Their cubesats can fly inside and be deployed from an Xcraft , which is about the size of a small refrigerator that fits snugly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 or similar rocket . It will be capable of carrying multiple cubesats and other instruments , up to 70 kg of payload or 50U . Beyond this , its ESPA-class design allows the company to serve higher-capability customers who require them to power , navigate and task instruments for communication relay or remote sensing applications .
The cost for the customer is low – instead of paying for the whole launch , they ’ re just paying for their fractional share of the payload .
“ They can focus on their instrument because they don ’ t have to build a truck , integrate their payload , or design the mission and launch ,” Rich said . “ We ’ re powering their
It ’ s a growing business . Xplore has won contracts with agencies like NASA , the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) and the U . S . Air Force . Now it wants to capture more .
“ Space companies are building more instruments , and they want to test more things ,” she said . “ There ’ s a lot of work to be done .”
Come sail away
instruments and bringing their data back .”
Science fiction fans grew up reading about light sails : spacecraft towed behind thin sheets of material that capture photons emitted by a star .
Truth has caught up with fiction . In 2010 , the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency ( JAXA ) launched the first demonstration satellite powered by a light sail , called IKAROS .
38 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS