Terran Orbital Corporation, a global company in satellite-based solutions primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries, announced their entrance into the small satellite geosynchronous orbit (GEO) market with their SmallSat GEO solution for satellites above 500kg. This was unveiled at the SATELLITE 2024 trade show that took place last month.
SmallSat GEO is intended for the communications market and can operate in geosynchronous orbit and provide higher power and performance than may have been needed in low-earth orbit (LEO). The geosynchronous market is moving more towards small satellites with more and more GEO spacecraft ordered in the small size class. Terran Orbital is leveraging its investment in a 94,000 sq ft advanced manufacturing facility with automation in build and test, as well as three previous GEO missions, to expand into this market.
“Our customers require agility, affordability, and the ability to adapt their geosynchronous communication architecture,” said Marc Bell, Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer at Terran Orbital. “We can bring our LEO small satellite heritage to GEO and provide the agile customization that our customers have come to expect and value.”
Key strengths of Terran Orbital’s SmallSat GEO capability:
- Performance & Power: Gives customers a high-performing platform compactly packaged to support missions with the best price/bit offering.
- Payload: Adaptable to commercial/customer-provided or Terran Orbital-supplied payloads. Allows for independently steerable multi-beam arrays. Supports multiple reflectors.
- Cost: Significantly lower cost, with a faster delivery timeline than traditional GEO.
By offering this new capability, Terran Orbital further solidifies its position as a leader in cost-effective responsive space solutions. The company remains committed to developing innovative and cost-effective technologies that empower the national security community and revolutionize the future of space exploration.
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