Space < > Space Transportation
This is the eighth installment of our SpaceFund Reality (SFR) rating. The focus of this SFR is a sub-sector of the Transportation category, specifically space to space transportation. In this category, the other sub-sectors being tracked by SpaceFund are Earth < > Space (launch), Space < > Other Worlds (landers), and Planetary Surface (rovers). The in-space transportation sub-sector has seen rapid growth in recent years as more and more satellites are being launched, many of them requiring access to unique orbits or wishing to extend their operational lifetimes with on board propulsion. Along with tow trucks, tugboats, or long-haul Solar System level transports, new space to space transportation businesses are the precursors of what we believe will become one of the major legs of space industrial development.
To paraphrase the great Robert Heinlein: “A hundred miles up and you’re halfway to anywhere.” Note the term “halfway.” Once SpaceX’s Starship, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Rocket Lab’s Neutron, Radian’s spaceplane, or another spaceship gets you out of Earth’s gravity well, you may need another ride to get you to your final destination. Whether your payload is a satellite, a probe, or humans, efficiently moving things around in space is one of the next significant challenges for us to open the Frontier.
There are two tables below: the first shows the companies tackling in-space propulsion, while the second shows companies building spacecraft and deployment capabilities for in-space transportation. Each company is assigned an SFR rating based on our analysis, publicly available data, and expert insights.
If you haven’t already, please consult our SpaceFund Reality (SFR) ratings page to learn more about the rating, its purpose, and the underlying formula, as well as to view a complete list of the SpaceFund sectors of interest.
How to Use This Table
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Important Note (Alpha Sort Columns vs Numeric Sort Columns): In some numeric columns below (such as T:P ratio and Specific Thrust) , any figure listed as a “0” is simply a placeholder for unavailable data. This is due to the nature of this table format, and to ensure that the columns sort properly, a numeric character must be included in each cell. So, for example, if a company is listed to have a specific thrust of “0” this simply means that this information is not publicly available and the “0” acts as a replacement for “N/A”.
Other columns, such as Funding are set to sort alphabetically. Since these columns contains alphabetic characters in some cells, they will sort alphabetically, not numerically and so the “-” character has been used to represent unavailable data. All other columns in the table will also sort alphabetically.
Important Note (Companies not Products): This database, and the SpaceFund Reality ratings, are based on COMPANIES, not specific products or technologies.
How to Provide Updated Data
Have we missed your company? Do you feel that your company should have a different rating? Is the listed data inaccurate or outdated? Do you see missing data for your company? The best way to update your information in this database is to reach out to us directly to provide additional information about your technology, management team, funding history, and company progress. We are also eager to learn about any additional data sources that can help us in our ongoing research, so please feel free to share any resources you know of with our team.
Updates will be published as new information becomes available.
SpaceFund Reality (SFR) Rating
Space < > Space Transportation Database
Last Update: 12 October 2022
In-Space Propulsion
| wdt_ID | Company | SFR | Category | Technology | Propellant | Funding ($M) | ISP (s) | Thrust (N) | T:P Ratio (mN/kW) | Specific Thrust (N/kg) | Country | HQ Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 233 | Aerojet Rocketdyne | 9 | Chemical; Electric | Arcjet; Gridded Ion; Hall Effect; Liquid (Bi-Propellant); Liquid (Monoprop) | Various | Public | 2,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | USA | El Segundo, CA | Leader in technologies such as electric propulsion, traditional chemical thrusters, and thrusters using non-toxic propellants |
| 230 | ArianeGroup | 9 | Chemical; Electric | Gridded Ion; Liquid (Bi-Propellant), Liquid (Monoprop) | Hydrazine, MMH + MON-1; Xenon | Joint Venture | 3,500.00 | 0.17 | 68.40 | 0.00 | France | Paris | Developing high-performance propulsion solutions for satellites and other spacecraft |
| 229 | Astra | 9 | Electric | Hall Effect | Krypton, Xenon | Public | 1,800.00 | 0.06 | 41.38 | 0.01 | United States | Alameda, CA | Developing the ASE family of Hall effect propulsion systems |
