For the first time, Techno Planet Inc. (TPI), a woman-owned and family-run spacecraft mechanisms design and manufacturing company, has hardware operating in orbit.

Techno Planet Inc. has operated as a consultancy for the past 15 years. However, as New Space emerged, customer needs evolved and demand grew for TPI to not only design but also provide mechanisms. TPI has worked with partner Momentus Inc. to design and build Solar Array Drive Assemblies (SADA’s) for their Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV). The Vigoride-5 OSV launched in January, and Momentus has confirmed the successful deployment and full operation of its solar arrays. It also recently announced successful in-space testing of its pioneering propulsion system that uses water as a propellant.

“To see our company’s hardware operate in space demonstrates the successful evolution of Techno Planet. I’m proud of our team’s achievements, and I’m energized that this is the start of a sustained flow of space-bound TPI hardware,” said Scott Stanley, TPI Chief Technology Officer. “Congratulations to our partner Momentus, and I thank them for the confidence they’ve shown in us to get here. This successful launch also marks an exciting time in aerospace for small businesses like ours to provide proven engineering expertise in support of new space ventures. Plenty of our designs have flown over the years, but these are the first with our name on them!” 

TPI SADA’s have been developed for small spacecraft that require solar array pointing and power transfer. In addition to the scalable SADA designs, Techno Planet Inc. has the experience and capabilities required to design and build a range of space mechanisms including thruster gimbals, antenna positioners, sample acquisition, and handling devices, and release mechanisms, along with almost any custom mechanism.

Click here to learn about Solar Array Drive Mechanisms from various manufacturers listed on SATNow.