Spaceflight Inc. and
Benchmark Space Systems Sign Exclusive Deal for
Green Propulsion On Next-Gen Sherpa Vehicles
August 5, 2020
Benchmark Space Systems
announced an exclusive services agreement with
rideshare leader Spaceflight Inc. to provide a
full range of non-toxic chemical propulsion
solutions designed to accelerate satellite
rideshare deployments to prime orbital locations
aboard its next-generation Sherpa orbital
transfer vehicles (OTVs).
Announced last month,
Spaceflight’s first OTV in the Sherpa-NG family,
Sherpa FX, will carry 16 customer spacecraft and
several hosted payloads aboard a Falcon 9 no
earlier than December 2020. Benchmark’s safe
chemical propulsion will be equipped on an
upgraded vehicle called Sherpa-LT as early as
late next year. Benchmark’s propulsion features
a patented On-Demand Pressurization System
(ODPS) that securely fires up the thruster once
the OTV is safely in space and deployed from the
launch vehicle.
The exclusive propulsion
agreement enables Spaceflight’s small satellite
rideshare missions to take full advantage of
low-cost rideshare launches to sub-optimal
locations in space, where its Sherpa-LT vehicle
propelled by a Benchmark green thruster can
maneuver rideshare and dedicated spacecraft to
ideal orbits in a matter of hours.
Benchmark’s scalable,
launch vehicle agnostic propulsion product and
services set supports a broad spectrum of
spacecraft, from 1U CubeSats through ESPA-class
(1-500kg) satellites, large lunar landers, and
orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), offering far
safer and faster rideshare options than electric
propulsion systems, which can take months to
complete their trips to orbit.
“By exclusively adding
Benchmark’s reliable, green in-space propulsion
systems to our portfolio of powered Sherpa
vehicles, we can cost-effectively deliver our
customers’ spacecraft to optimal orbits with
greater precision, and then rapidly deorbit.
That’s good for everyone – including the
environment,” said Curt Blake, Spaceflight
president and CEO.
“Benchmark Space Systems is
thrilled to support Spaceflight’s Sherpa OTV
program, bringing our patented non-toxic
chemical propulsion solutions to this exciting
next-gen deployer to enable a whole new level of
rideshare capabilities and options for faster,
safer missions to the best orbital locations
around the world,” said Ryan McDevitt, Benchmark
Space Systems CEO. “The Sherpa OTV and its
rideshare customers can reach optimal orbits in
no time with up to one-thousand times the thrust
of electric propulsion, which is so slow the
journey to orbit often cuts mission time and
revenue in space. We are looking forward to our
first milestone launch with Spaceflight’s Sherpa
OTV next year.”
The integration of
Benchmark’s non-toxic chemical propulsion
solutions across the propulsion-equipped Sherpa
OTV series will add speed and precision to
Spaceflight’s market-leading rideshare services
and capabilities. Spaceflight has launched more
than 270 satellites across nearly 30 rideshare
missions. In 2019, the company successfully
executed nine missions, the most it’s ever
launched in one year, sending more than 50
payloads to space.
“The Spaceflight-Benchmark
collaborative agreement delivers on big demand
for innovative green rideshare options that
leverage low-cost launches to sub-optimal space
with propulsion-equipped transporters offering
quick, precise payload deliveries to premier
orbit locations,” said Chris Carella, Executive
Vice President of Business Development and
Strategy, Benchmark Space Systems. “Both
companies are agile developers and share a
passion for always creating better solution
designs that are launch vehicle agnostic and
keenly focused on enabling new space
accessibility with rapid, reliable in-space
transport.”