Small Aerospace Companies

See Last Page for Important Disclosures
Member FINRA
January 2009
SPECIALISTS IN SATELLITE, MEDIA AND TELECOM INVESTMENT BANKING
Small Aerospace Companies

Space Activities in North America and Europe
Key Takeaways:
Ian Fichtenbaum
Associate
1. Aerospace markets are dominated by a limited group of
646-290-7794 customers and very large competitors. Nevertheless,
ian@nearearthllc.com growth opportunities for smaller firms are abundant.
Hoyt Davidson 2. Small aerospace companies are a vibrant and important
CEO and Partner
212-551-7960 source of industry innovation and value creation. Small
hoyt@nearearthllc.com companies are active at all levels of the value chain.
3. Eventually, small companies face challenges to growth,

profitability and shareholder liquidity after they reach a
certain scale.
4. Industry consolidation plays an important role in

evolution of these companies and is an important part
of allowing new technologies and platforms to access
wider markets.
5. Founders and senior management should focus some

time understanding their strategic and financial
options.
6. Investment highlights and value proposition:

Recession resistant.
High credit quality customers.
Significant barriers to sustained entry
Strong government support and contracting
preferences
Committed management and employees
Sector ripe for consolidation
ABOUT NEAR EARTH LLC
For more information about our current transactions or about Near Earth LLC, please
visit our website at www.nearearthllc.com or contact us at our location below:
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January 2009 Page 2 of 50

Table of Contents
Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 4

Investment highlights and value proposition ..................................................................... 5
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 6
Focus ................................................................................................................................ 7
Markets ............................................................................................................................. 8
Civil Space ....................................................................................................................9
Trends and Issues................................................................................................... 11
Market opportunities................................................................................................ 12
Defense and Intelligence............................................................................................. 13
Commercial Space...................................................................................................... 17
The Space Activities Value Chain ................................................................................... 20
Contracting.................................................................................................................. 21
Lifecycle patterns of small aerospace companies: Growth & Exit............................... 23
Patterns of consolidation............................................................................................. 24
Notable aerospace companies: Capability tables ........................................................... 26
Capability table: Mission services and support companies ......................................... 26
Capability table: Smallsat companies ......................................................................... 26
Capability table: Components and subsystem companies.......................................... 27
Company size and capability descriptions .................................................................. 28
Company Geography ...................................................................................................... 29
Activities .......................................................................................................................... 30
Small satellites ............................................................................................................ 30
The Cubesat............................................................................................................ 31
Mission support services and products ....................................................................... 31
Components and subsystems..................................................................................... 32
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 34
Notable small aerospace companies .............................................................................. 35
Companies involved in small satellites........................................................................ 35
Companies providing mission support services and products .................................... 36
Companies developing satellite components and subsystems ................................... 40
Notable transactions ....................................................................................................... 46
Companies involved in small satellites........................................................................ 46
Companies providing mission support services and products .................................... 47
Companies developing satellite components and subsystems ................................... 48

Executive Summary
Although the aerospace industry is dominated by a small group of large companies,
there is a sizeable and diverse universe of small aerospace companies engaged in
space activities. These smaller aerospace companies are engaged in all elements of
the value chain and provide critical and innovative components, subsystems and mission
services to large prime contractors as well as to end user operators. In this whitepaper,
we seek to develop a greater understanding of the contributions of smaller companies to
space missions and operations in North America and Europe.
In doing so, we will demonstrate and elucidate the market for products and services for
space activities and place the role of smaller companies within each market in context.
Primarily, they emanate from three customer bases: 1) civil space, 2) defense and
intelligence, and 3) commercial space. In all three customer bases there exist great and
growing opportunities for small firms to participate in large aerospace projects.
Particularly in government markets, numerous programs exist to facilitate growth,
technological innovation and participation by smaller companies. Even in commercial
markets trends in satellite size and cost, as well as the use of new materials, are
encouraging smaller players to emerge.
To effectively serve and execute market demand, the value chain for aerospace
activities is oriented around prime integrators (companies that integrate whole systems),
subsystems developers (companies or groups that develop whole subsystems, such as
communications or power systems), component developers (companies or groups that
develop components, such as motors or antennas) and, finally, providers of mission
support and services. Small companies are active at all parts of the value chain,
particularly with regards to developing innovative or distinctive components. We will
show that numerous missions have included many critical components and subsystems
from smaller companies.
Despite the promising landscape, small companies face challenges to sustainable

growth, profitability and shareholder liquidity. Small companies face the daunting
challenge of competing against the largest aerospace firms once they have grown too
large for special government programs. Moreover, founders often lack the resources to
expand their company into different areas of competency and may wish to exit once their
company becomes large and mature enough. Thus, industry consolidation plays an
important role in evolution of these companies by placing smaller, innovative teams into
the hands of organizations that can develop and market their capabilities on a larger
scale and more effectively.
Founders and senior management should continuously update their strategic and
financial options and consider how their firm stands within the value chain and where
synergies could exist through potential acquisitions. Moreover, they should seek to
understand the opportunities and advantages of being acquired by larger organizations
that will appropriately value their unique capabilities and their position in the
marketplace.

Investment highlights and value proposition
Recession resistant. Government involvement in the economy is
on an upswing. Aerospace sector should show continued growth and
provide some protection from slower growth in the general economy.
High credit quality customers. Revenues tend to come from

government departments or agencies or larger aerospace
companies, so customer credit quality is quite high.
Significant barriers to sustained entry. While it is relatively easy

to start a small aerospace company, it is much harder to grow one to
sustained profitability and critical mass. Those that reach this level
have attracted a highly educated workforce, often possessing
valuable security clearances for defense and intelligence work, with
specialized skills and relationships with government officials and/or
large aerospace company customers. These companies have also
generally developed leading-edge intellectual property as a result
of technology research and development that serves as a major
competitive factor.
Strong government support and contracting preferences. Small

companies have access to government assistance programs and
awards, such as set-asides, bidding preferences, research awards
and technology transfer programs. At an early stage, this growth
capital is available free of equity dilution making future financing
rounds less complicated.
Committed management and employees. Founders and key

employees tend to be loyal, enthusiastic and really believe in their
mission.
Sector ripe for consolidation. Investors and participating

companies face a highly fragmented sector comprised of 100s of
sub-scale companies many of which have valuable assets, people
and technologies. Synergies and cost savings from business
combinations are often readily available.

Introduction
The aerospace industry, in all its forms and incarnations, has rarely been known to think
small. Go to an aircraft hanger, or to a launch pad and you will see some of the most
complicated machinery that mankind has laid claim to producing. With immense
complexity come immense organizations and armies of specialists and engineers. There
is good reason for this – the aerospace industry’s products are sought out to probe and
experience the extremes of our environment and of human capability, to survive great
temperature changes, intense radiation and body slamming accelerations, and to travel
astronomical distances and sometimes even return home. Building machines that
accomplish these tasks requires a wide breadth of specialized expertise, impressive
systems engineering skills, superb manufacturing precision and attention to detail and
integration and testing of parts, components and subsystems from long, multi-tiered
supply chains – all of this while maintaining high standards of safety, security, reliability,
quality, and sometimes even cost control.
Given these challenges, it is little wonder that great quantities of resources – of time,
energy, brains and capital – are often required, as well as superior political astuteness
and connections, to compete in the top tier of the space industry. Large projects over
long time spans and with significant initial outlays will naturally flow to those few prime
aerospace contractors that have the engineering, management and financial capabilities
to weather the challenges inherent in them. Over time, this has had the natural, and
perhaps unfortunate, effect of bringing about significant consolidation, to the point where
prime aerospace contracting is now dominated by a handful of leviathan-scale firms and
consortiums, notably Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman in the U.S. and
EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space in Europe. Underneath this top tier of leviathans
compete smaller prime contractors and major subcontractors such as Space
Systems/Loral, Ball Aerospace, L-3 Communications, ITT, Orbital Sciences, Harris
Corporation, MacDonald Dettwiler and RUAG Aerospace as well as others.
These large aerospace companies contribute significantly to the advancement of man’s

exploitation and exploration of space, but they do so generally through focusing their
resources on solving the real world, right now problems of their government, military,
and commercial customers. This frequently means that systems design, integration,
testing and operation of space systems is comprised largely of the technologies,
equipment and subsystems developed by smaller, often more entrepreneurial, firms. In-
house innovation is not always a top priority for the Boards and shareholders of the
larger firms and where it is given serious attention accomplishing such innovation within
these massive corporate organizations has sometimes proved challenging.
We at Near Earth believe that some of the smaller firms, however, are doing amazing
things and have great growth prospects deserving of investors’ attention. Others may
even become the prime contractors of tomorrow. For the most part, these smaller
players have been obscured by the shadows of giants. It is thus our goal to bring to light
some of these smaller players, with particular attention to those up-and-coming
companies that have left the comfort of their garages and basements to create
businesses with between 30 and 500 employees. An absolute treasure of work is being
done at this level in many exciting niches, and we wish to acquaint our readers through
an overview of the action and the players.

This whitepaper is therefore meant to serve to introduce and exposit the rich field of
smaller-sized firms, examining first the market landscape as we see it and then delving
deeper into the major niches to find the small-sized stars that we see as thriving in a
difficult industry. We hope you will follow along with us and find utility in our attempt to
make sense of the thriving undergrowth of the aerospace industry, in all its promising
diversity.
Focus
The theme of this whitepaper concerns space activities by small aerospace companies
in North America and Europe. Regionally, this includes the US, Canada and the
members of the European Space Agency, most of whom are located in Western Europe.
As for our definition of a small company, we have elected to include those firms which
employ between 30 to 500 full or part-time staff substantially devoted to the design,
fabrication, testing, integration or support of components, subsystems or missions
involving aerospace applications. Our intention is to give attention to a wide range of
smaller companies, from growing and entrepreneurial ventures, to more mature yet still
independent firms.
Attention will be given to the major markets for space activities, discussing the
opportunities and trends for small companies in the civil, defense and intelligence as well
as the commercial markets. Further, we describe the value chain as it relates to space
and satellite manufacturing, space systems development and mission support as well as
the major lifecycle patterns and acquisition drivers for these small firms. Finally, we list
and briefly summarize many small firms in our ‘Activities’ section, with focus on
companies within three horizontals: 1) mission support and service companies, 2)
components and subsystem developers, and 3) companies that service the small
satellite market.
Although this first Near Earth aerospace whitepaper is focused on space activities and
the two regions of North America and Europe, future whitepapers may focus on other
important areas of activity in the realm of aerospace as well as other regions. Much
activity is occurring outside of North America and Europe, and we would be remiss for
ignoring the important work occurring in such countries as Japan, Russia, Israel, China,
Brazil, India and many other places around the world. Further topics may examine
companies and activities within civil and military aeronautics and aviation, intelligence
and information systems or within the launch and missile systems sectors.

Markets
Demand for space-related aerospace activities comes primarily from three distinct
customer bases: 1) civil space agencies, 2) defense services and intelligence agencies
and 3) commercial satellite operators. What follows is a brief description of each,
following into a longer discussion further into this whitepaper:
Civil Space: Civil space consists of programs, primarily sponsored by governments, to

research and explore space and to find and develop non-military applications of space
for the benefit of their citizens or mankind in general. These usually include programs of
science (such as missions to other planets as well as space observatories and
laboratories) and exploration (such as human missions to Earth orbit, the Moon and
perhaps later in this century, Mars and the asteroids). Non-military applications also
include meteorology, which has found a continuing application in Earth weather
monitoring and forecasting as well as climate research.
Defense and Intelligence: Defense and intelligence systems include space projects
carried out under the specifications of militaries and intelligence agencies for their use.
Primary demands of this market include secure global satellite communications,
surveillance and reconnaissance, navigation and tracking, missile and anti-missile
systems, counter-space and anti-satellite systems as well as near space (high
atmospheric) aeronautics.
Commercial Space: Commercial space consists of the diverse range of activities

carried out in support of for-profit revenue-generating activities using space. Primarily,
the customers for Satellite Operators who own or operate one or more satellites for the
provision of media and telecommunications (in the form of transponder leasing, direct
broadcasting, or two-way communications), remote sensing (in the form of imaging and
geographical/meteorological data) or navigation services.
Supporting the above three end-user markets are two significant secondary commercial
space markets: (1) Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Providers who build and place
into orbit the various satellite systems, and (2) the Ground Segment, comprised of
companies that (i) design and manufacture satellite communications equipment or
antennas, (ii) produce software for satellite communications or operation, (iii) integrate or
operate satellite communications or control facilities, and (iv) provide a wide range of
engineering and other services to support satellite operations. While the number of
participants in the first category is relatively small, the ground segment category is
comprised of hundreds of small businesses. Small aerospace companies are very
active in providing components, subsystems and services to both these segments of the
commercial space market.

Civil Space
Civil space activities have been famously associated with the exploits of the national
agencies, such as NASA, NOAA, NSF, ESA or the Canadian Space Agency. These
have been, for better or worse, the headline grabbers and the organizations whose
budgetary power has enabled some of the most cutting-edge advances in aerospace
technology. For the most part, what we call civil space consists primarily of government
sponsored programs. Although often given an expansive mandate of research and
exploration, civil space activities include much of the following:
Human spaceflight operations: the developing, implementing and operation of

vehicles and systems to facilitate human presence and exploration in low earth
orbit, the moon or other planets.
Earth observations: enabling Earth sciences and observations through the
implementation and operation of orbiting platforms. Some of the key work has
involved studies of atmosphere and climate, oceans and ecosystems as well as
geographic and topological studies of our earth.
Space science: includes sending missions to other planetary bodies as well
astronomical observatories of deep space.
Aeronautics: research and development into aviation systems.
The scale of many of these projects has often meant

that larger groups have been given the lead for
implementing most missions. However, smaller players
also have played significant roles supporting larger
missions, either through provisioning of unique
components, subsystems, or engineering and
managerial support services.
The side photos illustrate this very nicely. Below we

present a photo of the Rock Abrasion Tool that is Neptec Design Group’s Lidar sensor aboard
deployed on each of the two Mars Exploration Rovers. the Space Shuttle robotic arm
The RAT was designed, built and tested by Honeybee Source: Neptec Design Group
Robotics, a 50 person company located in, of all
places, midtown Manhattan. The Honeybee team has leveraged these and prior
successes to also provide components and subsystems for the Mars Phoenix Lander
and the Mars Science as well as a variety of robotic
applications for extreme terrestrial environments. Shown
above to the right is the Lidar vision system for the
Shuttle robotic arm. This system was developed by the
Neptec Design Group, an 80-person group based out of
Ottawa, Canada. Neptec has built a long history serving
as a NASA prime subsystem contractor (among many
other applications of its innovative vision systems).
The civil agencies, either by government policy or out of

need for the services not provided by large firms, have
The Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT), built gone out of their way to provide an official outlet for firms
for NASA’s Mars Exploration
Rovers by Honeybee Robotics
like Honeybee and Neptec. The following table presents
Source: Honeybee Robotics major programs intended to engage with small business.

