Satellites & Spacecraft companies in United States
Space Atlas lists 95 organisations in United States working in satellites & spacecraft: 43 private companies, 38 startups, 6 academic institutions, 4 research institutions, 4 government agencies. That is 36% of the 263 space organisations in United States and 16% of the 597 in this sector worldwide. Most are based in Boulder (5), San Francisco (5), Denver (4).
Private Company (43)
- Advanced Space · Private Company · Westminster
American space mission company — owns and operates NASA's CAPSTONE lunar pathfinder and develops cislunar navigation, mission design and autonomy software.
- Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) · Private Company · Redmond
Amazon's satellite broadband business — designs, builds and operates a 3,200+ satellite LEO constellation and customer terminals for global internet access.
- Anduril Industries · Private Company · Costa Mesa
Develops autonomous systems for all domains including space — builds AI-powered autonomous vehicles, rocket motors and software for national security and allied defence missions.
- AST SpaceMobile · Private Company · Midland
Building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network directly accessible by standard smartphones — operates BlueBird LEO satellites enabling 4G/5G from space globa…
- Astranis · Private Company · San Francisco
Builds small, affordable geostationary MicroGEO communications satellites — delivers dedicated broadband connectivity to underserved regions and government customers. Acquired b…
- Astro Digital · Private Company · Santa Clara
American small satellite manufacturer — builds and operates satellites for commercial, civil and defence missions, incl. Lyra IoT satellites for EchoStar.
- Axiom Space · Private Company · Houston
Builds and operates the world's first commercial space station — develops Axiom Station modules to attach to the ISS and trains astronauts for private human spaceflight missions.
- BlackSky Technology · Private Company · Herndon
Space-based intelligence company delivering real-time high-frequency Earth observation — operates a LEO small satellite constellation with AI analytics via the BlackSky Spectra …
- Boeing Defense, Space & Security · Private Company · Arlington
Develops launch systems, satellites and crewed spacecraft for government and commercial customers.
- Capella Space · Private Company · San Francisco
Operates the first US commercial SAR constellation — delivers 50cm resolution all-weather imagery for defense, intelligence and commercial customers through the Capella IonQ pla…
- CesiumAstro · Private Company · Austin
Develops software-defined phased array communications payloads for space and airborne platforms — builds multi-beam active phased array systems for defense, commercial and civil…
- EchoStar Corporation · Private Company · Englewood
Global provider of satellite technology and services — operates geostationary and LEO satellites for broadband connectivity, video distribution and VSAT networks across consumer…
- Firefly Aerospace · Private Company · Cedar Park
Develops small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers and space tugs — operates the Alpha rocket, Blue Ghost lunar lander and Elytra space tug for government and commerc…
- General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) · Private Company · San Diego
American defence technology group — its Englewood, Colorado space unit builds small satellite platforms, payloads and constellations for US government missions.
- GeoOptics · Private Company · Pasadena
US Earth observation company — sells radio occultation environmental data from its CICERO small-satellite constellation for weather prediction.
- Globalstar · Private Company · Covington
American mobile satellite services operator — runs a LEO constellation for satellite voice, IoT and direct-to-device messaging services.
- Iridium Communications · Private Company · McLean
Operates the only mobile satellite network spanning the entire globe — provides voice and data communications, broadband and IoT tracking for maritime, aviation, government and …
- L3Harris Technologies · Private Company · Melbourne
Sixth-largest US defense contractor — provides space payloads, sensors, satellite intelligence, electronic warfare and communication systems for national security and commercial…
- LeoStella · Private Company · Tukwila
American small-satellite manufacturer in the Seattle area — designs and builds smallsat buses and spacecraft for constellation operators.
- Lockheed Martin Space · Private Company · Littleton
Develops advanced space systems, satellites and deep space exploration vehicles.
- Maxar Technologies · Private Company · Westminster
Leading provider of advanced space technology solutions, satellite imagery and geospatial intelligence.
- Moog Inc. (Space and Defense Group) · Private Company · East Aurora
American motion-control manufacturer — its Space and Defense group builds spacecraft propulsion, avionics, buses and launch vehicle actuation systems.
- NearSpace Launch, Inc. · Private Company · Albuquerque
American small-satellite supplier — makes components, satellite kits and services, having supported over 100 small satellites in orbit.
