Blue Canyon Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raytheon, has opened a new CubeSat manufacturing location in Boulder, CO.
The expanded 31,000-square-foot facility consolidates manufacturing efforts with dedicated CubeSat employees to build large spacecraft constellations and increase production from 50 to 85 CubeSats a year. Blue Canyon’s CubeSat performance is industry leading with sub-arcsecond pointing accuracy and optimization for payload size, weight and power. Currently, the company has 38 CubeSats in various stages of design, assembly and test.
“Our CubeSats are truly a groundbreaking product in small satellites and offer industry-leading pointing accuracy,” said John Carvo, executive director of CubeSats at Blue Canyon Technologies. “This new manufacturing facility allows us to produce at a larger scale, provide innovative solutions and deliver top-performing satellites to meet our customers’ needs.”
Recently three Blue Canyon CubeSat buses were launched aboard Virgin Orbit. One of the satellites had the distinction of being the first Blue Canyon 12U CubeSat to carry 19 payloads to Low-Earth Orbit. The company is looking forward to providing its largest constellation delivery with 18 integrated CubeSats for a commercial customer and several NASA launches, including the uncrewed Artemis 1 moon rocket scheduled for Aug. 29 and Starling at the end of 2022.
Since 2020, Raytheon Technologies has invested more than $1 billion in small satellites, space hardware, constellation management and onboard processing — technologies that will help define the future of space. This new CubeSat Factory is just one example of scaling production and delivering solutions faster.
Contract Opportunities to Watch: QinetiQ
QinetiQ has won the Fort Belvoir Prototyping Integration Facility (BPIF) task order under the Deployable Adaptive Global Responder Support (DAGRS) IDIQ contract vehicle.
This task order has a ceiling value of $45 million with performance of a 1-year base period and four 1-year option periods.
QinetiQ will continue supporting the U.S. Army’s DEVCOM C5ISR Center Fort Belvoir Prototyping Integration Facility (PIF) by providing technical and programmatic services for system development, fabrication, sensor and system integration, prototyping of multi-function sensor suites, and technology assessment efforts aimed at supporting current and future DEVCOM C5ISR PIF Belvoir customers.
“Supporting the U.S. national security is QinetiQ’s highest priority,” said Shawn Purvis, President and CEO of QinetiQ US. “We are proud to continue our partnership with the C5ISR Center and its mission partners to rapidly deliver innovative capabilities to support our national security.”
“QinetiQ supports the DEVCOM C5ISR PIF Belvoir to assist unique and special programs with urgent and critical requirements to provide sensing technologies, integration, and rapid prototyping services to the Warfighter” said Stephen Iwicki, Executive Vice President and General Manager of QinetiQ’s C5ISR Business Unit.
Key Employer in the Cleared Industry: Leidos
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Cleared Opportunities
Lockheed Martin has doubled its venture capital fund from $200 million to $400 million. Lockheed Martin Ventures will use the increased funds to continue to accelerate future defense innovation through investment in start-up technology companies.
“The success of our venture capital investments to-date is a testament to our strategy and allows Lockheed Martin to continue to deliver innovative solutions across all domains,” said Jay Malave, CFO, Lockheed Martin. “Doubling our ventures fund will allow us to increase the number of start-up companies we can work with to advance 21st Century Security technologies for the benefit of our customers.”
Lockheed Martin Ventures’ portfolio companies leverage the latest disruptive, cutting-edge technologies in core businesses and new markets important to Lockheed Martin. Since 2007, the ventures fund has invested in more than 70 startup companies whose emerging innovations have the potential to become foundational technologies that help solve the complex challenges faced by our customers.
“In 2021 alone, Lockheed Martin Ventures screened more than 1,000 start-up companies that are leading advancements in the areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics, cyber security, and quantum computing,” said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager, Lockheed Martin Ventures. “Today’s announcement is about growing the fund, but also about growing our team, our portfolio, and our level of engagement with core Lockheed Martin programs. This commitment allows Lockheed Martin Ventures to identify, evolve and integrate emerging technology into our national security industrial base on a larger scale and better serve the future needs of our customers.”
Year to date, the ventures fund has already invested in 11 new technology companies focused on areas of interest to Lockheed Martin such as sensor technology, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, and space services.