Agency
Country Space activities and programs for small business
Space Budget
Exploration: Constellation (Ares, Orion, Altair), lunar science and surveillance missions
Operations: operations of the International Space Station, Space Shuttle
Activities Science: Planetary exploration, Mars exploration (Phoenix, MSL, MER) Observatories
(Hubble, James Webb Telescope, Chandra), Earth Sciences (Jason, Aqua, Aquarius)
Aeronautics: Aeronautics research and testing, Airspace systems, Aviation safety
Office of Small Business Programs operates a variety of programs, some

general to US government agencies, some particular to NASA. These include:
NASA
USA NASA Mentor-Protégé Program – pairing program to allow smaller companies to gain
knowhow and experience from participating larger companies
$17.3 billion Small Business Set-Asides – procurements reserved for bidding by small businesses.
Programs Section 8(a) Business Development Program – awards under the Small Business
Administration programs to benefit smaller businesses
Women-owned, Veteran-owned, HubZone – procurements available to ensure equal
opportunity for businesses owned by women, veterans or in underdeveloped regions
IPP – Innovative Partnerships Program – many projects, including
SBIR / STTR – grants made for smaller research and development projects
IPP seed fund – bridge funding to enable larger partnerships and development
projects
Centennial Challenges – competitive prizes for specific technological challenges
Space activities through NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information
NOAA Activities Service). Develops and operates fleet of meteorological and climate satellites in
USA geostationary and polar orbit.
$1.04 billion
Programs SBIR – Research grants awarded under NOAA research
Remote sensing: Radarsat, Radarsat2, Radarsat Constellation radar sensing sats
Robotics: Canadarm, Canadarm2, Dextre shuttle and station robotics
CSA Activities
Science: MOST stellar observatory, CASSIOPE
Canada
Human spaceflight: Astronaut corps, participates on US Shuttle missions
C$0.37 billion
No dedicated programs for small business. Has active microsatellite missions (NEOSSAT)
Programs
and opportunities for small science platforms.
Science: Planetary exploration (Mars Express, Venus Express, Huygens), Earth

observation (MetOp, Meteosat, Envisat), Observatories (XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL)
Navigation: Galileo global navigation space system
Activities
ESA Technology development: Artes, Proba, test missions (LISA Pathfinder, GIOVE)
Europe Launchers: Ariane and Vega launchers
Human spaceflight: Astronaut corps, ATV, Columbus ISS laboratory module
€3.03 billion
SME Initiative: programs to favor and support small and medium enterprises
Programs LET-SME –- facilitates spinning-in new technologies for use by ESA
TRP – Technology research awards for SMEs
EUMETSAT Activities Operates European meteorological and climate satellites (Meteosat, MetOp, Jason-2)
Europe
€0.17 billion Programs No dedicated programs for small business
European Variety of activities, often in conjunction with ESA or with national R&D priorities
‘ Agencies Launchers: Ariane and Vega, sounding rockets
CNES - France Earth Science: SPOT, Pleiades, COSMA-SkyMed, TerraSAR-X
Activities
€1.05 billion Observatories: COROT, Swift, Agile
Human spaceflight: Multipurpose Logistics Module and Harmony for ISS
DLR - Germany Research and Development: Aerospace R&D is primary activity of DLR and INTA
€0.92 billion
ASI - Italy PLUS
€0.28 billion NAVOBS - aims to improve the participation of SMEs in Research and Technology
Development (RTD) activities in space service infrastructure
INTA - Spain Programs
CNES is a signatory to the SME Pact
€0.10 billion DLR has an SME Working Group and Commissioner

Of all the civil space agencies, NASA is by far the most active, both in terms of the
extent of activities and size of its budget NASA also leads in extending opportunities to
small firms. In a typical year, NASA allocates between 17% and 20% of its procurements
by value to small business, with the number rising over the last ten years. In 2007, over
$2 billion in procurements were allocated to small businesses. Of that, $96.5 million
were R&D-oriented grants, including $83.9 million under the Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) program and another $12.6 million for the Small Business Technology
Transfer program.
Small Business Participation in NASA Procurements
2500 50.0%
45.0%
NASA Small Business Procurements
2002.7
1938.1
2000 40.0%
1818.9
1755.5
% of total procurements
1680 35.0%
1609.9 1600.1
(Millions of US$)
1485.5
1500 30.0%
1244.2 1218.3 1287
25.0%
1000 20.0%
15.0%
500 10.0%
5.0%
0 0.0%
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
SB Procurements % of total procurement
2007 numbers includes $505.4 million awarded to small disadvantaged firms

under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act. Also includes $96.5 million
through SBIR and Small Business Technology Programs. Source: NASA
Trends and Issues

Moon and Mars exploration – Both NASA (with its Vision for Space
Exploration) and ESA (with its Aurora program) have expressed serious interests
and activities towards re-developing the capabilities to return humans to the
Moon and then later to Mars. Already budgets for these activities have ramped
up and are planned to ramp up further with the decommissioning of the Space
Shuttle. This new orientation has increased interest in innovative life-support
systems for long-duration spaceflight (such as next-generation space suits and
resource-recycling) as well as new avionics for the human space vehicles.
Space Station operations – Operation of the International Space Station is
planned until 2016 and likely to continue for years thereafter. Although
responsibility, support operations and utilization after that point are currently
unresolved, smaller firms, such as SpaceX, intend to support ISS operations
through new cargo and crew vehicles, while some, such as SPACEHAB, have
proposed commercial uses of Station laboratories for biological research and
materials manufacturing.
Planetary sciences and observatories – Long-term strategic plans of both ESA
and NASA have reaffirmed commitments to robotic planetary exploration as well
as the development of new astronomical observatories. As the technological
challenges and uniqueness of these missions are high, smaller specialized firms
have often provided the unique solutions needed to accomplish mission tasks.

Examples include drilling technology needed for planetary surface science or
highly precise control and sensing solutions for next generation observatories.
Earth sciences – Recent increased interest in climate studies has driven funding
for oceanographic and atmospheric observation satellites, through both the
meteorological agencies (NOAA and EUMETSAT) and the civil agencies. As with
planetary missions and observatories, the need for innovative sensing equipment
has often driven innovation from smaller, specialized research groups and
ventures. Smaller groups of entrepreneur-scientists have been exploring the use
of small satellites for highly innovative missions, such as GeoOptics which plans
to use radio occultation of GPS signals for weather monitoring and climate
research. Others are planning systems to measure and report solar wind events
and patterns.
Prizes and technology partnerships – Successful prize competitions, notably
Google’s $30 million XPrize to place a privately-sent lander to the surface of the
moon, have encouraged government agencies to provide small sums for certain
competitions. NASA has established the Centennial Challenges, which has
included prizes for improved spacesuit gloves and for successful demonstration
of lunar lander technology.
Budgetary and policy pressures – Despite enthusiasm for new space
initiatives, budgetary support has been anemic. This situation (which exists at all
agencies) has been compounded by cost overruns by a few large programs,
exacerbating the fiscal viability of smaller missions. Although cost-control
measures may ameliorate the situation for some projects, it is believed that either
a major budget increase or a rethink of current exploration strategies will be
required to allow the current ambitious plans to be implemented. U.S., European
and Canadian commitments to space appear to have broad political support, but
difficult global economic conditions may lead to pressure on these space budgets
in the coming years.
Market opportunities
The highly specialized nature of many of the missions tasked by civil agencies has often
meant that certain critical capabilities are only found in a small company. Through
NASA’s Innovative Partnerships Program and ESA’s SME programs, civil agencies
provide a continuing market for technology research and development and thus incubate
many promising new technologies inside small companies. Programs such as SBIR,
STTR and LET-SME can provide an important source of revenues for very early stage
aerospace companies and provide them with a useful and valuable technology portfolio
for the later stages of their development.
In the US, small companies can take advantage of contract set-asides, 8(a) preferential
bidding status and also position their services and products on the General Services
Administration’s (GSA) schedules to drive government revenues. In Europe, geography
can be an advantage, as ESA practices work-share spreading (juste retour), a practice
which causes work to be spread to companies across the various member countries of
ESA in proportion to their countries’ contributions.
Government support and interest for planetary exploration, earth science, advanced
observatories and next-generation avionics and astronautics will help drive growth and
valuations at those few firms that have the specialized skills, experience and track-
record in building these systems.

Defense and Intelligence
The defense and intelligence space systems market consists of design and fabrication of
high performance vehicles and systems appropriate for military, intelligence and
homeland security applications. By far the largest market for these space systems is the
US government, comprising about 95% of all defense space spending in the world –
about $25.9 billion in 2008. Within the US, spending is divided between a variety
agencies that comprise the US military and intelligence communities, including the Air
Force, the Navy, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the National Reconnaissance
Office (NRO) and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). Military space
projects for these entities may include:
Satellite Telecom: including secure two-way fixed, mobile and portable
communications for operations in the field, battlefield management and normal
base operations as well as the one way transmission or broadcast of data,
imagery and video.
Satellite Surveillance & Reconnaissance: imaging satellites (visual spectrum,
infrared, radar, multispectral), for early warning and detection, signal detection,
meteorology, space surveillance and intelligence applications.
Navigation: systems such as GPS Navstar.
Counter-space: anti-satellite systems, satellite protection systems and space
situational awareness, signal jamming and signal interference and monitoring.
Near space: UAVs and high altitude lighter than air craft.
Rockets and Missiles: missile defense systems, launch systems for
operationally responsive space.
US defense and intelligence spending on space has more than doubled over the last
decade. Major programs in the last ten years have included Wideband Global SATCOM
(WGS), the SBIRS early warning constellation, upgrades to the GPS navigation
constellation and continued spending on missile defense. US DoD space spending since
2000 is shown below.
30
25.949
25
22.114 22.418
19.388 19.115 19.69

20
Billions of US$
15.74
14.326
15 12.941
10
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
US DoD space spending (2000-2008). 2007 and 2008 are

forecasts. Source: Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 2006
As with civil agencies, the US and European government defense agencies and services
provides a variety of official outlets for small companies. In the following table, we
present the major programs:

Agency
Budget Major space activities and programs for small business
Country
Navigation: Global positioning system (GPS)
Telecommunications
Advanced EHF – secure satcom
Mobile User Objective System – Global mobile satellite comm. system
Transformational SATCOM – next-gen global satcom system
WGS – wideband satcom
Surveillance and sensing

Space Based Infrared System – missile early warning system
Space Based Space Surveillance – monitoring of space environment
Third Gen Infrared Surveillance – next-gen missile early-warning system
Activities
NPOESS: polar-orbiting meteorological satellite system
DoD Launcher systems

USA EELV: expendable launch vehicle systems (Delta IV, Atlas V)
Minuteman III Squadrons: ICBM systems
$25.9 billion
Missile Defense Agency (MDA) – program to build anti-missile defense shield
plus Operationally Responsive Space – program to develop responsive space capabilities.
Includes responsive launch (Falcon) and satellite (TacSat) capabilities
MDA Counterspace Systems: includes anti-satellite R&D activities
$8.7 billion DARPA space activities: Research, development for advanced space technology
Small Business Set-Asides – procurements reserved for bidding by small businesses.

Section 8(a) Business Development Program – awards under the Small Business
Administration programs to benefit smaller businesses
CRADA – Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. Facilitates transfer of
technology and technology partnerships
SBIR/STTR – grants made for smaller research and development projects
Programs
Women-owned, Veteran-owned, HubZone – procurements available to ensure equal
opportunity for businesses owned by women, veterans or in underdeveloped regions.
Operationally Responsive Space is considered a major opportunity for small satellite and
innovative component developers. ORS emphasizes smaller, lower-cost but more rapidly
deployable space systems.
Operates and develops intelligence satellites for reconnaissance and surveillance

NRO Activities
(Zirconic, Keyhole, Lacrosse and Onyx). Most activity is classified.
USA
$10 billion Programs Support for small business possessing Top Secret security clearances.
Dedicated to providing geospatial intelligence solutions for US national defense, homeland

Activities
security and safety of navigation
NGA NGA Mentor-Protégé Program – pairing program to allow smaller companies to gain
USA knowhow and experience from participating larger companies
SBIR – grants made for smaller research and development projects
$3 billion Programs
CRADA – Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. Facilitates transfer of
technology and technology partnerships with the NGA.
Explicitly supports commercial remote sensing through its NextView program.
European Defense Agency coordinates unified European military activities. Includes the
European Union Satellite Centre, which provides analysis of imagery
Europe France, Germany, Italy and the UK operate military satcom systems. France leads in
imagery and is developing intelligence, space surveillance and early warning systems.
€500 million Activities
- €1 billion Multinational Space-Based Imaging System (MUSIS): agreement between France,
Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain & Greece to integrate data from national military imagery
systems
includes
Skynet (UK), Syracuse (France), and Sicral (Italy) telecom satellites are being integrated
to provide a satcom service for NATO.
France
€380 million AeroSME – Joint activity of the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of
Programs Europe and the European Commission to facilitate co-operation among SMEs,
between SMEs and large companies, and with other aeronautics related bodies.