| 235 | Bradford | 9 | Chemical; Electric | Liquid (Monoprop); Resistojet | LMP-103S; Water | - | 185.00 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.01 | Netherlands | Heerle | Developing and manufacturing satellite propulsion sub-systems and components |
| 236 | Busek | 9 | Chemical; Electric | Electrospray; Hall Effect; Liquid (Monoprop); Plasma; Resistojet | Various | - | 3,060.00 | 0.45 | 0.00 | 0.02 | USA | Natick, MA | Engaged in applied research, hardware development and speciality manufacturing in space propulsion |
| 237 | Dawn Aerospace | 9 | Chemical | Liquid (Bi-Propellant) | Nitrous + Propene | - | 285.00 | 20.00 | 714.29 | 32.79 | New Zealand | Christchurch | Developing customized propulsion systems for small satellites and cubesats |
| 238 | IHI Aerospace | 9 | Chemical | Liquid (Bi-Propellant), Liquid (Monoprop) | Hydrazine, MMH + MON-3 | - | 329.00 | 450.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Japan | Tokyo | Manufacturing monopropellant and bipropellant thrusters for spacecraft |
| 239 | L3 Harris | 9 | Electric | Gridded Ion | Xenon | Public | 3,550.00 | 0.17 | 29.41 | 0.01 | USA | Torrance, CA | A world leader in the development and production of Xenon Ion Propulsion Systems (XIPS) |
| 240 | Benchmark Space Systems | 8 | Chemical | Liquid (Bi-Propellant) | HTP + Butane | 4.64 | 320.00 | 22.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | USA | Burlington, VT | Offering scalable thruster designs with additively manufactured core components |
| 241 | NanoAvionics | 8 | Chemical | Liquid (Monoprop) | Ammonium Dinitramide | - | 213.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.83 | USA | Midland, TX | Offering a high-performance and environment-friendly CubeSat propulsion system |
| Company | SFR | Category | Technology | Propellant | Funding ($M) | ISP (s) | Thrust (N) | T:P Ratio (mN/kW) | Specific Thrust (N/kg) | Country | HQ Location | Description |
SpaceFund Reality (SFR) Rating
Space < > Space Transportation Database
Last Update: 12 October 2022
Spacecraft and Deployment
| wdt_ID | Company | SFR | Propulsion Type | Tech Type | Application | Funding ($M) | Delta-V (m/s) | Power (kW) | Payload (kg) | Country | HQ Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | Airbus | 9 | Chemical; Electric | Exploration | Deep Space | Public | - | - | - | Spain | Madrid | Developing technology to provide transportation to planets, moons and comets |
| 48 | Lockheed Martin | 9 | Chemical | Crew Capsule | Moon, Deep Space | Public | - | 11.2 | - | USA | Littleton, CO | Developing the Orion spaecraft to take humans deep into space |
| 49 | NanoRacks | 9 | - | Deployment | Earth Orbit | - | - | - | 90 | USA | Webster, TX | Deploying cubesats and microsats into Low-Earth Orbit |
| 50 | Northrop Grumman | 9 | Chemical | Cargo | Earth Orbit | Public | - | 4 | 3,000 | USA | Falls Church, VA | Operating the Cygnus spacecraft to carry crew supplies, spare equipment and scientific experiments to the space station |
| 51 | Rocket Lab | 9 | Chemical | Exploration; OTV | Earth Orbit, Moon, Deep Space | Public | 3,200 | 0.25 | 20 | USA | Long Beach, CA | Using the Photon family of spacecraft to offer unique mission capabilities |
| 52 | Spaceflight | 9 | Chemical; Electric | OTV | Earth Orbit | Public | 2,500 | 0.5 | 250 | USA | Seattle, WA | Providing a complete in-space transportation service via the Sherpa Program |
| 53 | SpaceX | 9 | Chemical | Cargo; Crew Capsule | Earth Orbit | - | - | 4 | 6,000 | USA | Hawthorne, CA | Sending humans and cargo into space with Dragon |
| 54 | Boeing | 8 | Chemical | Crew Capsule | Earth Orbit | Public | - | - | - | USA | Titusville, FL | Developing the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft |
| 55 | D-Orbit | 8 | - | Deployment; OTV | Earth Orbit | 27.8 | - | - | - | Italy | Fino Mornasco | Offering a unique deployment service to place satellites into precise, independent orbital slots |
| 56 | Bradford | 7 | Chemical | Exploration; OTV | Earth Orbit, Deep Space | - | - | 0.65 | 300 | Netherlands | Heerle | Developing Square Rocket, a rideshare-compatible spacecraft for space-to-space transport |
| Company | SFR | Propulsion Type | Tech Type | Application | Funding ($M) | Delta-V (m/s) | Power (kW) | Payload (kg) | Country | HQ Location | Description |
SpaceFund Sectors of Interest
SpaceFund is interested in a number of sectors of the space economy, specifically Transportation, Communication, Human Factors, Supplies, and Energy. In the coming months we will post SFR ratings for companies from all of these sectors, providing a robust overview of the state of frontier-enabling companies across the industry. Please check back frequently to view new sub-sector databases, and sign up to receive our emails to be notified of each new release.
Click on the black buttons below to view the available SFR databases.