In an era of rapid technological development, perhaps the most impactful human achievement of the 20th century was making a foray into space.
From Sputnik’s launch and the moon landing to the present day, orbital flight has proven to be crucial to understanding more about both the solar system and life on Earth. The International Space Station and large quantities of satellites provide us with revolutionary methods of collecting, researching and transmitting data like deep-space photographs and aerial maps of Earth. Several manned missions to the Moon have allowed human life to touch down on uncharted terrain, and today, spacecraft tech and rover capabilities carry on the research and discover more about our neighboring systems.
Aerospace Companies You Should Know
- PlanetLabs
- Bluestaq
- Boeing
- Boom
- Supersonic
- Aurora Flight Services
- Maxar Technologies
- SpaceX
- The Aerospace Corporation
- Honeybee Robotics
- BAE Systems
What cannot be overlooked is the tremendous amount of effort and dedication of those working with aerospace companies to advance innovation. These companies each possess unique capabilities crucial for ensuring spacecrafts and satellites are safe, reliable and efficient.
Aerospace Companies to Know
Location: Long Beach, California
Relativity Space designs and builds rockets like the Terran R, a reusable rocket that can be used for both commercial and government satellite launches. In March 2023, Relativity Space launched the Terran 1 3D printed rocket into space, marking a historic first for the aerospace industry.
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Subsidiary company GE Aviation, credited with manufacturing the United States’ first jet plane engine, has been creating aviation, healthcare and energy industry technologies for over 100 years. In 2021, the company and others entered into a five-year contract to ground-test hybrid electric engine cores for single-aisle aircrafts, as part of NASA’s Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration project. The electric propulsion technologies are showing good signs that they may allow future aircrafts to save fuel and optimize engine performance.
Location: Leiden, Netherlands
Known for creating the A380 passenger airliner, Airbus manufactures and delivers aviation and aerospace technologies. The company’s hardware aids in aerospace observation, navigation, telecommunications and more. Currently, Airbus has over 50 geostationary satellites in operation and is part of the European Space Agency’s industrial operator team for the ISS.
Location: Lafayette, Colorado
Orbit Fab provides refueling services for spacecrafts, with the intention of facilitating an industry shift away from single-use crafts. Its tagline is “gas stations in space,” and to date, the company has served the International Space Station with water and has established a commercial fuel depot — a gas station — in low Earth orbit.
Location: Plano, Texas
Advanced Integration Technology is a veteran in the aerospace industry. The company provides automation systems and aerospace tooling globally by designing, fabricating and installing its products. Over the past 25 years, AIT has developed engineering solutions such as friction-stir welding and laser-indexing to improve joint flexibility and minimize defects in parts. The company also offers maintenance services for fully integrated systems.
Location: Broomfield, Colorado
With over half a century of experience, BAE Systems, Inc. continues to be a pillar in space innovation. The company has perfected its first-class technology producing stealth antennas, scientific instruments and spacecraft products. It also reinforces each product with data-based insights, allowing customers to embrace a cutting-edge approach with confidence.
Location: Alameda, California
Astra makes engines for spacecraft using electric propulsion technology and provides launch services for space missions. Astra reached a key milestone in 2021, succeeding in its first commercial launch to low Earth orbit. The company says its launch systems are designed to be cost efficient with a payload capacity of approximately 600 kg.
Location: Broomfield, Colorado
Gogo Business Aviation offers broadband internet connectivity for the business aviation market. It keeps travelers connected through features like smart cabin systems for integrated connectivity and in-flight entertainment. Using emerging technology, the company is launching Gogo Galileo, a project that provides broadband service through an electronically steered antenna on a low-Earth orbit, or LEO, satellite network.
Location: McLean, Virginia
Intelsat’s space and terrestrial network encompasses more than 55 satellites and 200,000-plus fiber miles, enabling the company to maintain a portfolio of global communications and connectivity solutions. Intelsat offers technology to keep businesses connected to their maritime operations, for example, and support services for government and commercial satellite programs.
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Boeing is a global leader in aerospace and aviation innovation, utilizing vast industry expertise and state-of-the-art technologies to soar higher with more efficiency. Operating within the commercial aviation, defense and space industries provides Boeing with opportunities to create cross-functional technology to solve for a range of challenges at once, continually transforming processes for exceptional performance.
Location: El Segundo, California
Vast is an aerospace startup that has (you guessed it) vast ambitions to create livable areas in space so we can better preserve Earth’s biosphere. The company is at work developing in-space infrastructure that can expand across the entire solar system and artificial gravity that eliminates space-wrought bone deterioration. Vast is also working on zero-gravity environments for people who want to remain weightless while completing daily tasks.
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Drawing on its foundational roots in aerospace engineering, MORSE Corp designs and builds technology solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense, such as software for manned and unmanned vehicles. For example, the company worked with the U.S. Army to optimize the mission planning software it uses to coordinate efforts to airdrop supplies for deployed troops.
