Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies, part of RTX's Raytheon business, is increasing reaction wheel production capacity to support growing demand for spacecraft subsystems and components. The company has allocated more than $1 million to expand production capability from 650 reaction wheels per year to 2,400 wheels per year – a planned increase of nearly 400%.

Reaction wheels use motor-driven torque to control spacecraft movements while in orbit without propulsion. A small satellite typically utilises three to four reaction wheels to maintain position. Blue Canyon Technologies' line of reaction wheels features 13 products ranging in size and torque options for the smallest CubeSats to spacecraft that are 400 kilograms and larger.

"Demand across the space industry continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, and we're not simply reacting to supply chain challenges," said Chris Winslett, general manager of Blue Canyon Technologies. "We've made targeted investments in our facilities, equipment and supplier partnerships to ensure we can meet that demand without compromising performance or reliability for our customers. Our customers depend on us for both innovation and execution, and these investments support those objectives."

Blue Canyon Technologies has doubled its reaction wheel production footprint by dedicating the majority of one facility to handling increasing demand. Efficiency improvements include optimising the production layout, implementing enhanced subassembly kitting to speed up assembly and investing in new equipment, including an additional precision mill and next-generation precision balancing equipment to boost throughput and testing capacity. Additionally, long-term supplier agreements have been secured to provide steady material availability and mitigate supply chain risks. Blue Canyon Technologies has manufactured reaction wheels since 2014, producing 3,500 flight units.

Click here to learn more about Reaction Wheels Featured on SATNow