- Northrop Grumman · Private Company · Falls Church
Global aerospace, defence and space technology company delivering advanced systems and solutions.
- Omnispace · Private Company · Tysons
US satellite operator developing a global 5G non-terrestrial network in its 2 GHz S-band spectrum for direct-to-device connectivity.
- ORBCOMM · Private Company · Sterling
US industrial IoT company — provides satellite and cellular M2M connectivity and asset tracking for shipping, trucking and heavy equipment.
- Planet Labs · Private Company · San Francisco
Operates the world's largest fleet of Earth observation satellites for daily global imaging.
- PlanetiQ · Private Company · Golden
US satellite data company — operates GNSS radio occultation satellites supplying atmospheric, space weather and climate data to NOAA and NASA.
- Pumpkin Space Systems (Pumpkin, Inc.) · Private Company · San Francisco
American small satellite supplier — makes the CubeSat Kit, structures, solar arrays, flight computers and complete 1U to 12U satellite buses.
- Red Canyon Engineering & Software · Private Company · Denver
Develops cutting-edge engineering and software solutions for space exploration and renewable resources — provides flight software, systems engineering and mission operations sup…
- Redwire Space · Private Company · Jacksonville
Leading space infrastructure company — develops deployable solar arrays, in-space 3D printing, satellite components and biotech payloads for NASA, DoD and commercial customers.
- Rocket Lab · Private Company · Long Beach
Delivering frequent, reliable launch services and spacecraft solutions to make space more accessible for all.
- RTX Corporation (Raytheon) · Private Company · Arlington
Global aerospace and defense conglomerate — provides space-based sensors, missile defense systems, satellite intelligence and propulsion via Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney a…
- Sidus Space · Private Company · Cape Canaveral
American space and defence company — builds LizzieSat multi-mission satellites and provides space manufacturing and data services from Cape Canaveral.
- Sierra Space · Private Company · Louisville
Develops space transportation and orbital infrastructure — builds the Dream Chaser spaceplane, expandable LIFE habitat and Velocity satellite platforms for the commercial space …
- Space Systems Integration LLC · Private Company · Chantilly
American small engineering services firm in Chantilly, Virginia — supports space systems integration and engineering for government programmes.
- SpaceWorks Enterprises · Private Company · Atlanta
Provides aerospace engineering, market research, advanced concept development and innovative flight hardware — specialises in small satellite systems, propulsion and hypersonic …
- SpaceX · Private Company · Hawthorne
Designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft to revolutionise access to space.
- Starlab Space LLC · Private Company · Houston
American commercial space station developer — joint venture led by Voyager Technologies building the Starlab LEO station under NASA's CLD programme.
- Tomorrow.io · Private Company · Boston
Operates a constellation of weather monitoring satellites — combines space-based microwave radiometry with AI to provide proprietary weather intelligence for aviation, energy an…
- Viasat Inc. · Private Company · Carlsbad
American satellite communications company — operates Ka-, L- and S-band satellite fleets (incl. Inmarsat) for broadband, aviation, maritime and defence users.
- Voyager Technologies · Private Company · Denver
Space technology holding company and parent of Starlab — develops the Starlab commercial space station in partnership with Airbus, targeting crew operations as ISS successor for…
- York Space Systems · Private Company · Greenwood Village
Mass-produces complete mission-ready spacecraft platforms — the S-CLASS bus provides rapid, affordable satellite solutions for government and commercial LEO communications, EO a…
Startup (38)
- Albedo Space · Startup · Denver
American very-low-Earth-orbit satellite company — builds VLEO satellite buses and the Clarity constellation for high-resolution visible and thermal imagery.
- AmplifiedSpace · Startup · Boulder
American space hardware startup spun out of CU Boulder — develops modular smart electrical power systems for spacecraft.
- Antaris · Startup · Los Altos
US space software startup — offers the SatOS spacecraft operating environment and AI-powered Antaris Intelligence platform for mission design and operations.
- Apex · Startup · Culver City
Mass-manufactures productized satellite bus platforms — the Aries (100kg) and Nova (600kg+) buses offer standardised, configurable spacecraft for government and commercial LEO m…
- Arkisys · Startup · Los Alamitos
American in-space infrastructure startup — developing The Port, a modular orbital platform for payload hosting, assembly and servicing from LEO to cislunar.
