ATLANTA (SpaceWorks PR) – Built to provide a lower-cost option for returning products and experiments from space, SpaceWorks® future RED-4U capsules will serve a vital role in the round-trip space transportation network. In the latest round of testing on October 19th, Atlanta-based SpaceWorks built a prototype of its RED-4U capsule to simulate a portion of the final leg of orbital re-entry, where the capsule fell from near space (20 miles) and landed softly and safely at the test site in Madras, Oregon. The company has been developing its novel line of re-entry devices (RED) for the past four years. This high-altitude drop test was partially funded through NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program and was recently featured on NASA’s website. It is SpaceWorks’ latest step towards fielding a full cargo return capability.

ATLANTA, July 22, 2021 (SpaceWorks PR) – SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc (SEI), along with Earthly Dynamics LLC (EDC) and Aerial Delivery Solutions LLC (ADS), will attempt to autonomously land SEI’s RED-4U Capsule within specified range of a target after release from an altitude of 100k ft. This test will be the latest in a steady progression to advance SpaceWorks’ product line of Reentry Device (RED) capsules, including the RED-25 and RED-4U, that provide on-demand downmass capabilities from Earth orbit. The mission, designated Suborbital Test Vehicle 2 (STV-2), is funded through NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program.

ATLANTA, Georgia, January 26th 2021 – SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI), along with its partners Earthly Dynamics, LLC (EDC) and Aerial Delivery Solutions, LLC (ADS), has validated autonomous and precision landing of a space-based payload return capsule through a series of successful low-altitude drop tests. The tests in Dunnellon, Florida on November 19th are the latest in a steady progression to develop SpaceWorks’ product line of entry capsules, including the RED-25 and RED-4U that provide on-demand and low-cost downmass capabilities from Earth orbit.

by Nicole Quenelle
NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program

NASA has selected 31 promising space technologies for testing aboard parabolic aircraft, high-altitude balloons, and suborbital rocket-powered systems. By exposing the innovations to many of the rigors and characteristics of spaceflight – without the expense of an orbital flight – NASA can help ensure these technologies work correctly when they are deployed on future missions.

“By supporting suborbital flight testing, our Flight Opportunities  program aims to help ensure that these innovations are well-positioned to address challenges and enable NASA to achieve its lunar ambitions, while also contributing to a growing and vibrant commercial space industry,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The Flight Opportunities program is part of STMD.

ATLANTA, August 4, 2017  (SpaceWorks Enterprises PR) — SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) announces the recent award of a Phase 2 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO) to advance the design of a sustainable and evolvable platform to provide persistent payload hosting capabilities in geosynchronous orbit (GEO).

The GEO platform would be a single spacecraft assembled from multiple smallsat-scale spacecraft modules conforming to the DARPA Payload Orbital Delivery (POD) form factor. The platform would be capable of providing electrical power, data processing, and high-bandwidth communications to hosted customer payloads. Support for both commercial and government customers is envisioned in order to maximize the utility of the platform and create an economically viable system.

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ATLANTA (SpaceWorks PR) — SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) is pleased to release an update to its research into a human stasis approach at the 2016 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The concept involves placing the crew of a Mars mission into a prolonged hypothermic state during the in-space transit phases, both Mars-outbound and Earth-return. With Phase II support and funding provided by the NASA HQ’s NIAC program, SpaceWorks has identified four key areas to further focus their efforts and assembled an invaluable medical team to assist in the research.

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Eight small-sized satellites total a big bonus for science. The Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks (EDSN) mission was to have used a swarm of small spacecraft to carry out scientific measurements. (Credit: NASA Ames Research Center)

While the smallsat market is forecast to experience double digit growth over the next five years, U.S. government policy continues to lag behind the rapid developments in the field. Meanwhile, a recent National Academies report has found that smallsats can be return high-quality scientific data if missions are designed correctly.

Those are the conclusions of three presentations made this week at the Small Satellite Conference in Utah. Below are summaries of the talks drawn from Tweets by the following attendees:

• Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust
• David Hurst ‏@OrbitalDave
• Hanna Steplewska ‏@spacesurfingirl

Enjoy!
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ATLANTA (SEI PR) — SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) released the annual update to its nanosatellite and microsatellite market assessment. The assessment presents the latest observations and trends for the nano/microsatellite market. The study summary is available in presentation form as a free download on the website, https://www.spaceworksforecast.com. Since 2008, SpaceWorks has actively monitored global satellite activities to provide its clients with valuable insight into this growing market. For example, SpaceWorks […]

A note from SpaceWorks Enterprises: We have conducted a study looking at recent trends in the launch vehicle market. With the growing popularity of nano/microsatellites, this study seeks to determine whether the current launch vehicle market can sufficiently meet this growing demand. Some of our findings include: The total number of launches per year has been relatively constant over the last four years despite the significant rise in number of […]

This image demonstrates how CubeSats like NanoRacks-ArduSat-2, NanoRacks-Planet Labs–Dove, and NanoRacks-SkyCube deploy from the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) attached to the Kibo laboratory’s robotic arm. (Credit: NASA)

ATLANTA, February 10, 2014 (SEI PR) – SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc. (SEI) released the annual update to its nanosatellite and microsatellite market assessment. The assessment presents the latest observations, trends, and projections for the nano/microsatellite market.

Projections indicate more than 400 nano/micro satellites will need launches annually in the year 2020 and beyond. The study summary is available in presentation form as a free download on the SpaceWorks website here.

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