Colorado-based ExoTerra Resources has delivered 21 electric propulsion modules to York Space Systems to support the U.S. Space Development Agency\u2019s (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer, the company said, as part of efforts to boost U.S. defense satellite capabilities.<\/p>\n
The Iris250 propulsion systems are designed for small satellites and support low-latency communications in SDA\u2019s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. ExoTerra reached a production milestone last month, delivering 15 propulsion units in a single month following a rapid scale-up of its workforce and facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand the importance of scaling propulsion production for SDA and we\u2019re glad we could come in and meet the challenge,\u201d said Mike VanWoerkom, CEO of ExoTerra, in a statement. \u201cProduction of the Tranche 2 units is following immediately behind these, with first deliveries expected next month.\u201d<\/p>\n
To accelerate output, ExoTerra hired 100 new employees, quadrupled its manufacturing capacity, and invested $8 million in new equipment. The company\u2019s upgraded facility is now fully operational, supporting increased monthly production goals. \u201cWith scaling issues now behind us, we expect to achieve 24 per month later this year, as we continue to ramp up the learning curve,\u201d VanWoerkom said.<\/p>\n
The SDA\u2019s Transport Layer is a network of small satellites in low Earth orbit designed to provide secure and rapid data connectivity for defense applications. As demand for national security space assets continues to grow, suppliers like ExoTerra have faced pressure to expand capacity and accelerate delivery schedules.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2011, ExoTerra specializes in the design, manufacture, and testing of electric propulsion systems for small satellites. The company said its current production run supports both government and commercial satellite programs. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to be part of this program and are excited to see it fly in the coming months,\u201d VanWoerkom added.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Colorado-based ExoTerra Resources has delivered 21 electric propulsion modules to York Space Systems to support the U.S. Space Development Agency\u2019s (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer, the company said, as part of efforts to boost U.S. defense satellite capabilities. The Iris250 propulsion systems are designed for small satellites and support low-latency communications in SDA\u2019s Proliferated Warfighter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6856,6857,20,881,6855,987],"class_list":["post-20460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-exoterra-resources","tag-mike-vanwoerkom","tag-satellite","tag-space-development-agency","tag-u-s-space-development-agency","tag-york-space-systems"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20460"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}