Although it is difficult to break out the DoD’s space budget by procurements to small
business, just over 20% of DoD procurements department-wide went to small business,
or $55 billion out of $269 billion in 2007. In addition, all three armed service branches,
the Missile Defense Agency, DARPA and the NGA all participate in the SBIR/STTR
programs. In 2007, the DoD awarded just over $1.3 billion for SBIR and STTR, with
$367 million by the Air Force, $142 million by MDA, $78.6 million by DARPA and a small
participation by the NGA.
Trends and Issues

Operationally Responsive Space – Operationally Responsive Space or ORS is
the Air Force’s program to develop the capability to rapidly build, integrate and
deploy space assets whenever needed (such as following the destruction of
space assets due to anti-satellite attacks). Integral to this program is the ability to
quickly draw on low-cost but adaptable and robust satellites and launch vehicles.
Already, many small firms have participated in this program, notably the launch
services company SpaceX with its
Falcon rocket, and MicroSat Systems,
who developed the TacSat 2 small
spacecraft test bed for ORS. Although
ORS has been viewed by many small
firms as a major market opportunity for
small satellites and innovative space
components and materials, funding and
top-level commitment to ORS has been
erratic. Funding for ORS for 2009 is at
$110 million with declining allocations
The TacSat 2 ORS satellite, built by MicroSat
for subsequent years. The US GAO has Systems. Source: US Air Force
noted that true implementation of ORS
is contingent on departmental support and improving access to space via new
launch systems.
Iraq/Afghanistan – The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have driven a vast
amount of defense spending since 2001, either through direct supplemental
budgets or through the US defense budget proper. Although direct space-related
expenditures have been minor, indirect development has been driven by needs
on the ground, specifically the demand for satellite bandwidth and connectivity for
network-centric warfare applications.
Also significant has been the rapid pace
of development of unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) and for autonomous
robotics to counter improvised explosive
devices (IED). Smaller aerospace firms
with expertise in developing custom
robotic solutions for planetary missions
have found that additional applications
and markets have emerged developing
military robotics (or vice versa).
Honeybee Robotics has used their space Telecom transformation and growing
systems experience to build robotics for
resource exploration and explosive handling. data demands – Since the early 2000s,
Above is a Honeybee end-effectuator built for a key focus of the transformation of the
an iRobot system. Source: Honeybee Robotics US armed forces has been the

development of network-centric warfare capabilities. Although concepts have
shifted in reaction to experience from this decade’s conflicts, Air Force plans
continue to anticipate immense growth (forecasted 16 gigabits per second by
2012) in bandwidth demands as a result of UAVs and mobile satellite
communications. Although the T-Sat (Transformational SATCOM) program
intends to alleviate these issues by putting significant new satellite
communications capacity under government ownership and control, schedule
delays and a scale down in scope may guarantee continued opportunities for
commercial satcom solutions. There is also a large focus on communications on
the move (COTM), with the ultimate goal being the availability of 2-way, secure
mobile broadband solutions to each war fighter.
Growing interest by Europe – European interest in military space capabilities
has increased of late, with discussion about cooperation between the larger
nations as well as the international organizations. A report in late 2008 suggests
interest for cooperation between the European Union, the European Defense
Agency and ESA in developing coordinated systems and placing military
capability into ESA. Certain European countries have also expressed interest in
developing their nation’s individual military space capabilities. For example,
French President Nicholas Sarkozy in mid-2008 suggested that France intends to
double space military spending. The relevance of this interest for small
companies will be enhanced by a similar commitment to SME programs and
capabilities.
Small companies with highly-educated workforces possessing specialized skills and high
level government security clearances are well positioned to compete for government
defense and intelligence contracts, either as a prime or as a subcontractor. Specialized
capabilities and well-developed relationships with government officials create barriers to
entry for others and enhances the value of the small company.
In the US, as with civil space activities, small companies can take advantage of various
programs to drive government revenues. In Europe, growing interest in SMEs and the
integration of SME-oriented organizations and agreements into greater strategic plans
will also help them access increased government spending. Government support and
interest for ORS, autonomous robotics, advanced avionics and astronautics will help
drive growth and valuations at those few firms that have the specialized skills,
experience and track-record in building these systems.

Commercial Space
The commercial space market consists of many activities, and its most broadly inclusive
definition gathers all those aerospace activities that are focused on generating revenues
(rather than, say, scientific data). However, for the purposes of this whitepaper we will
focus only on the space systems manufacturing sector. Satellite manufacturing revenues
from commercial customers were $3 billion in 2006 and $3.8 billion in 2007. The
proportion of manufacturing revenues from commercial customers was at 25% of total
manufacturing revenues in 2006 and 33% in 2007.
The vast majority of activity concerns telecommunications satellites, with some emerging
activities in remote sensing services. The chart below outlines the major customers in
each major segment of the market. Also included is the number of individual satellites in
each segment launched from 2006 to 2008.
Satellites
Industry
launched Customers
segments
2006, ‘07, ‘08
SES, Intelsat, Eutelsat, Telesat, Spacecom, Hispasat, KT, Nilesat,
Fixed Satellite ProtoStar, Satmex, Arabsat, JSAT, Optus, Yahsat, Ciel, AsiaSat, RSCC,
53 (17,16,20)
Services APT, JSC Gazprom, Hellas-Sat, Measat, Turk Telekom, Hispamar,
EuraisiaSat, Asia Broadcast, RascomStar, Nahuelsat, Horizons, Star One
Mobile GEO 3 (0,0,3) Inmarsat, Thuraya, Terrestar, SkyTerra, ICO Global Communications
Satellite
Services
LEO 14 (0,8,6) Iridium, Globalstar, ORBCOMM
Direct Broadcast
6 (2,2,2) DirecTV, EchoStar, Telesat, B-SAT, KT, Telenor
Television
Satellite Radio 2 (1,1,0) Sirius XM
Broadband 2 (1,1,0) Hughes, WildBlue, ViaSat, Avanti Screenmedia, O3b
GeoEye, DigitalGlobe, RapidEye, ImageSat International, SPOT Image,

Remote Sensing 10 (1,3,6)
infoterra, MDA Geospatial
For the most part, the satellites built for commercial customers are large, a natural result
of the importance of telecom satellites as well as the increasing demands on power and
bandwidth on these satellites. As a result, the integration of these satellites is almost
exclusively the domain of large companies, with smaller companies relegated to
providing components and some subsystems. There exists, however, a nascent
opportunity for producers of small satellites. For
instance, both the ORBCOMM telecom system
and the RapidEye remote sensing system utilize
small satellites built by smaller aerospace
companies such as SSTL, OHB Technologies
and MicroSat Systems.
Trends and Issues

Satellites getting larger – Accelerating
bandwidth demands and the cost savings
and consumer advantages of shrinking A 3 meter high gain carbon composite
ground receiver sizes have driven antenna manufactured by Applied Aerospace
Structures Corp of Stockton, CA, Source: AASC

commercial telecom satellites to be larger, with more and greater efficiency solar
panels and larger reflector dishes. Some of the largest planned telecom
satellites, such as TerreStar-1 and ViaSat-1 are approaching seven metric tons
of girth and sport 10-20 meter diameter reflectors (produced by Harris
Corporation). Many companies have been active in exploring the use of new
materials to expand and enhance the ability to deploy larger structures or fit
numerous smaller reflectors (2-6 meter) on a satellite. Examples of such
materials include carbon composites (such as those being developed by
Composite Technology Development), mesh materials and even inflatables as
contemplated by L’Garde. While the general trend of the last decade for the
geosynchronous telecommunication satellites has been increasing size, much of
the gains achievable by increased size have now been realized and the industry
is facing constraints on launch volume and weight that will require a new class of
launch vehicles before new gains in size can be achieved. Therefore, much of
the focus going forward will be in increasing solar power generation for a fixed
weight and volume or increasing available bandwidth through enhanced
utilization of spot beam technologies for frequency reuse given a fixed budget of
power, weight and volume.
Satellites getting smaller – The development of new microelectronics,
propulsion and power systems technologies has also allowed some
communication and imaging applications to be served with much smaller
satellites, in the range of 50 – 500 kilograms. This has been particularly true for
low earth orbit (LEO) satellite deployments such as Iridium, Globalstar, and
ORBCOMM. As the demand for ubiquitous mobile communications, machine to
machine communications (M2M) and earth imaging expands, we would expect
increasing demand for these LEO smallsat constellations.
Smaller satellites are being manifested in other ways, namely the increasing
presence of ‘small GEO’ satellites, smaller buses that shrink geostationary
satellites to between 1000-2000 kg. Orbital Science Corporation’s STAR bus
has already shown success in providing lower cost alternatives to traditional
telecom satellites. In Europe, OHB Technologies is also developing a small
GEO bus for telecom satellites.
Commercial Orbital Launch Forecast (1993-2016), Source: FAA-AST

Satellites getting tiny – The smallsat achievements of the past decade are not
the end of this evolution toward smallness. In fact, satellites have been built and
launched that are as small as 1 kilogram. These satellites are sometimes
referred to as microsats or even nanosats (the really small ones). These tiny
satellites are finding greater use in scientific, military and even commercial uses.
Not only is this driving adoption of newer technologies, it is spurring development
of companies devoted exclusively to the manufacturing of small satellites.
Today, a relatively small organization with relatively modest capital investment
can design, manufacture, integrate and test complete satellite systems. We
discuss these trends further in the ‘Small Satellites’ section of this paper.
Telemetric and geospatial services – Maturation and expansion of commercial
remote sensing and geo-location based services has led to an increase in
demand for satellites to provide higher resolutions, imagery in more spectral
bands and more frequent revisit times at the right cost. As remote sensing
satellites are often used in low-earth orbits, this increased demand drives greater
application of smaller launch vehicles. The remote sensing market also has
potential for micro/nano satellite applications via synthetic aperture technology
and formation flying as well as sensing constellations (building on the work of the
Disaster Monitoring Constellation and the RapidEye constellation). Sensing
services are also finding opportunities as hosted payloads on larger missions.
ITARs (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) – In the satellite industry, it
is almost universally agreed that the US export control regime, ITARs, has been
cumbersome and detrimental to cross-border satellite manufacturing
cooperation. Continued implementation of ITARs in its existing form is likely to
especially hinder the growth of smaller companies, as they will have a
disadvantage in satisfying the regulatory requirements from an administrative
and cost point of view. Changes in the ITARs regime will largely depend on the
degree of US Congressional appetite and attention, assuming there is
Presidential support from the new Administration.
New launch services – New entrants to the launch services market are
promising to lower the cost of launch while older services are offering new ways
for smaller payloads to enter orbit. Of newer entrants, SpaceX is offering the
lower cost Falcon 1 and 9 rockets while AirLaunch is offering the ability to
launch small payloads with low lead-time. Older launch services, on the other
hand, are becoming more accommodating of smaller payloads, notably the
United Launch Alliance’s development of the ESPA-ring, a standardized
payload interface to allow smaller payloads to travel alongside a larger satellite.
Satellite operators have a tendency to view the satellite system itself to be cost centers
and thus look for technological enhancements and features that reduces overall costs or
enhances revenue-generating opportunities. Technology expenditures and investments
are further spread across manufacturers, subsystem developers and component
developers to provide such offering to operators. For telecom satellite systems,
opportunities would include systems which enhance the potential for more and more-
capable transponders and spot beams (enabled by new materials or greater availability of
power), longer life spans (enabled by greater reliability or greater fuel efficiency) or lower
launch cost (from lower mass) as well as other cost operational improvements. In other
areas, such as remote sensing, opportunities exist for small companies developing
precision sensors, controls systems and rugged microelectronics

The Space Activities Value Chain
Global satellite manufacturing revenues over the period of 2002-2007 have held
relatively steady, amounting to between $10 - $12 billion US dollars annually. In 2007,
this amounted to approximately $11.6 billion, with sales being booked on the delivery
and launch of each satellite. US satellite manufacturing activities accounted for just over
40% of the total revenues over this period.
Most of these revenues, however, flow

14.0
through the prime contractors to the
12.0
companies throughout the value chain. A 10.0
Billions of US$
usual subdivision of the value chain in 8.0
4.4
3.9
5.0 4.8
4.6
aerospace and space activities places most of 6.0 3.2
the manufacturing into three tiers, each 4.0
7.0 6.8
encompassing companies and activities that 2.0
6.6
5.2
6.3
4.6
involve different degrees of system 0.0

complexity. At the top of the value chain are 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
integrators, the largest of the firms who Non-US US

design, integrate, market and sell whole Global satellite manufacturing revenue. Source: State of
space systems for the end user. Although the Satellite Industry Report 2008, SIA & Futron
many integrators have some sub-systems
design capability, for the most part, they now outsource much of their component and
sub-systems needs to the next levels, on the second or third tier. With the exception of a
few companies which specialize in the niche field of small satellites, this tier is
dominated by very large companies.
The next tier consists of companies that provide subsystems, such as power modules,
structures or communications systems. These firms tend to be large and in some cases
comparable in size to the Tier 1 integrators, but frequently involve a greater diversity of
activity and innovation. Some of the major space systems integrators and subsystems
manufacturers in the US, Canada and Europe are listed in the table below.
Major Tier-II Subsystem Developers

Major Tier-I Integrators
(Many Tier-I s active in this area)
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Space Raytheon, Alliant Techsystems, L-3
US Systems Loral, Orbital Sciences Corporation, Ball Communications, UTC, General Dynamics,
Aerospace Honeywell, ITT, Harris, Aerojet, Goodrich, Moog
Canada MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates COM DEV
EADS Astrium, Thales Alenia, OHB Technologies, BAE Systems, QinetiQ, RUAG Aerospace,
Europe
Carlo Gavazzi Space Oerlikon, SAFRAN, Avio, Kongsberg Gruppen
If the first and second tier is dominated by large companies, it is in the third tier,
component developers, where smaller companies flourish. Companies which operate
on this level, work on individual components, such as motors, antennas, actuators and
solar panels. As the number of components on typical space systems is large, this tier
represents a vast segment of economic activity, with many participating companies, a
few very large but also many very small.
The market opportunity for second and third tier suppliers is clearly some fraction of the
total manufacturing market. However, since integrators have had a tendency to

outsource much of their subsystem development, it most likely represents a majority of
the total economic input for the industry. Satellite integrator Space Systems/Loral
reports approximately 10% gross margins on manufacturing revenues (9.5% on $761.4
million for 2007). If the majority of that cost is directed to outsourced subsystems and
components, then at current activity levels, the market available to second and third tiers
would represent a market opportunity of several billion U.S. dollars per year worldwide.
In addition to the three manufacturing tiers, there are many companies that provide
engineering or operational services or related software to support the many activities
that take place among aerospace companies and their customers. These mission
support and service companies, provide critical support, such as tracking, telemetry
and control (TT&C), engineering support, orbital and mission analysis, data analysis,
and much more.
Major Mission Support and Service Companies

Computer Sciences Corporation, Science Applications International Corp,
US Booz Allen Hamilton, United Space Alliance, Jacobs Technology Inc,
ASRC Aerospace, Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Wyle Laboratories
Canada SED Systems (Calian)
Europe Grupo SENER, Clemessy SA, VEGA Group (Finameccanica), GMV
Contracting
The primary vehicle for revenues for aerospace companies is work that is contract
based, awarded or negotiated in concert with the primary customers (i.e. government
agencies or commercial operators) or with the large Tier-I and Tier-IIs as a subcontract
to a larger project. Although there are many different contracting methods and
procedures, from a compensation point of view, there are two major methods:
Cost-plus contracting: Determines compensation as a function of cost as well

as a predetermined profit. Cost is determined either in terms of time and
materials or from some agreed upon estimate (or a combination of the two), while
the ‘plus’ component can be a flat rate, or awarded in relation to performance
metrics. Cost-plus contracts are often awarded for technically challenging
projects where the uncertainty in the resources needed to complete the task is
too great to take on in a fixed price contract. This allows many small companies
to take on very challenging projects. This method is used extensively in many
government contracts.
Firm fixed price: Compensation is based on a flat price paid on deliverables.
This method is preferred by commercial customers as it protects them from cost
overruns. Government contracting uses this method when feasible.
Government contracting practice also includes a number of processes to streamline the

acquisition of certain goods or, in some cases intangibles, such as research. Certain
contracts are made as Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) for open-ended
commitments for products or services. Other contracts are pre-negotiated, such as the
Schedules maintained by the US General Services Administration (GSA). GSA
Schedules allow small companies to offer services or products to government buyers on
an equal level as larger companies and without the additional overhead of negotiating
another contract for every purchase.

Tier-III Component
Tier-I Integrators Operators
Developers
Batteries
Solar panels
Tier-II Subsystem
Capacitors Developers Commercial
Connectors satellite
Satellite systems
Power systems applications
Microprocessors
Interface boards Microelectronics

MEMS devices and control
Nozzles
Propulsion
Fuel tanks
Booms Structures and

materials
Trusses Civil space
Launchers
RF Components Communications agency missions
Antennas
Robotics and
Motors
mechanisms
Gyros
Hinges Thermal systems
Actuators Vision systems and

Heaters sensors Defense service
Ground Systems and intelligence
Radiators agency missions
Fluidics
Lenses
Photocells Life support

systems
Lasers
Valves
Pumps
Filters
Mission Support and Services
Ground systems architecture TT&C Orbital analysis
Data analysis Launch preparation Mission scheduling
Engineering support Network management Signal monitoring
The Space Activities Value Chain

Lifecycle patterns of small aerospace companies: Growth & Exit
Birth and Rapid Growth: The birth of an aerospace company is often the product of
one or more experienced engineers or wealthy space enthusiasts with an idea, some
passion and more than a little guts and gumption. They forge or spin out a company
backed by personal capital, the money of friends and family, angel investors or, in a few
cases, venture funds. As the company develops and offers its new technology or service
to the market, it is often supported by small government R&D grants and, if all continues
well, the first small subcontracts from larger aerospace firms, defense department
research laboratories or civil space agencies. At this early stage, many companies are
able to grow quickly as their best of breed technology or superior service offering
penetrates a market sector and displaces older and less competitive alternatives. This
growth is often aided by small business awards, such as SBIR or SME contracts, as well
as cost-plus contracts that allow them to not be distracted with the task of raising
additional capital.
Financing Challenges to Internal Growth: Once an aerospace company reaches a

certain size, however, growth becomes more difficult. New market share gains become
more challenging and entering new market sectors requires substantial R&D funding and
the additions of new capabilities and customer relationships. Small grants may no longer
be enough to sustain significant workforces on their own or fund major new initiatives.
Raising financing to support this growth may also become more difficult as seed sources
become tapped out and venture capital and private equity firms prove difficult to attract.
Historically, these financial investors have been less interested in businesses heavily
involved in government contracting. Such aerospace businesses are often lower growth
and lower margin opportunities with either fickle or very lumpy program based sources of
revenue compared to typical venture capital and private equity backed sectors.
For venture capitalist, alternatives such as biotech, software, Internet applications or

more recently, alternative energy and green technology, appear to provide higher
potential upsides for their investments (although with higher risk too). For private equity
firms, the dependence of these aerospace companies on large government contracts
that can end abruptly or lose their funding has been a challenge when seeking to lever
their investment with debt financing. Private equity firms have also tended to pursue
larger transactions where they can put significant capital to work (e.g. $50 - $500
million). In addition, in many cases, small company cost structures and typically modest
profit margins have also prevented the buildup of significant surplus cash to expand the
company’s capabilities. Small aerospace companies are therefore often faced with a
serious financing challenge if they want to grow internally to the next level. While we see
many reasons investor interest may pick-up in the near term, (e.g. relative growth of
aerospace versus other sectors in this economy, high credit quality customers, leading
edge innovation), we do believe it may take years for significant financial investor
interest to build in the sector as they gain comfort through increased expertise and
successful portfolio investments.
Company founders and senior management, moreover, frequently encounter difficulties

in expanding their business outside of core competencies and interests, especially given
the risks inherent in such expansion and the sometimes necessity to give up or share
control of the firm. In other cases, a management team has deftly navigated the small
business 8(a) set asides to create an attractive and vibrant business only to finally run

up against the small business qualification limits or expiry of their status. At this point,
further growth is at the expense of their protected bidding status and more likely to be in
direct competition with previous customers for whom they have served as
subcontractors. Making this leap out of 8(a) status has proven challenging for many
companies. Generally, companies facing this threshold need to either quickly acquire the
comparable scale of their competitors or sell to one of them.
Decision to Grow Inorganically or Exit: At some point founders and their shareholders
will seek to either (a) exit the company or at least build a path to nearer term liquidity or
(b) seek a business combination or series of acquisitions to grow inorganically. This can
be triggered by retirement and estate planning needs, an unsolicited bid from an industry
player or a realization that the company can not independently grow itself to the next
level (as in the 8(a) case above). From an employee perspective, growth creates new
opportunities for self fulfillment and being merged or acquired is often preferable to
stagnation. From an investor’s perspective, consolidation is viewed as an important way
to diversify a company’s revenue and customer base, expand management depth,
broaden core competencies and move up in the contracting levels and thus win larger
contracts with fatter margins. There are also frequently cost savings to be gained and
revenue or technology synergies. All of these factors lead to less risk, more growth and
higher valuation multiples. The consolidation also either creates liquidity or increases its
future prospects. For these reasons, we believe this fragmented sector is ripe for
mutually beneficial business combinations that should be of interest to existing
shareholders as well as outside investors.
Patterns of consolidation
All things considered, when small aerospace companies reach a certain size, it is often
inevitable that they become acquisition targets. How then, does this get reflected along
the value chain?
One major trend has been the vertical consolidation between

second and third tier manufacturers. Large subsystem O
developers have been acquiring smaller firms that specialize in
a particular area of technology or component. In doing so, they
MS&S
I
add the technology to their own portfolio as well as the team
that brought the innovation to fruition. This is also driven by
cultural issues – larger firms often are structured in a fashion
that does not reward innovation by employees – meaning that
II
much of this innovation occurs in the more entrepreneurial
settings at smaller firms. Smaller component manufacturers
are thus seen as breeding grounds for new technologies that III
will eventually make their way into the capabilities of the large
second tier firms. Often the ability of a second tier company to win a contract over its
competitors depends on its exclusive access to a third tier technology that provides the
competitive edge. An acquisition of this technology can thus translate into much larger
dollar volumes of business than the cost of the acquisition.
On the other hand, smaller component developers need not always find themselves as a
division of a Tier-II firm. In a limited industry, sometimes with only a few buyers, it can
make sense for companies with similar capabilities and technologies to band together,
building scale and cross-exchanging ideas through horizontal consolidation. For

vendors providing different products, each with a limited market,
O it can make sense to aggregate demand for more economic
production runs. Moreover, horizontal consolidation amongst
component or subsystem developers can make more sense
MS&S
I
than being acquired by an integrator, as their market then
becomes limited to that one integrator. Geography can also be
an advantage, for instance an acquisition that builds a U.S.
II presence and greater access to U.S. customers for a non-US
company (and vice versa).
III Of those companies providing mission O
services and support, acquisition activity
has occurred primarily from either larger engineering consulting
MS&S
I
firms (such as CSC, SAIC, Jacobs Engineering, the United
Space Alliance or SRA), or by the large Tier-2 developers
(such as Raytheon or L-3). In the former case, the acquisition II
adds another capability to a larger ‘suite’ of services. In the
latter, it is often that the service adds a capability or set of
software tools that has synergy with an aerospace system. III
Finally, we note that the acquisition of companies building and integrating small satellites
(i.e. the few small Tier-I s) has proven to be quite popular, with many of the mainstays of
the industry (MicroSat, AeroAstro, Spectrum Astro) having been bought by larger
firms over the course of the ‘00s. At the time of this writing, acquisitions for both SSTL
and SpaceDev had recently been completed. This consolidation among the Tier-I
integrators and the few of their number who happen to be small in part reflects a growing
interest by the major aerospace companies to get a piece of the small satellite pie.
EADS Astrium in fact recently acquired SSTL for this reason.
It ought to be noted with interest that, as opposed to the case

O
of component developers, where acquisition interest rests often
in the technology, small satellite builders represent a different
MS&S
motivation for potential acquirers. Small satellite companies, for

I
all their innovation, are often not developing new technologies,
but rather figuring out how to integrate existing (often off-the-
shelf) technologies into small, rugged packages. The attraction
II of small satellite companies appears to be at least in part
related to the entrepreneurial spirit that these companies
possess, a characteristic not as often seen in their larger
III cousins.

Notable aerospace companies: Capability tables
The following four tables summarize info and capabilities of notable small companies
active in space activities in North America and Europe. In doing so, we mean to illustrate
the diversity of capabilities and geographies available - as well as to highlight a selection
of small companies active in this industry. This list is not exhaustive - there are many
more small companies doing great work involving space, certainly more than we can
adequately cover in one whitepaper. Every company presented here is also profiled in
greater detail later on in the ‘Notable small aerospace companies’ section of this
whitepaper.
Ground systems Arch.
Network management
Engineering support
Launch preparation
Mission scheduling
Signal monitoring
Orbital analysis
Data analysis
Capability table: Mission services
TT&C
and support companies
a. i. solutions Lanham, MD x x x
Analytical Graphics Inc. Exton, PA x x
Braxton Technologies LLC Colorado Springs, CO x x
Command and Control Technologies Corp Titusville, FL x x x
Emergent Space Technologies, Inc Greenbelt, MD x x x x x x
Glowlink Communications Technology Inc Los Altos, CA x x x
Integral Systems, Inc. Lanham, MD x x x x x x
Integrity Applications Incorporated Chantilly, VA x
Interferometrics, Inc. Herndon, VA x x x x
KinetX, Inc. Tempe, AZ x x x x x
Orbit Logic Inc. Greenbelt, MD x
Quantum Technology Sciences, Inc. Cocoa Beach, FL x
Quartus Engineering Incorporated San Diego, CA x
Satellite Services B.V. Katwijk aan Zee, The Netherlands x x x
SciSys PLC Chippenham, UK x x x x
SPACEHAB, Inc. Houston, TX x x
STAR Technologies Corporation Great Falls, VA x x
the Hammers Company, Inc. Greenbelt, MD x x x
Universal Space Network, Inc. Newport Beach, CA x x x
Capability table: Smallsat Smallsat buses

Smallsat services and
components
companies
SpaceBel Angleur, Belgium x
SpaceDev, Inc. Poway, CA x x
SpaceQuest, Ltd. Fairfax, VA x
Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited Guildford, UK x x

Vision systems and sensors
Robotics and mechanisms
Structures and Materials
Life support systems
Telecom systems
Thermal systems
Micro-electronics
Power systems
Propulsion
Fluidics
Capability table: Components
and subsystem companies
ABSL Power Solutions Limited Abingdon, UK x x

Aitech Defense Systems, Inc. Chatsworth, CA x x
Andrews Space, Inc. Seattle, WA x x
Applied Aerospace Structures Corp. Stockton, CA x x x
AZ Technology Corporation Huntsville, AL x
Astrolab, Inc. Warren, NJ x x
Bigelow Aerospace, LLC Las Vegas, NV x x x
Bradford Engineering B.V. TG Heerle, The Netherlands x x x x
Broad Reach Engineering Boulder, CO x x
Canyon Composites, Inc. Anaheim, CA x
DR Technologies, Inc. San Diego, CA x x
Fibertek, Inc. Herndon, VA x
Honeybee Robotics New York, NY x
L’Garde, Inc. Tustin, CA x
Malin Space Science Systems, Inc. San Diego, CA x
Marotta Controls, Inc. Montville, NJ x x
Maxwell Technologies, Inc. San Diego, CA x x
Media Lario Technologies S.r.l. Bosisio Parini, Italy x x
Michigan Aerospace Corporation Ann Arbor, MI x
Neptec Design Group, Ltd. Ottawa, Canada x
Optech, Inc. Vaughan, Canada x
Orbital Technologies Corporation Madison, WI x x
Paragon Space Development Corp. Tucson, AZ x x x
Quallion LLC Sylmar, CA x
SEAKR Engineering, Inc Centennial, CO x x
Space Micro, Inc. San Diego, CA x x x
Stellar Microelectronics, Inc. Valencia, CA x
TiNi Aerospace, Inc. San Leandro, CA x
Toyon Research Corporation Goleta, CA x x
Yardney Technical Products, Inc. Pawcatuck, CT x

Company size and capability descriptions
Company Employees Description
a. i. solutions 170 Space mission and orbital analysis software
ABSL Power Solutions Limited - Batteries for extreme environments and optical calibration
Aitech Defense Systems, Inc. - Ruggedized, radiation-hardened interface boards and microprocessors
Analytical Graphics Inc. >250 Visualized orbit and navigation software toolkits and interfaces
Andrews Space, Inc. >80 Control systems, gyro, small satellite buses. Hypersonic platforms
Applied Aerospace Structures Corp. 270 Composite satellite structures – reflectors, antenna towers, substrates
Astrolab, Inc. - RF connectors and cabling
AZ Technology Corporation 35 Space-ready coatings and paints. Optical measuring devices
Bigelow Aerospace, LLC - Inflatable orbital habitats
Bradford Engineering B.V. 50 Sensors, thrusters, and fluid systems. Microgravity experiment platforms
Braxton Technologies LLC - Off-the-shelf telemetry, tracking and control software
Broad Reach Engineering - Radiation-hardened microelectronics and sensor systems
Canyon Composites, Inc. 45 Composite materials and components. Focus on structure components
Command and Control Technologies Corp - Space operations automation tools
DR Technologies, Inc. 95 Composite materials and components.
Emergent Space Technologies, Inc. - Aerospace and information systems consulting
Fibertek, Inc. >125 Optical systems and instruments
Glowlink Communications Technology Inc. - Signal monitoring hardware and software
Honeybee Robotics 50 Planetary robotics and drilling systems. Motors, hinges, autonomous robotics
Integral Systems, Inc. 470 TT&C, signal processing, network management and signal monitoring systems
Integrity Applications Incorporated >300 Geospatial analysis for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
Interferometrics, Inc. - Signal monitoring tools and stations
KinetX, Inc. >50 Space systems, software and hardware engineering
L’Garde, Inc. - Inflatable space structures
Malin Space Science Systems, Inc. 30 Planetary imaging systems for missions to Mars, the Moon, Jupiter
Marotta Controls, Inc. - Fluid control systems, components and actuators for air and spacecraft
Maxwell Technologies, Inc. 302 Radiation-hardened microelectronics and power systems
Media Lario Technologies S.r.l. - Semiconductor processing, optical instruments and x-ray telescope sensors
Michigan Aerospace Corporation 30 Machine vision systems, optical sensing in aerospace applications
Neptec Design Group, Ltd. 80 Machine vision systems, Lidar, laser, 3D sensing
Optech, Inc. >200 Lidar optical sensing systems
Orbit Logic, Inc. - Mission planning and scheduling software
Orbital Technologies Corporation 80 Propulsion, space resources, and energy systems
Paragon Space Development Corp. 53 Environmental control, life support systems and thermal control for spacecraft
Quallion LLC >85 Lithium Ion battery technology for aerospace applications
Quantum Technology Sciences, Inc. - Data analysis and processing for intelligence and security
Quartus Engineering Incorporated >60 Aerospace engineering and design services
SciSys PLC - Business and technology solutions for space simulation and control systems
Satellite Services B.V. - TT&C satellite ground equipment. Payload and instrument simulation and test
SEAKR Engineering, Inc. ~200 Microelectronics, communications and power equipment for spacecraft
Space Micro, Inc. - Microelectronics, RF components and advanced materials
SpaceBel 88 Small satellite services and engineering. Geospatial services
SpaceDev, Inc 185 Small satellites and satellite components and mechanisms
SPACEHAB, Inc. 66 Launch preparation and payload processing
SpaceQuest, Ltd. - Small satellite components
STAR Technologies Corporation - Spacecraft guidance, navigation & control design, analysis and simulation
Stellar Microelectronics, Inc. - Hardened microelectronics engineering
Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited 300 Small satellite buses and integrated systems
the Hammers Company, Inc. - Software engineering for simulation and control
TiNi Aerospace, Inc. - Custom actuators and pin pullers for satellite systems
Toyon Research Corporation 100 RF components and antennas, C4ISR systems
Universal Space Network, Inc. - Worldwide network of ground stations for TT&C services
Yardney Technical Products, Inc. - Batteries for extreme environments, launchers and spacecraft
‘-‘ indicates instances where public info on recent staffing levels is unavailable

Company Geography
The maps above and to the right indicate the headquarters of each of the companies
profiled in this paper. It is worthwhile to note areas that show greater geographic
concentrations of space activities. To a great degree, the location of these areas are
heavily influenced by government technology spending, either through prominent local
engineering universities or via nearby NASA or ESA centers. In the US, significant
agglomerations of aerospace activities takes place in Southern California; the
Washington DC area; Colorado; Houston Texas; Florida and around Huntsville,
Alabama. In Europe, although less noticeable on our map, similar agglomerations of
space activities are found, notably around the areas of Toulouse, France; of London,
UK; the cities of Darmstadt and Bremen, Germany; the area around Noordwijk, The
Netherlands; the town of Uppsala, Sweden; the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, Spain
and around Milano, Italy.
Activities
Small satellites
If large aerospace companies can build large satellites, can small aerospace firms build
small satellites? Apparently, the answer is yes, as a cottage industry has grown over the
last thirty years for the design and building of ever smaller satellites – less than 1000 kg,
less than 100 kg, even less than 10 kg. Borne out of amateur efforts and academic
programs, more and more of these projects have become substantial enterprises. Even
more recently, larger aerospace firms have noticed this activity and sought the capability
of building small satellites in their own houses, often through acquisition.
Of the many successful companies in this field

are UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology
Limited (SSTL), a venture which started as a
university project, MicroSat Systems, which
produced the second TacSat satellite for the U.S.
Air Force and SpaceDev, a pioneer in small
space missions. Among SpaceDev’s numerous
achievements is the building of CHIPSat, a 64kg
scientific spacecraft to study the interstellar
medium. Many other ventures, some as small as
just a few engineers, have been started by teams
The CHIPSat small satellite – built by located around the world.
SpaceDev, Inc. Source: SpaceDev
As the decreasing size and cost of advanced microelectronic, power and propulsion
technology allow these ventures to form, the question will be not “Can you build it?”, but
“What can they be used for?” To date, much of the heritage of small satellites has been
in demonstrating new technologies. Although the continued activity of research centers
and universities suggest that technology will be a mainstay of small satellites, potential
markets have been identified for communication and remote sensing for both
commercial and military uses (with particular eye to Operationally Responsive Space). A
Futron study presented in August 2008 and shown below identified a potential market of
39-76 small satellites per year, with yearly revenues between $292 to $570 million
(assuming $7.5 million per satellite).
Market Sats/year Revenues/yr ($M)

Military Science and Technology 10-20 75-150
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance 1-10 7.5-75
Remote Site Communications 10-15 75-112.5
Polling of Unattended Sensors 10-15 75-112.5
High-Resolution Earth Obervation 5-10 37.5-75
Landsat-class Environmental Monitoring 3-6 33.5-45
TOTAL 39-76 292.5-570
Source: Futron

Although much of this demand, if it materializes, will come from civil and military space
programs, there is interest in small satellite offerings for commercial services. On the left
is a photo of the five satellites of the remote sensing constellation operated by German
geospatial firm RapidEye. The satellites, which were
built by the aforementioned SSTL, weigh in at 150kg
and provide hyper spectral imagery for seasonal land
use monitoring and other dynamic events. Another
commercial service based on small satellites is the
ORBCOMM global machine-to-machine
communications network. The building of the second
generation of this network has been tasked to Sierra
Nevada Corp, which acquired MicroSat in early
2008.
SSTL – RapidEye SmallSat constellation The Cubesat

Source: SSTL
How small can small go? Some have gone as far as

placing an entire satellite in a 1 kg cube. Known as a ‘cubesat’, these 10 cm cube
platforms, first conceptualized by professors at Stanford University, have become very
popular among universities. They are known to be very cost effective, perhaps requiring
as little as $100,000 to build and send to orbit.
Although commercial activity with cubesats is
nascent, a couple ventures have been formed to
service this new industry. Among them is
Pumpkin, a San Francisco-based company
offering cubesat kits, Clyde Space, a Glasgow-
based company offering small batteries and solar
panels for use aboard these tiny satellites and
SpaceQuest, which offers standardized off-the-
shelf components for small satellites. Will cubesat A satellite in the palm of your hand – The
AAU CubeSat built by the students of
companies be the next wave in aerospace? Aalborg University. Source: Aalborg University
Perhaps it is too early to tell, but with Boeing and
Aerospace Corporation building their own cubesats, maybe so.
Mission support services and products

Mission support is the tail to the aerospace dog, the
part of the industry that provides either engineering,
software or services support to allow a mission to
be designed appropriately and to operate
successfully and smoothly. In the context of space
systems, mission support activities often include:
Mission planning, towards the planning of

mission tasks, the evaluation of feasible
mission scenarios and the optimization of
mission parameters.
Launch operations, to support testing and Glowlink Communications Technology Inc.
provides spectrum interference monitoring
integration necessary to prepare a satellite solutions. Source: Glowlink

for launch (e.g. Astrotech subsidiary of SPACEHAB)
Orbit telemetry, tracking and control, via the monitoring of missions as they
operate in space and the handling of data through receiving and processing
systems (e.g. Universal Space Network).
Flight operations and software, to guide spacecraft and to control various
operating functions, such as orientation, propulsion and diagnostics (e.g. Integral
Systems).
Monitoring interference, to detect and avoid electromagnetic transmission
interference with other missions (e.g. Glowlink Communications Technology).
The software requirements for space projects have tended to be enormous, often
necessitating large expenses for customized software and systems. It needn’t always be
this way. Indeed, rather than build custom solutions for every mission, a group of small
aerospace companies have built healthy
businesses with commercial off-the-shelf
software for mission support and control.
Companies such as a.i. solutions (see
screenshot of a.i.’s FreeFlyer program),
Analytical Graphics and Braxton
Technologies have simultaneously built
solutions that have been used for dozens of
military and civil space missions while also
providing the tools to enable many more small
space companies and academic projects to
a.i. solutions’ FreeFlyer mission planning software succeed.
Source: a.i. solutions
As use of commercial software for mission support becomes more common, it allows
missions to reduce the cost of their overhead and brings capabilities to groups that
would not have the ability otherwise. Activities like these are truly an instance of small
aerospace helping other small aerospace.
Components and subsystems

It’s an often told story: a group of engineers and researchers develop a new technology
that improves on a process or system unlike anything else available. Seeking an outlet
for their ingenuity, they start a company to
develop and sell their new technology to the
world. Suddenly, they are entrepreneurs, with
a ready solution, a little grit and a lot of
audacity. Some will succeed and some will
not. However these ventures eventually find
themselves, there is little doubt that these
entrepreneurs and their fledgling companies
are the bedrock on which much technological
progress stands. Thus, it should come as no
surprise the wealth of activity by small
companies in providing innovative component The radiation-hardened Single Board Computer for
to the aerospace industries. Some of the space, developed by Maxwell Technologies
many contributions include: Source: Maxwell Technologies

Microelectronics and nanotechnology – The harshness of the space
environment and the rigors of high-performance aeronautics require rugged
electronics. Companies such as Aitech Defense and Maxwell Technologies
specialize in providing computer systems and electronics suited for the space
environment. They include customized interface cards, amplifiers, memory
systems and digital logic. There is also great activity in adapting nanotechnology
and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS – micro-level mechanical devices)
to aerospace applications.
Specialized sensors – Missions that demand high-performance instruments
also require the expertise and technology to design and development innovative
sensors. Companies like Michigan Aerospace and Neptec Design Group
provide a variety of sensor technologies, building spectrometers, imagers, Lidar
systems and instruments for scientific
and meteorological missions.
Compact and efficient energy
components – High efficiency solar
panels, long lived batteries, ultra-
capacitors and fuel cell technology have
been developed for long duration
autonomous space missions.
Companies active in this area include
Yardney Technical Products,
Quallion and ABSL Power Solutions.
Mechanisms – Including control motion
gyros, hinges, motors, and drilling
equipment. Honeybee Robotics,
A component of the Fast Imaging Plasma
Spectrometer aboard MESSENGER probe to
Andrews Space and many others have
Mercury, developed by Michigan Aerospace been active in developing motorized
equipment to withstand harsh
environments while fitting within constrained mission parameters.
Innovative structures and materials – A rich field with many new materials with
fantastic properties has come about as a result of research and development
from small teams. Composite carbon materials have provided an especially rich
breeding ground for smaller companies providing high performance materials,
such as low mass deployables and reflector dishes. Small companies active in
this area include Canyon Composites, DR Composites, Applied Aerospace
Structures Corp and Composite Technology Development Corp.
Some of the many components formed out of composite

materials at Canyon Composites. Source: Canyon

Conclusion
Although the foreseeable future portends that the heaviest lifting in the aerospace
industry will be done by the largest companies, there is truly a rich field of smaller
companies providing critical capabilities, components, subsystems and even whole
systems and missions in both government and commercial markets. Moreover, by
serving markets that the large companies do not, can not, or choose not to serve, small
companies provide a home where innovation and entrepreneurship can succeed and
thrive.
Aerospace is often a difficult industry to grow a company beyond a small size (e.g. 500
employees). Top talent is critical, R&D and capital expenditures are often high, lead
times to market can be long, overhead for government contracting is considerable and
revenues are often quite lumpy and subject to government policy change. Nevertheless,
small aerospace companies often have significant advantages, such as a solid and
growing market supported in large part by increasing government spending, a portfolio of
unique technologies, an educated and flexible workforce (often with valuable security
clearances), and key relationships with government officials. We believe these attributes
make the small aerospace sector an attractive investment opportunity for the right
strategic partners and financial investors.

Notable small aerospace companies
Presented here is a selection of small aerospace companies engaged in space activities.
Most of these companies has a size between 30 and 500 employees and are engaged in
a substantial amount of activities involving space systems, services or support. This list
is not exhaustive – there are many exceptional companies not listed in this section. This
list should not be considered an endorsement of any particular company and no value
judgment should be interpreted based on the presence or non-presence of any company
on this list.
Companies involved in small satellites

Company Description
SpaceBel, www.spacebel.be/en/, HQ: Angleur, Belgium
Founded in 1988, 88 employees, 2006 Revenues €6.3 million
Based in Belgium, SPACEBEL is a significant contributor to the activities of the European Space Agency through its
expertise in micro satellite systems and instruments. It has expertise particularly in high-performance "tailor-made" IT
solutions for satellite platforms and on-board instruments, ground infrastructure, test benches and systems as well as
satellite communications networks. SPACEBEL’s experience with microsatellites is based on its work on PROBA, the
European platform used for technology demonstration missions.
In addition to its space activities SPACEBEL offers geo-information and Earth observation services following its
acquisition of DA VINCI in 1998. SPACEBEL designs and markets decision support systems for environment and hazard
management using Earth observation data.
SpaceDev, Inc., www.spacedev.com, HQ: Poway, CA

Founded in 1997, 185 employees, 2007 Revenues $34.7 million
Founded with the vision of building a commercial enterprise on the back of innovative small missions to deep space and
earth orbit, SpaceDev today creates and sells affordable space products and solutions to government and commercial
enterprises. SpaceDev products and solutions include the design, manufacture, marketing and operation of sophisticated
micro and nano satellites, hybrid rocket-based orbital Maneuvering and orbital Transfer Vehicles (MoTVs) as well as safe
sub-orbital and orbital hybrid rocket-based propulsion systems. Between itself and its Starsys division, SpaceDev has
flown over 2,500 mechanisms and systems on 250 spacecraft, affirming their understanding of design/build of space
qualified parts and providing the heritage desired by their customers. SpaceDev is a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corp.
SpaceQuest, Ltd., www.spacequest.com, HQ: Fairfax, VA
Founded in 1994
SpaceQuest, Ltd. is a developer of advanced satellite technology for government, university and commercial use,
specializing in the design, development, testing and manufacture of spacecraft as well as space and ground components
for operation with low-Earth orbiting satellites. SpaceQuest’s specialty is the production of components for small satellites,
offering readily available parts for academic projects and miniaturized spacecraft. SpaceQuest offers parts for
communications and antenna systems, power distribution electronics and batteries, control and telemetry boards plus
solar cells and control software. SpaceQuest’s components have flown on many small amateur communications satellites
and have recently been used extensively on Bigelow Aerospace’s orbiting Genesis modules.
Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited, www.sstl.co.uk, HQ : Guildford, UK
Founded in 1981, approx. 300 employees
Born out of a University of Surrey project to build a small satellite out of commercially available, low-cost components.
SSTL pioneered ‘commercial off the shelf’ (COTS) satellite technology, taking standard consumer technology and
adapted them to the unique environment of space. Today, it is a leader in small satellite engineering research. SSTL has
built 32 spacecraft to date, with more under contract, and is delivering missions that provide services in
telecommunications, remote sensing, know-how transfer and technology demonstration to customers across the globe.
Two of SSTL’s most significant accomplishments include the establishment and construction of the Disaster Monitoring
Constellation, a multi-national project to build a global monitoring system, and the RapidEye constellation, a commercial
venture to provide multispectral sensing service. SSTL is a subsidiary of EADS Astrium.

Companies providing mission support services and products
Company Description
a. i. solutions, www.ai-solutions.com, HQ: Lanham, MD
Founded in 1996, 170 employees, 2007 Revenue: $18 million
a.i. solutions has been a provider of aerospace engineering services, mission-critical IT services and commercial-off-the shelf
(COTS) space mission analysis software, with a particular specialty in software for orbital analysis and mission design. From
8 locations located across the U.S., a.i solution’s engineering staff is capable of providing all aspects of expendable launch
vehicle and spacecraft mission analysis, operations, systems engineering and related IT services. Moreover the company’s
premier commercial product suite, the GUI-enabled FreeFlyer, has been used in dozens of NASA, NOAA and U.S. DoD
space missions and used by engineers and mission planners across the space industry.
Analytical Graphics, Inc., www.stk.com , HQ: Exton, PA
Founded in 1989, >250 employees
Unlike their larger aerospace brethren, Analytical Graphics specializes in providing software that is off-the-shelf software and
commercially available for a variety of different users: including national security and space professionals for integrated
analysis of land, sea, air, and space assets. AGI’s tool kits, in the form of the navigation tool kit, the orbit determination tool kit
and the highly popular STK product suite has allowed a generation of engineers and mission planners to plan elaborate
missile and spacecraft operations with a sophisticated but easy of use GUI interface and 3D visualization.
Braxton Technologies LLC, www.braxtontech.com, HQ: Colorado Springs, CO
Founded in 1994
Founded by engineers Bill and Lorraine Simpson to build specialized command and control technology for weapons systems,
today Braxton Technologies, LLC offers a diversified suite of TT&C products and professional services applied to satellite and
weapon system command and control. Braxton’s software are used in a variety of government and commercial programs,
including most notably in the Global Positioning System (GPS) Program’s launch, early-orbit, operations, and disposal
command and control functions, which are currently performed by Braxton’s ACE Premier™ product suite. The ACE
Premier™ architectural framework provides an infrastructure of configurable applications, tools, and simulators that reduce
cost and accelerate deployment of command and control systems. Braxton software and capabilities are also involved in the
Air Force’s next generation GPS command and control system, GPS OCX.
Since 2008, Braxton Technologies has been owned by Colorado Springs private equity firm The O’Neil Group.
Command and Control Technologies Corporation, www.cctcorp.com, HQ: Titusville, FL
Founded in 1997
Command and Control Technologies Corporation was formed in 1997 to spin-off space operations automation technology
developed for NASA. CCT provides real-time mission critical automation to help decision makers control their operations
efficiently and effectively, including systems for range control, space launch, automated perimeter security, and industrial
process control. Since the company's inception, CCT engineers have been leaders in the development of C4I technologies.
This tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading automation products, as well as advanced technologies in areas
such as situation awareness, generative communications systems, and configurable and extensible architectures.
Emergent Space Technologies, Inc., www.emergentspace.com, HQ: Greenbelt, MD
Founded in 2001
Emergent Space Technologies, Inc. provides consulting and engineering services to the civil, commercial, and military space
industry around their competencies of spacecraft guidance, navigation and control, satellite ground systems, and space
mission automation. Their aerospace systems and technology service offerings include guidance, navigation and control
systems, astrodynamics and trajectory optimization as well as mission and spacecraft simulation and modeling. Emergent’s
information systems and technology offerings include hardware-in-the-loop simulation, communications systems engineering
and autonomous vehicle software. Emergent has provided ground systems and mission support to a variety of clients in the
space systems industry, including Honeywell, Intelsat, Lockheed Martin and SGT, Inc.

Company Description
Glowlink Communications Technology Inc., www.glowlink.com, HQ: Los Altos, CA
Founded in 2000
Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Glowlink maintains the vision of providing innovative, affordable satellite monitoring
and power control products to support the efficient operation of satellite-based communications networks. To this end,
Glowlink has developed innovative products and technologies to assist in satellite interference detection, geolocation,
spectrum monitoring and link power control. In addition, Glowlink’s staff provide engineering services in the form of ground
station architecture design, network planning and post deployment systems operations.
Integral Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISYS), www.integ.com, HQ: Lanham, MD
Founded in 1982, 470 employees, 2007 Revenue: $128.7 million
Although small by the standards of the big aerospace prime integrators, Integral Systems is nevertheless the dominant player
in the providing of satellite ground control systems and software. Their EPOCH Integrated Product Suite, a command and
control system designed to operate any number of satellites from any manufacturer, provides an open architecture that allow
satellite operators to monitor and control an entire communications system, including all ground equipment.
Integral System’s subsidiaries offer a wide variety of ground systems solutions, including signal processing systems, satellite
and terrestrial network management, telemetry hardware and RF signal monitoring systems
Integrity Applications Incorporated, www.integrity-apps.com, HQ: Chantilly, VA
Founded in 1999, more than 300 employees, Revenue: over $70 million
A geospatial services company, IAI’s expertise is in system engineering, system integration, system acquisition, and software
integration, visualization and modeling and simulation expertise to operational and strategic elements of the U.S.’s
Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. Specifically, they maintain expertise in intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance systems, product quality analysis, ground systems, geospatial and photogrammetric analysis, unmanned
systems and special communications systems. IAI also develops software applications focused primarily on web-based
intelligence data visualization, exploitation tools and capabilities using the Open Source, GOTS and COTS software models.
Interferometrics, Inc., www.interf.com, HQ: Herndon, VA
Founded in 1982
INTERFEROMETRICS scientists, experienced analysts, engineers and satellite systems experts support space,
telecommunications, intelligence, and military operations for the United States Government, including the Department of
Defense, NASA, the Intelligence Community and other U.S. Government agencies. Among their many expertise include
signal processing, data analysis and systems engineering, with a particular focus on optical and radio interferometry.
The Transmitter Location Systems (TLS) subsidiary is an expert in the field of satellite interference geolocation. Systems and
services available through this group enable customers around the world to pinpoint the location of transmitters to satellites.
This capability locates inadvertent transmissions as well as intentional interference for malicious purposes. Through a global
network of advanced TLS receiving stations, including 19 globally distributed locations, they are positioned to help protect
satellite assets around the world. These facilities are remotely operable from anywhere in the world.
KinetX, Inc., www.kinetx.com, HQ: Tempe, AZ
Founded in 1992, 50+ employees
KinetX provides engineering services encompassing systems engineering, software / hardware development, network
management, and satellite / space vehicle navigation. Their experience in earth orbiting and deep space missions covers a
full range of program types in the in military, commercial and scientific missions. Among their very many mission consulting
contracts include not only major satellite programs such as the GPS system, SBIRS, MUOS, the Iridium constellation and
Intelsat, but also planetary missions such as Cassini, Genesis, New Horizons, MESSENGER and Galileo.
KinetX’s first major consulting contract involved assisting Motorola in the development and implementation of the Iridium
ground system. KinetX's role with Iridium later expanded to include software integration and test, hardware/software
development, and constellation operation activities.

Company Description
Orbit Logic, Inc., www.orbitlogic.com, HQ: Greenbelt, MD
Founded in 2000
Orbit Logic provides mission planning software to organize and optimize scheduling for tasks particular to the operation of
satellites, UAVs and imagery collection. Its Scheduler software, which is used for scheduling satellite operations, can plug
right into AGI’s Satellite Tool Kit (as STK/Scheduler) and provides very complete operational control and set of analysis tools
in a commercial off-the shelf package. Orbit Logic’s software is used in a wide variety of missions. Indeed, all current U.S.
commercial imaging satellites use Orbit Logic software for recorder management and downlink planning.
Quantum Technology Sciences, Inc., www.qtsi.com, HQ: Cocoa Beach, FL
Founded in 1991
QTSI’s focus is in sophisticated detection, processing, and analyzing pattern signatures. These include time-based from
seismic, acoustic, infrasonic, hydro-acoustic sources, and those in the non-time domain such as internet usage, technology
export or even financial patterns. QTSI’s business is to analyze these signatures and rapidly generate and report actionable
information. A central strength of QTSI is systems and software engineering, which involves developing the systems to meld
together and analyze many disparate datasets and then quickly distribute relevant results.
Quartus Engineering Incorporated, www.quartus.com, HQ: San Diego, CA
Founded in 1997, over 60 employees
Quartus Engineering performs design, analysis, drafting, and testing services for production development, ranging from
conceptual design through production drawings, using a broad suite of analysis tools and in-house capabilities. Quartus’
expertise has been used in a variety of industries and sub-sectors, including in aerospace launch vehicles, satellites,
entertainment systems, amusement park attractions, consumer products, medical devices, avionics systems, and electronic
components. In addition, Quartus’ offers personnel to complement the in-house projects of clients and also works to develop
advanced methods and custom programs to improve engineering capabilities and productivity.
Satellite Services B.V., www.satserv.nl, HQ: Katwijk aan Zee, The Netherlands
Founded in 1985
Satellite Services B.V. is a system engineering house providing specialized engineering and products to the aerospace and
industrial markets. The company has been involved in the design, development, production and support of
specialized systems in satellite communication, testing & integration. Satellite Services offers a complete product
development life cycle, including prototyping, qualification, production and international support.
Satellite Services has been involved in over 35 different satellite programs and has a significant background in
telemetry/telecommand, TT&C and remote sensing as well as a range of advanced simulation and testing systems and other
ground support equipment.
SciSys PLC (LSE AIM:SSY)., www.scisys.co.uk, HQ: Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK
Founded in 1986, 2007 Revenues: ₤21.1 million
SciSys is a European developer of Information and Communications Technology services, e-Business and advanced
technology solutions. The company operates in a broad spectrum of market sectors including space, utilities, defense,
government, communication, business services and transport. Space activities of SciSys include monitoring and control of
spacecraft, simulation and modeling of missions as well as development of on-board and flight dynamics software.
Customers include the Environment Agency, Thames Water, Astrium, the European Space Agency and the Metropolitan
Police. SciSys professionals have been involved in a variety of scientific missions, including the Rosetta comet mission, the
XMM-Newton and Integral X-Ray telescopes and the Huygens mission to Saturn, amongst many other projects. The
company has UK offices in Chippenham, Bristol and Reading and a European office in Darmstadt, Germany.
SPACEHAB, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAB), www.spacehab.com, HQ: Houston, TX
Founded in 1984, 66 employees, 2008 Revenues: $25.5 million
Famous for its space shuttle payload and laboratory modules, SPACEHAB is now focused, though its Astrotech subsidiary,
as a commercial supplier of satellite launch processing services in the U.S. Astrotech serves a range of expendable launch
vehicles including Atlas, Delta, Pegasus, Sea Launch, and Taurus, as well as secondary payloads on the space shuttle.
Astrotech, at its company-owned facilities, supports launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station and Vandenberg Air Force Base and provides processing services and support for the Sea Launch program.
Astrotech has processed 230 satellites and is positioned to accommodate larger satellites and payload fairings.
SPACEHAB is also more recently active with its SPACETECH service to incubate innovative new technologies, as well as its
BioSpace service, to commercialize biotechnology products developed in microgravity.

Company Description
STAR Technologies Corporation, www.sdt-startech.com, HQ: Great Falls, VA
STAR Technologies Corporation has developed a variety of design and analysis tools in support of the design of dynamic
systems including for spacecraft, launch vehicles, aircraft and missile systems. Premiere among their offerings is the
Spacecraft Dynamic Tool (SDT), a graphical off-the-shelf solution for spacecraft and mission design and simulation. STAR
Technologies has provided its services and software to many of the larger names in the satellite/space industry, including
Allied Signal, CTA, Lockheed-Martin, General Research Corporation, United Technologies as well as government
organizations such as DARPA, Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), Naval Research Laboratory, NASA MSFC and GSFC.
the Hammers Company, Inc., www.hammers.com, HQ: Greenbelt, MD
Founded in 1990
the Hammers Company, Inc. provides software engineering services and products for the aerospace industry. These services
include design and development of real-time satellite and instrument control software. Some of their software offerings
include VirtualSat Pro, a tool for designers and analysts to simulate spacecraft and on-board instrument dynamics, and ITOS,
a suite of software providing control solutions for spacecraft and spacecraft components. These software offerings currently
support more than a dozen NASA missions and have logged over 15,000 hours of operation. The Hammers Company also
supplies operations personnel for the control of satellites and Space Shuttle based experiments and provides core IT
infrastructure support to its customers.
Hammers software and services have provided support to many missions, including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
mission to the moon, the Space Technology 7 tech demonstration mission and the SCISAT-1 atmospheric chemistry mission.
Universal Space Network, Inc., www.uspacenetwork.com, HQ: Newport Beach, CA
Founded in 1996
Universal Space Network Inc was founded with the goal of providing services that would make space more accessible. USN
has built PrioraNet, a worldwide network of ground stations owned jointly with the Swedish Space Corporation, to provide
tracking, telemetry and control services to a variety of missions and customers in civil, military and commercial space. Their
business model allows them to operate and provide a fee-for-service in many cases where the only alternative would be a
costly dedicated infrastructure. To this end, USN provides TT&C and data downlink services for satellites, launch systems
and launch and early-orbit phase operations for spacecraft. USN also provides mission development and integration services
in support of engineering and pre-launch activities.

Companies developing satellite components and subsystems
Company Description
ABSL Power Solutions Limited, www.abslspaceproducts.com, HQ: Abingdon, UK
Founded in 1993
UK-based ABSL Space Products specializes in optical instruments and battery systems for extreme environments. Their
batteries provide power to allow satellites and launch vehicles to operate on-board instruments and experiments, to
remain in the correct orbit and orientation and to communicate with the Earth. Moreover, ABSL offers Lidar systems and
specialist optical calibration instruments for space systems. ABSL Space’s sister company, ABSL Power Solutions
provides a wide variety of rugged, high performance battery solutions for military, marine, oil and gas and industrial
customers.
Aitech Defense Systems, Inc., www.rugged.com, HQ: Chatsworth, CA
Founded in 1983
Aitech specializes in providing advanced-technology Commercially-available Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products, customized

products, subsystems integration and logistics for defense and aerospace customers. Applications range from mission
computers, target acquisition and closed-loop fire control, and mission-display subsystems for ground vehicles, to surface
and subsurface naval platforms, to tactical and strategic fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and launch booster, low- to high-
earth orbit, and deep-space vehicles.
Among Aitech’s many offerings include radiation tolerant single board computers, peripheral I/O boards, memory boards
and enclosures. Many hardware elements are designed for “LEO, Mars Terrestrial with an Option for GEO Environments”
Andrews Space, Inc., www.andrews-space.com, HQ: Seattle, WA
Founded in 1999, >80 employees, 2006 Revenues $8 million
Andrews Space, Inc. was founded in 1999 to be a catalyst in the commercialization and development of space. The
company is an affordable integrator of aerospace systems and developer of advanced space technologies. They have
developed innovative solutions for government and commercial customers involving space transportation systems,
technologies and components. Some of their activities include developing innovative new subsystems, such as reaction
wheels, control moment gyros and power distribution systems, and designing whole integrated systems such as small
satellite buses and hypersonic aeronautical platforms.
In additional to its Seattle-based headquarters and Rapid Prototyping Laboratories, Andrews Space has offices in
Colorado Springs, CO, Houston, TX, Huntsville, AL, Los Angeles, CA, and Salt Lake City, UT.
Applied Aerospace Structures Corp., www.aascworld.com, HQ: Stockton, CA
Founded in 1956 (originally Parsons), 270 employees
Applied Aerospace Structures Corp. (AASC), formally Parsons of California, has occupied the same site in the Central
Valley of Northern California for almost 50 years. The company originally fabricated helicopter rotor blades and has
maintained a focus on lightweight, high performance engineered structures since then.
AASC’s specialty is in satellite structures, including reflectors, antenna towers, silicon substrates and thermal control
structures and coatings. AASC is also active in aviation and ground structures, particularly radomes, fuel tanks, wing
structures and composite structures for directed energy programs. Its products have found themselves on planetary
spacecraft, commercial satellites, military programs and on numerous aircraft.
Astrolab, Inc., www.astrolab.com, HQ: Warren, NJ
Founded in 1961
Astrolab, Inc. maintains a special expertise in precision connectors and components for high performance aerospace
applications and harsh environments. Among their offerings include hermetic connectors and adaptors, coaxial to
waveguide adaptors, phase shifters, semi-rigid cables, delay lines, quick-disconnect waveguide clamps and
® ®
patented minibend , mini141 and microbend™ flexible coax cable assemblies. Astrolab connectors have flown on a very
wide variety of missions, including telecom satellites, the GPS system and aboard missions to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Astrolab products are also found aboard many different military aircraft, missile and shipboard systems.

Company Description
AZ Technology Corporation, www.aztechnology.com, HQ: Huntsville, AL
Founded in 1989, 35 employees

AZ Technology’s expertise is in high performance coatings and paints for the space environment. AZ Technology offers
an existing line of paints/coatings with specialized optical properties for use on-flight hardware and terrestrial applications
and can develop and produce paints with properties tailored to customer requirements. AZ coatings can be found on a
variety of components and modules aboard the International Space Station, including on the NASA emblem, and aboard a
variety of missions to study material properties. As a result of their expertise in specialized thermal control coatings, AZ
Technology has developed a line of portable instruments for measuring the optical properties of materials; specifically,
solar absorption, emittance, reflectance, and transmittance. AZ’s instruments have flown aboard the Mir space station.
Their expertise allows them to offer services in materials measurement and testing for a multitude of space and non-
space applications.
Bigelow Aerospace, LLC, www.bigelowaerospace.com, HQ: Las Vegas, NV
Founded in 1999
In large part self-funded by the considerable wealth of founder Robert Bigelow, Bigelow Aerospace has set itself an
ambitious goal of developing and establishing commercial orbiting habitats built out of inflatable module technology.
Bigelow has thus far proved highly successful, launching into orbit two test modules, Genesis-I and Genesis-II, with plans
for a larger scale test space station, the Sundancer, in a couple of years and plans for a fully operational space station not
long thereafter. The company’s capabilities are geared towards the implementation of these plans, with competencies in
structures, materials, avionics, propulsion and life support systems.
Bradford Engineering B.V., www.bradford-space.com, HQ: TG Heerle, The Netherlands
Founded in 1984, 50 employees, Revenues €7 million
Situated in the Netherlands, Bradford Engineering B.V. specializes in engineering, design and development, production
and test of spaceflight components and systems, with particular expertise in sensors, thrusters, and fluid systems. It has
also been involved in the design and fabrication of microgravity science platforms and experiment boxes. Numerous
Bradford products have flown in space, including significant contributions to the valves, fans and heat exchangers for
experiment racks aboard the European Columbus module of the International Space Station.
Broad Reach Engineering, www.broadreachengineering.com, HQ: Boulder, CO
Founded in 1997
Broad Reach Engineering develops hardware and software for spaceflight missions and ground systems. Products
include spacecraft avionics, science payload electronics, spacecraft flight software, ground and space borne GPS
receivers for precision orbit determination (POD) and occultation science, ground support hardware and software, and
mission design and analysis services.
Broad Reach Engineering was founded by a group of aerospace engineers with the intent to provide innovative and cost
effective products and services to the aerospace industry. Their first 10 years have shown steady growth with over 14 of
their systems on orbit and another 3 in stages of integration and testing.
Canyon Composites, Inc., www.canyoncomposites.com, HQ : Anaheim, CA
Founded in 1995, 45 employees, Revenues $5 million
Canyon Composites’ expertise is in the machining and fabrication of unique composite aerospace and spacecraft
structures. Since its founding in 1995, Canyon Composites, Inc has fabricated more than 201,000 spacecraft and
aerospace parts and assemblies, including carbon composite components produced for prime satellite integrators and for
missile systems. Expertise by Canyon’s engineering staff includes concurrent engineering processes, composite materials
selection, production processing, and structural assembly, tooling and testing.
DR Technologies, Inc., www.drtechnologies.com, HQ: San Diego, CA
DR Technology’s key strengths include design and manufacturing expertise in composite structures and in precision
components. They maintain extensive composite material fabrication facilities in California, Pennsylvania and Ohio. DR’s
experience includes the fabrication of satellite structures (including a line of composite satellite antenna reflectors),
interceptor missile structures, engine components, electronic structures, composite tubing and modular solar array
platforms. DR has grown quickly, with 300% growth between 2002 and 2006, acquiring composite specialist Vector
Composites along the way.

Company Description
Fibertek, Inc, www.fibertek.com, HQ: Herndon, VA
Founded in 1980, over 125 employees, Revenues: $48 million
Fibertek, Inc. produces state-of-the-art lasers and electro-optics systems primarily for the military and aerospace markets.
Among their many specialties include the design, development and manufacturing of advanced diode-pumped solid-state
lasers and highly sophisticated electro-optical sensor systems. Their laser technologies are used in rangefinders,
transmitters, obstacle avoidance Lidar systems and in other aerospace application. A Fibertek laser was used aboard the
NASA CALIPSO spacecraft, a mission to measure global atmospheric aerosols from a space-based platform. This
Fibertek laser has been successfully fired from orbit over a billion times.
Honeybee Robotics, www.honeybeerobotics.com, HQ: New York, NY

Situated in midtown Manhattan, Honeybee Robotics is an engineering firm that excels in automated systems. Honeybee
builds large and small systems, fully automated and partially automated. Their experience has extended to building
systems for extreme environments, both on and off Earth. Honeybee is considered a leader in developing drilling systems
for planetary missions, experience which includes the famous Rock Abrasion Tool aboard the Mars Exploration Rovers.
Past demonstrations of their capabilities range from developing a Nanometer Precision Actuator for use in deep space to
designing a 65-ton Coca-Cola sign that operated in the variable outdoor climate of New York’s Times Square. More recent
development have had them producing robotic solutions for resource extraction and mining in remote locations of the
Earth. Honeybee Robotics tests systems in analog environments and, to this end, have traveled to Arizona, a quarry in
upstate New York, Devon Island (in the Arctic Circle), and Spain’s Rio Tinto.
L’Garde, Inc., www.lgarde.com, HQ: Tustin, CA
Founded in 1971
L'Garde was founded with the mission to analyze, design, manufacture, test and fly inflatable space structural systems. To
that end, they have been developing materials, analytical methods and codes, packaging and deployment methods,
process initiation, release and inflation mechanisms and methods, interfaces to mechanical rigid structures, and
instrumentation for inflatable space structures. Since 1971, L’Garde has had over 150 inflatable objects designed,
manufactured and successfully flown in orbit. Parabolic antenna reflectors, large deployable photovoltaic arrays and solar
sail components are among the many inflatable structures developed by L’Garde.
Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., www.msss.com, HQ: San Diego, CA
Founded by scientist and principal investigator for many planetary missions, Dr. Michael C. Malin, Malin Space Science
Systems has become the foremost developer of imaging systems for planetary missions, especially to Mars. Systems
under their belt include the Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter Camera, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Colour Imager, the
Phoenix Mars Lander Descent Imager and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. MSSS has also participated in
mission to asteroids and will be participating in a forthcoming mission to Jupiter.
Marotta Controls, www.marotta.com, HQ: Montville, NJ

Founded in 1943
Marotta designs and manufactures fluid control systems, components and actuators designed for aerospace, military,
space and industrial markets. Applications include aircraft hydraulic systems, high-pressure pneumatics and smart fluid
systems on Navy ships, and reaction control systems on launch vehicles and small satellites. Marotta has had the
privilege of providing components for some of the most famous accomplishments and figures in aerospace, including
valves on Chuck Yeager’s X-1 supersonic aircraft and aboard the Apollo Service Module to the moon.
Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MXWL), www.maxwell.com, HQ: San Diego, CA
Maxwell Technologies Microelectronics is a leader in providing semiconductor components and single board computers
for military and space. They are also the world's largest supplier of high-voltage grading and coupling capacitors for
electric utility infrastructure. Maxwell’s radiation-mitigated microelectronic products include power modules, memory
modules and single board computers that incorporate powerful commercial silicon processors for superior performance
and high reliability in aerospace applications. Since 2006, they have maintained an alliance with Belton Technology Group
to produce their brand of ultra-capacitors in China.

Company Description
Media Lario Technologies S.r.l., www.media-lario.com, HQ: Bosisio Parini, Italy
Founded in 1993
Media Lario Technologies supplies high-precision reflective optical components and systems for advanced applications in
semiconductor lithography, semiconductor processing, space & terrestrial astronomical science, and medical & life
science devices. Media Lario’s optical instruments thereby serve a broad radiation spectrum from X-ray to millimeter
waves. They have long-standing relationships with many civil space organizations, including NASA, ESA and the Italian
Space Agency. Media Lario has participated in missions such as orbiting X-ray telescope XMM-Newton (where they
served as prime contractors) as well as the Italian BEPPO Sax mission and on NASA’s SWIFT and Integral projects.
Notable investors in Media Lario include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Intel Capital, Quan Ventures, PolyTechnos, TLcom
Capital and Vision Capital.
Michigan Aerospace Corporation, www.michiganaero.com, HQ: Ann Arbor, MI
Founded in 1996, 30 employees, est. 2007 Revenues: $5.5 million
Michigan Aerospace Corporation is an advanced engineering and products company that provides innovative optical,
opto-mechanical, and mechanical components, as well as image processing, pattern recognition, and machine learning
software, from conceptual design through production and implementation in the field. Its products and services are used
aboard space systems, air data systems, optical diagnostics and near space applications
Michigan Aerospace is a provider of Lidar systems for atmospheric measurements, optical air data systems, tunable
etalons, nano-positioning systems, 2D and 3D data exploitation software tools, docking mechanisms for spacecraft,
launch and retrieval systems for marine applications, flight qualification services, rapid prototyping and engineering
services to meet demanding laboratory, aircraft and spaceflight needs.
Neptec Design Group, Ltd., www.neptec.com, HQ: Ottawa, ON, Canada
A Canadian firm, Neptec Design Group is a supplier and integrator of machine vision systems for space applications. A
NASA prime contractor since 1995, Neptec has supplied operational systems to both the Space Shuttle and International
Space Station programs. Neptec’s technology offerings also include active 3D imaging systems and 3D processing
software, which led to the development of the Laser Camera System, an operational system used by NASA to inspect the
shuttle's external surfaces during flight. Neptec also offers a proprietary system, known as TriDAR, which is a unique
design that combines a high precision, short range triangulation sensor with a long range Lidar sensor for automated on-
orbit rendezvous, inspection and docking.
Optech Inc, www.optech.ca, HQ: Vaughan, ON, Canada
Canadian-owned and operated, Optech Incorporated develops, manufactures and provides support for advanced laser-
based surveying, mapping and imaging instruments. Its product and service offerings are active in a variety of market
verticals, including terrestrial survey, marine survey, industrial & 3D imaging as well as space and advanced technology.
Each division of Optech shares the mission of designing and manufacturing precision instruments that utilize light
detection and ranging. Instruments developed by Optech have flown aboard the Mars Phoenix Lander and the Air Force
autonomous rendezvous demonstration mission as well as very many terrestrial, marine and industrial applications
around the globe.
Orbital Technologies Corporation, www.orbitec.com, HQ: Madison, WI
Born out of the Astronautics Corporation of America and the Battelle Columbus Laboratories, ORBITEC is a subsystems
integrator and technology development company with capabilities in five areas: (1) propulsion, space resources, and
energy systems, (2) emergency response systems, (3) human support and instrumentation systems, (4) bioproducts and
bioproduction systems, and (5) interactive 3D systems and services. ORBITEC is focused on those technologies that will
enable the inhabitation of space (such as resource utilization, bioproduction and life support) as well as assisting
challenges on the ground (such as fire control and rescue).