- Array Labs · Startup · Palo Alto
American radar satellite startup — building formation-flying multistatic SAR satellite clusters to produce 3D imagery of the Earth's surface.
- AstroForge · Startup · Huntington Beach
American asteroid mining startup — builds deep-space spacecraft to prospect and eventually refine platinum-group metals from near-Earth asteroids.
- Copernicus Space Corporation · Startup · Boston
American space startup in Boston — develops technologies to enable swarm exploration of the solar system with fleets of small spacecraft.
- E-Space · Startup · Saratoga
Satellite constellation company with European HQ and factory plans in Toulouse — building a sustainable LEO network for IoT and connectivity.
- EOI Space · Startup · Louisville
American Earth observation startup — building a very-low-orbit satellite constellation to collect ultra-high-resolution imagery.
- Gravitics · Startup · Marysville
American space station module builder — develops large habitable spacecraft modules for commercial stations and US Space Force missions.
- Hedron · Startup · Mountain View
US space startup (formerly Analytical Space) — building a network of optical data relay satellites to deliver real-time space-to-Earth connectivity.
- Hubble Network · Startup · Seattle
American satellite IoT startup — operates a LEO constellation that connects standard Bluetooth Low Energy devices directly to satellites.
- K2 Space Corporation · Startup · Torrance
Develops high-power, large satellite buses for LEO, MEO, GEO and Cislunar space — the K2 platform supports multi-kilowatt payloads at dramatically lower cost, targeting governme…
- Katalyst Space Technologies · Startup · Flagstaff
Builds autonomous robotic spacecraft for in-orbit servicing — the NEXUS vehicle installs new payloads and upgrades on unprepared satellites in GEO/MEO, pioneering an 'upgrade ec…
- Lodestar Space · Startup · Boulder
Develops deep space navigation and positioning systems — provides autonomous on-board navigation for lunar and cislunar spacecraft without reliance on Earth-based tracking.
- Loft Orbital · Startup · San Francisco
Deploys space infrastructure as a service — provides rapid, simplified access to orbit through hosted payload missions on its standardised satellite buses, enabling customers to…
- Logos Space Services · Startup · Redwood City
American satellite operator startup — building an FCC-authorised LEO broadband constellation of about 4,000 satellites for enterprise and government users.
- Lux Aeterna · Startup · Denver
American space startup — developing a fully reusable satellite bus with heat shield and parachute recovery, starting with the Delphi demonstrator.
- Lynk Global · Startup · Alexandria
Enables global cell phone connectivity via nanosatellites — provides direct-to-standard-mobile satellite communication without any modifications to existing handsets for emergen…
- Muon Space · Startup · Mountain View
Designs, builds and operates mission-optimised LEO satellite constellations — the Halo platform delivers critical Earth intelligence data for national security, civil and commer…
- NewOrbit Space · Startup · San Jose
Develops satellite technology for ultra-low Earth orbit (ULEO) operations — enabling satellites to operate at altitudes of 200-350km for superior resolution imaging and reduced …
- Orbital Micro Systems · Startup · Boulder
American Earth observation company, a subsidiary of Weather Stream — develops small-satellite microwave sensing for space-based weather data.
- Phantom Space Corporation · Startup · Tucson
Develops integrated launch vehicles, modular satellites and in-space propulsion — the Daytona rocket targets small satellite orbital launches with a turnkey space access and dat…
- Quantum Space · Startup · Rockville
American spacecraft company — develops the maneuverable, refuelable Ranger spacecraft for national security and cislunar missions from LEO to the Moon.
- Reflect Orbital · Startup · Hawthorne
American space startup — develops satellites with large deployable mirrors to reflect sunlight onto solar farms and other sites after dark.
- Rhea Space Activity · Startup · Washington, D.C.
American space defence startup — develops navigation, space domain awareness and in-space manoeuvring technologies for US defence customers.
- Satlyt · Startup · Sunnyvale
US-Kenyan space software startup — builds software to run AI workloads on satellites and pool computing across spacecraft in orbit.
