The small sat supply chain just got a little stronger: Umbra, which operates a constellation of SAR spacecraft, said today it will begin selling a line of fundamental spacecraft components to other operators seeking flight-proven parts.
“Demand for spacecraft is getting larger, not smaller,” Umbra COO Todd Master told Payload, pointing to stacked Transporter missions and the fact that “every Y Combinator funding round seems to now include some space companies.”
Off the shelf: Umbra’s offering includes batteries, solar arrays, a magnetometer and sun sensor package, reaction wheels, S-band radio and network switches, and a separation system for satellite deployment.
Over the course of building its ten spacecraft, Umbra purchased parts from the market and developed its own solutions, giving the company’s engineers valuable perspective into the needs of satellite builders.
“We operationally rely on them every day, and that does bring a level of confidence for customers that we think is unique,” Master said.
Model A: The new business line comes as space data companies work to firm up their role in the industry. Leading EO companies, such as Planet—which pioneered data-as-a-service—are now building spacecraft for customers. Some government customers, however, appear to be pushing resources towards constellations that they own and operate themselves.
“We’re really meeting our customers exactly where they want to be, rather than trying to wedge them into the business model that’s preferable for us,” Master said. Some customers might begin purchasing data before deciding to build or acquire their own spacecraft.
Full kit: Umbra is also interested in selling SAR sensor packages, but those aren’t standardized enough to offer off-the-shelf. The company’s mission solutions business wants to develop spacecraft for customers, and has inked a deal with Reflex Aerospace—a European company—to build a line of SAR spacecraft targeting the continent’s defense customers.