Industry Aerospace Founder Jim Cantrell Type of business Private | Website Official website Founded 2016 Key person Jim Cantrell | |
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Key people Jim Cantrell, CEO and co-founder Headquarters Tucson, Arizona, United States | ||
Vector space systems 9 36
Vector Space Systems is an American space technology company which aims to launch small satellites into orbit with its eponymous family of small launch vehicles.
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Interview with jim cantrell ceo vector space systems 9 36
Company history
The company’s CEO is Jim Cantrell, who co-founded the company with John Garvey, Ken Sunshine, and Eric Besnard. Cantrell had previously helped Elon Musk found SpaceX in 2002, but left shortly afterward, viewing it as unlikely to turn a profit. Vector Space Systems received $1 million in seed angel funding soon after its launch in 2016. It has offices in Tucson, Arizona, and an engineering facility in Huntington Beach, California. In July 2016, Vector acquired Garvey Spacecraft, and began designing rockets based on Garvey’s designs. The company also has a platform called Galactic Sky, located in San Jose, California, which makes software-defined satellites to provide start-ups and entrepreneurs with satellite capabilities. In 2016 York Space Systems signed a $60 million launch deal with Vector, to launch six satellites into orbit.
Satellites
The company produces and launches mini-satellites, and has demonstrated future launches using 12-foot scale P-20 rockets, of its Vector R known as the Vector 1. Each payload is client-specific, so that launches are not shared between companies. Currently they are capable of launching satellites up to 50kg into Low-Earth Orbit, and are developing orbital launch capabilities. The first client of Vector was Iceye, a company in Finland. Mini-satellites produced by Vector are partially assembled by 3-D printed engineered parts.