration to?
• What Range Safety requirements should I design to be compatible with?
• What prohibitions and approval gates should we plan for as a part of rideshare on complex government missions?

Typically, our initial review of your prospective mission will include customer-defined overviews of volume, mass and center of gravity of your spacecraft along with any hazardous materials involved. We may also review the implications of different separation systems that are under consideration. Perhaps the most important component of our service is our ability to review many upcoming launch opportunities and identify those that are within your mission parameters. While we can’t tell you how to design your spacecraft, we can advise you on the ramifications or constraints of a specific design, and help you plan for maximum rideshare compatibility. Being launch vehicle and hardware agnostic, our goal is to help you arrive at the best design outcomes without any selection bias.

A feasibility analysis isn’t a guarantee or warranty of success: many things can’t be known at the time of spacecraft design, especially when looking at a flexible launch opportunity that may be years away. What we can do is help you “sharpen your pencil” by using our experience in rideshare, proven analysis techniques, and familiarity with payload user’s guides across the industry to identify excess conservatism and identify potential risks. Having experience across multiple launchers, we offer the benefit of being able to share our insights into various mission environments and regulatory frameworks in ways typically only available within seasoned satellite developer spheres.  Working with Spaceflight is like hiring a graybeard…without the gray!

We would be happy to talk to you about your spacecraft and what you need to be thinking about in the design phase, from export regulations to mission environments and beyond.  Let us know how we can help.