- Space Lab Technologies, LLC · Startup · Boulder
American small engineering firm in Boulder — develops technologies for space habitats, life support, small satellites and high-altitude balloons.
- SpinLaunch · Startup · Long Beach
American space company — developing kinetic centrifuge launch technology and the Meridian Space LEO broadband satellite constellation.
- Starcloud · Startup · Redmond
American space company (formerly Lumen Orbit) — designs and launches satellites hosting GPU data centres for AI computing in orbit.
- Starfish Space · Startup · Kent
Develops Otter, a small and affordable in-space servicing vehicle for satellite life extension and orbital logistics — the first commercial spacecraft to dock with another comme…
- Totum Labs · Startup · San Diego
American satellite IoT startup in San Diego — operates a low Earth orbit nanosatellite constellation for tracking and monitoring assets.
- True Anomaly · Startup · Centennial
Founded by ex-US Space Force members — develops spacecraft, mission software and payloads for space superiority, space domain awareness and national security missions in orbit.
- Turion Space · Startup · Irvine
Builds and operates spacecraft for space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing and debris mitigation — operates the DROID satellite fleet and Starfire NEXUS platform for national…
- Umbra · Startup · Santa Barbara
American SAR satellite operator — builds and operates a commercial synthetic aperture radar constellation and sells imagery to government and commercial users.
- Xona Space Systems · Startup · Burlingame
Building the PULSAR LEO satellite constellation for direct-to-device precision navigation — delivers centimetre-level GPS accuracy for autonomous vehicles, drones and robotics.
- Xplore · Startup · Redmond
Provides space-as-a-service via its LEO hyperspectral satellite constellation — offers remote sensing data products, edge computing in orbit and mission operations software for …
Academic Institution (6)
- Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory (PolySat) · Academic Institution · San Luis Obispo
Student-run research lab at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — co-created the CubeSat standard and has designed and launched over a dozen CubeSats.
- Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin (CSR) · Academic Institution · Austin
UT Austin research centre — leads satellite geodesy and gravity missions (GRACE-FO, ICESat-2 science), small satellites and cislunar research.
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) · Academic Institution · Boulder
University of Colorado Boulder research institute — designs, builds and operates space science instruments and spacecraft for NASA missions.
- Space Rendezvous Laboratory, Stanford University (SLAB) · Academic Institution · Stanford
Stanford Aeronautics and Astronautics lab — researches spacecraft navigation, rendezvous, formation flying and space domain awareness.
- Space Sciences Laboratory, UC Berkeley (SSL) · Academic Institution · Berkeley
UC Berkeley research unit — designs, builds and operates space science instruments and missions, with roles in over 50 NASA missions.
- Space Systems Design Laboratory, Georgia Tech (SSDL) · Academic Institution · Atlanta
Georgia Tech aerospace engineering lab — designs, tests and operates small satellites, with thermal vacuum facilities and a mission operations centre.
Government Agency (4)
- NASA · Government Agency · Washington DC
United States government agency leading civilian space exploration, aeronautics research and Earth science.
- NOAA Satellite and Information Service (NESDIS) · Government Agency · Silver Spring
US government office within NOAA — acquires and operates the nation's environmental satellites (GOES, JPSS) and runs the National Centers for Environmental Information.
- Space Development Agency (SDA) · Government Agency · Washington
US Space Force acquisition agency — fields the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture of LEO transport and missile-tracking satellite tranches.
- United States Space Force (USSF) · Government Agency · Arlington
Space service branch of the US Armed Forces within the Department of the Air Force — organises, trains and equips forces for military space operations.
Research Institution (4)
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) · Research Institution · Laurel
US university-affiliated research centre — builds and operates NASA science spacecraft (New Horizons, DART, Dragonfly) and defence space systems.
- Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) · Research Institution · San Antonio
US non-profit applied R&D organisation — its space science and engineering divisions lead NASA missions and build spacecraft instruments.
- Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) · Research Institution · North Logan
Utah State University-owned University Affiliated Research Center — builds small satellites, space sensors and payloads for US defence and NASA missions.
- The Aerospace Corporation · Research Institution · El Segundo
Independent nonprofit providing technical expertise and analysis for national security space programs — advises the US Space Force, NRO, NASA and commercial space on systems eng…