Location: Broomfield, Colorado
Sierra Space’s ambitious long-term vision is to house businesses and people in space. To achieve this goal, Sierra Space is working on a winged commercial space plane that can hold up to 12,000 pounds of supplies and equipment. Its other technologies include a microgravity-flexible environment for long-duration missions and a new commercial space station that could be used for tourism.
Location: Hawthorne, California
SpaceX is a focal point of innovation when it comes to aerospace research, development and deployment, launching several spacecraft into orbit and continuing to push the boundaries of exploration. The company’s Dragon spacecraft is among the few vehicles to deliver and return cargo to the ISS and is capable of transporting up to seven passengers in and out of orbit at once, demonstrating significant progress in the race for private passenger space travel.
Location: Englewood, Colorado
When DISH merged with EchoStar, the company went all in on aerospace offerings. With DISH’s widespread 5G coverage and EchoStar’s JUPITER 3 GEO satellite, the company is able to provide global connectivity services under various consumer and business brands, including DISH Wireless, DISH TV, Hughes and Hughesnet.
Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Lockheed Martin is an aerospace and security company with manufacturing expertise in aircraft, satellite, radar and other technologies. Callisto, created in collaboration with Amazon and Cisco, is an AI-based telecommunications software tool being used to transmit information while aboard the Orion aircraft in NASA’s Artemis I mission. Meanwhile, exploration spacecraft Lucy is en route to visit Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids in a mission set to last until 2033.
Location: Englewood, Colorado
Boom Supersonic is committed to developing an innovative, sustainable and safe way to bring supersonic flight back to our skies. The company’s first line of supersonic aircraft, Overture, is a passenger jet that utilizes a carbon fiber composite fuselage and turbofan engines to provide efficiency and cut flight times by as much as half. Overture aircrafts are expected to begin production by 2024 and carry out passenger flights by 2029.
Location: Lafayette, Colorado
Ursa Major Technologies focuses on the development of high-performing, low-cost aerospace engines that reduce timelines and add more reliability to vehicles entering orbit. Engines available from the company utilize multiple fuel types for advanced propulsion across use cases and are available at several price points for varied innovation.
Location: Costa Mesa, California
Anduril is an aerospace and defense tech company that makes software for autonomous assets, which are uncrewed crafts that operate on land, in the sky and at sea without a human onboard. The company’s Lattice platform connects various autonomous entities so that a single human can control them remotely, coordinating missions across locations and contexts from one operator site.
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Aurora Flight Sciences is an industry leader in the development and manufacturing of advanced unmanned aircraft systems and aerospace vehicles, focusing on developing technologies for long-endurance travel, robotic co-pilots, autonomous craft and more. Much of the company’s recent success has come while collaborating with Boeing on the rapid prototyping of both commercial and military aircraft and structural assemblies. The company utilizes build-to-print and rapid prototyping techniques with advanced composite materials to drive costs down and improve quality, performance and safety.
Location: El Segundo, California
With the only federally funded research and development center dedicated to the space enterprise, The Aerospace Corporation helps fine-tune launch processes, develop satellite systems and troubleshoot problems with laboratory tests. As space exploration looms on the horizon, The Aerospace Corporation continues to provide valuable insights for the next phase of space technology.
Location: Westminster, Colorado
Maxar Technologies offers products and systems that support a number of industries, focusing largely on space tech and the benefits it provides on Earth. Satellite assembly/servicing and robotic surveillance technology allow Maxar Technologies to contribute to dynamic mission success while providing mapping and analytics capabilities that deliver groundbreaking knowledge to the energy, mining, telecommunications and commercial mapping industries.
Location: Fully Remote
ForeFlight makes flight planning software for pilots. Owned by aerospace giant Boeing, the company’s apps support individuals and flight crews. With features for managing things like runway analysis, flight dispatch, fuel monitoring and flight data analysis, pilots can keep tabs on everything they need to know from a single, mobile-optimized dashboard.
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Flatirons Solutions works with airlines, aviation manufacturers and MRO workers to solve complex information management issues and turn data into actionable information. The company’s managed content, fleet management and manufacturing management platforms help organize information needed for day-to-day operations and publishing technical information, working alongside existing teams to provide support in the areas where it is needed most.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
With the partnerships of government agencies like NASA and the U.S. Air Force, Hermeus is accelerating air travel. Hermeus is building the Mach 5, a hypersonic aircraft, which is predicted to allow travelers to fly across the Atlantic in 90 minutes. The company’s other products include Quarterhorse and its engine Chimera.
Location: Longmont, Colorado
The next frontier of technology lies beyond Earth’s boundaries, and Honeybee Robotics is prepared for this upcoming chapter of innovation. With over 30 years of experience, the company has become an expert in the areas of motion control, space exploration, and infrastructure systems. Organizations like NASA can depend on the creative solutions of Honeybee Robotics to power spacecraft and space mining missions that usher in an exciting period of advancement.