Company Description
Paragon Space Development Corporation, www.paragonsdc.com, HQ: Tucson, AZ
Founded by veterans of the famed BioSphere2 plus a couple of their associates, Paragon Space Development
Corporation is a full-service aerospace engineering and technology development firm and a major supplier of
Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) and subsystem design for the aerospace industry. Paragon also
specializes in thermal control both for spacecraft on orbit and during re-entry, and for hyper-velocity aircraft. Their
products include complete ECLSS, subsystem assemblies, including pressure control systems, life support systems for
microgravity life science experiments as well as thermal control products. Some of their projects include life support
technology for Virgin Galactic’s suborbital space missions and thermal systems for NASA‘s Orion spacecraft.
Paragon also maintains its ECLSS Human-rating Facility, a unique 180 cubic-foot altitude chamber, capable of simulating
cabin air pressures throughout any flight profile.
Quallion LLC, www.quallion.com, HQ: Sylmar, CA
Quallion produces primary and rechargeable lithium ion cells and battery systems for use in medical, military and
aerospace markets, with activity divided evenly between these three markets. Their high capacity cells and battery
systems have been designed for a variety of uses, space and otherwise, including use aboard launchers, satellites,
aircraft and deep space missions.
Quallion has maintained an historical production rate of over 60 thousand units per year with capacity of 200 thousand
units, and is one of the largest manufacturers of lithium ion cells outside of Asia. Their cell offerings range from what is the
world’s smallest conventional lithium ion cell for implants to larger scale prismatic cells.
SEAKR Engineering, Inc., www.seakr.com, HQ: Centennial, CO
Founded in 1983, approximately 200 employees
SEAKR Engineering was founded with the goal of using solid-state technologies as an alternative storage media for
spacecraft memory systems. From this start, they have continued their leading work by supplying solid state recorders
and electronics for many spacecraft systems. SEAKR now has an expanded product line, encompassing space-based
data handlers, command and data handling units, satellite communication avionics, power supplies and reconfigurable
computers.
Since their first project in 1983, that for a magnetic memory recorder for an Air Force weather satellite, SEAKR has
delivered over 100 memory/processing systems for spacecraft, with over 60 units launched. SEAKR takes pride in the fact
that, in all of their delivered units, none has ever experienced an on-orbit failure.
Space Micro Inc, www.spacemicro.com, HQ: San Diego, CA
Founded in 2002
Space Micro Inc. provides radiation-hardened-by-design solutions for advanced electronic systems, with an emphasis on
microelectronics, sensors, computers and MEMS. Space Micro is also active in microwave and RF components as well as
advanced materials and coatings for high performance aerospace applications. Research activities include design
solutions for single event effects (SEE) in microelectronics, plus discovering new methods for improving performance of
high performance space computers, such as those used by companies and government agencies. Space Micro’s clients
include NASA, the Missile Defense Agency and the US Air Force.
Stellar Microelectronics, Inc. www.stellarmicro.com, HQ: Valencia, CA
Founded in 1974
Stellar Microelectronics, Inc. is an electronics manufacturing services provider, specializing in advanced custom
packaging solutions utilizing microelectronics technologies. Services include engineering, product development, and
turnkey production services, providing processing capability from wafer to final product assembly. Stellar processes and
tests die, components, circuit card assemblies, and their final product with post-delivery support services.
For their large space clientele, Stellar provides engineering, design, wafer processing, hybrid manufacturing, Chip-On-
Board, electronic circuit card assembly and testing. Both military and commercial satellite manufactures depend on Stellar
to meet demanding requirements needed for electronics in space systems.

Company Description
TiNi Aerospace, Inc., www.tiniaerospace.com, HQ: San Leandro, CA
TiNi Aerospace, Inc. is a manufacturer of aerospace mechanisms employing Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) materials, the
most common of which is an alloy of Titanium and Nickel or TiNi. Among the products developed and manufactured are a
family of high force release devices called the Frangibolt, an array of fast acting Pinpullers, and a variety of other SMA
Actuators. These devices are used to secure spacecraft deployables during launch and then to release them on command
once in orbit. Typical applications include hold down and release of solar panels, antennae, instrument cover doors,
booms, heat shields, radiators, isolation systems, tether experiments, and other spacecraft components. To date, TiNi has
manufactured and delivered over 1000 release mechanisms. TiNi products have been used on missions as the
Clementine mission to the moon, the Mars Global Surveyor Spacecraft, and the Lunar Prospector. They have also been
used on numerous other commercial and government satellites flown for conducting scientific experimentation, earth
observation, and increasingly for telecommunication purposes.
Toyon Research Corporation, www.toyon.com, HQ: Goleta, CA
Toyon Research Corporation has built a strong and multi-faceted expertise in defense and security systems, missile
systems, C4ISR and space electronics and in communications systems. Toyon has been active in missile defense,
SATCOM systems and anti-jam GPS antennas. Within its space and satellite capabilities, Toyon develops innovative
antenna and reflector systems employing specially designed concepts involving radar and inflatable structures. Toyon’s
facilities include microwave, electronics, and antenna prototyping laboratories.
Yardney Technical Products, Inc, www.yardney.com, HQ: Pawcatuck, CT
Founded in 1944
Based in southeastern Connecticut since 1944, Yardney prides itself in the design, development and manufacture of
advanced custom batteries for military, aerospace and industrial purposes. Their specialty battery technologies include
Yardney Technical Products (YTP) Silver-Zinc, Silver Cadmium, Nickel-Hydrogen, and Magnesium-Silver Chloride
batteries, and Lithion’s Lithium-Ion cells and batteries. Yardney’s batteries have flown aboard Delta II launchers, the Mars
Exploration Rovers and Phoenix Mars Lander, the IBEX interstellar probe and have swam through the deep aboard naval
torpedoes, as well as many other missions in extreme environments. Yardney has also been selected by Lockheed to
provide Lithium-Ion batteries for the future Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.

Notable transactions
Companies involved in small satellites
Target Acquirer Month Transaction value and financials
Surrey Satellite
EADS Astrium Dec 2008 Not provided
Technology Limited
"In the UK we are renowned for our design and manufacture of telecommunications satellites, interplanetary spacecraft
and satellite services provision. SSTL is one of the great success stories of the UK space industry and will be a
substantial complement to what we can offer customers around the world with its expertise in small and micro satellites
and their innovative approach to developing new markets for space," said Colin Paynter, CEO of Astrium in the UK.
SpaceDev, Inc Sierra Nevada Corp Dec 2008 $26.6 million, TTM Revenues: $37.6 million
“The acquisition of SpaceDev, which has a tremendous space heritage with products that have flown on 250 spacecraft,
represents a dynamic expansion of SNC’s space technology capabilities, proven system integration, communications,
networking and intelligence capabilities in the space sector,” said Fatih Ozmen, Chief Executive Officer of SNC.
MicroSat Systems Sierra Nevada Corp Jan 2008 Not provided
MicroSat Systems is a leader in the small satellite market and has developed a line of spacecraft products that has the
potential to be a disruptive technology. MicroSat Systems is providing reliable and capable spacecraft at an affordable
price with only an 18-month lead time. The missions they support are not necessarily as complex as
larger spacecraft, but for the price and schedule they still meet important needs. MicroSat Systems provides the space
industry a product line of small satellite buses based on a modular bus design that has proven flight success.
AeroAstro, Inc. Radyne Aug 2007 $18 million, 2006 Revenues: 12.4 million
AeroAstro designs and builds small and microsatellites and related technologies, AeroAstro’s experience spans a range
of capabilities – from ultra-low-cost R&D programs using commercial components, to high-reliability programs using
space-qualified components. In addition to spacecraft equipment, AeroAstro developed and operates the Sensor Enabled
Notification System (SENS), which provides cost effective satellite based low data rate communications and asset
tracking throughout the United States, North America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Asia, and South America.
Swales Aerospace ATK June 2007 $101.2 million, 2005 Revenues: $193 million
Swales Aerospace is a premier provider of satellite components and subsystems, small spacecraft and engineering
services for NASA, Department of Defense and commercial satellite customers. The transaction is subject to Hart-Scott-
Rodino (HSR) review and approval by a majority of the shareholders in the employee-owned company. After receiving
HSR and shareholder approval, ATK will be a leading provider of satellite components, subsystems and small spacecraft.
The acquisition will further increase the company's position as the partner of choice to the Government and industry.
Verhaert Design and

QinetiQ Sept 2005 Not provided
Development NV
Verhaert Design and Development NV (VDD) is a subsidiary of the Verhaert Group of companies based outside Antwerp
in Belgium. VDD is the leading Belgian small space systems integrator. Established for over 20 years VDD develops
advanced small space systems for the European Space Agency, large systems integrators and governments. VDD
provides advanced small satellites, docking and ejection systems, and instruments and facilities for micro-gravity
research in manned and unmanned space missions.
Swedish Space
Nanospace AB June 2005 Not provided
Corporation
Nanospace was set up to develop silicon-based microsystems such as microthrusters for precise attitude and formation
flying control and Xenon feed systems for electric propulsion. The company was formed by the inventor and Swedish
space technology pioneer Lars Stenmark, professor of space technology at Uppsala University. The work on these
products at Uppsala is supported by contracts from the European Space Agency.
Spectrum Astro General Dynamics July 2004 Not provided

Spectrum Astro manufactures and integrates space systems, satellites and ground-support equipment, and has
approximately 525 employees. It is now part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, which has nearly 3,400 employees in
Scottsdale, Ariz. "Spectrum Astro brings General Dynamics valuable experience in missile- defense and key NASA space
business segments, and further enhances our ability to meet requirements for satellite-based systems in support of a
network- centric approach to warfighting," – Mark A. Fried

Companies providing mission support services and products
Interface and Control
SRA International, Inc. Jul 2008 $8.5 million
Systems
ICS has built a track record of success with its Spacecraft Command Language, Remote Intelligent Monitoring,
SensorMiner, Autonomous Tasking Engine and On-Orbit Checkout Engine products. Its software is a key element of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Constellation project and the Defense Department's tactical
satellite (TacSat) program. The acquisition of ICS furthers SRA's strategy of broadening its product and service offerings
while expanding operating margins.
Aurora Flight Sciences
Payload Systems Inc. Oct 2007 Not provided
Corporation
Payload Systems was founded in 1984 with a mission to provide science and engineering services for spaceflight and
terrestrial applications. The company has been involved in the successful flight of over 28 space missions. Among these is
a miniature constellation of free-flying satellites known as SPHERES, which Payload Systems built for MIT and which is
currently deployed aboard the International Space Station. Payload Systems’ extensive experience with NASA integration,
safety, certification and acceptance procedures has given the company a proud record of accomplishment
TRL Electronics plc L-3 Communications Jul 2006 GBP 95.9 million
TRL offers some of the most advanced radio and satellite communications systems available, providing governments and
defense organizations around the world with the tools to trace, locate, monitor and defend transmissions, as well as to
communicate securely. TRL reported sales of GBP 14.0 million (approximately US $26.3 million) for the six months ended
September 30, 2005.
ENERTEC The Zodiac Group Apr 2006 Expected sales of €20 million
Enertec, which is based in the Paris region, specializes in the acquisition, storage, processing and exploitation of civil and
military aerospace data. It has the potential to generate sales of around €20m p.a. The newly acquired company will be
integrated with IN-SNEC, a subsidiary of the Zodiac Group specializing in telemetry and telecommunications in the
Technology Segment. This acquisition will strengthen the Group's leadership in the European market for satellite ground
control systems and onboard telemetry recorders
Photon Research
Raytheon Oct 2004 Not provided
Associates
PRA has pioneered the development and application of physics-based modeling, simulation and analysis products and
services for government and commercial markets. The company focuses on remote sensing, missile defense, surveillance
and reconnaissance and intelligence data analysis.
RT Logic Integral Systems, Inc. Oct 2002 $36.5 million with $10 million earnout
RT Logic designs, develops, and delivers innovative signal processing systems for the space and military communications
industry. RT Logic's Telemetrix® product line is used for satellite test, launch vehicle telemetry, on-orbit satellite control, as
well as Satellite Communications (SATCOM), airborne communications, and spectrum monitoring/interference detection.
Newpoint Technologies Integral Systems, Inc. Jan 2002 Not provided
Newpoint is based in Salem, N.H., that provides software and equipment for satellite support systems for Internet,
broadcast and telecom networks. Its principle customers are satellite, telecom and broadband providers.

Companies developing satellite components and subsystems
CSA Engineering Moog May 2008 $14.8 million, 2007 Revenues: $14 million
CSA's engineering staff designs and supplies equipment to the space, defense, aircraft and industrial markets. CSA's
specialized applications include satellite payload isolation systems, ground based test systems for space and missile
hardware, tuned mass dampers for vibration control and a jitter reduction control system for the Airborne Laser optical
bench.
Alliance Spacesystems MacDonald Dettwiler Dec 2007 Not provided
Alliance is a leading provider of robotics, custom design and fabrication in composites structures, mechanisms, mechanical
systems engineering, and mechanical analyses for systems operating in extreme environments. Alliance Spacesystems
provides U.S. Government and aerospace customers with advanced technology solutions and is a leader in sophisticated
robotic and mechanical structures applied on a variety of space missions as well as terrestrial applications.
SUMMA Technology Inc AAR Corp Dec 2007 Not provided
Summa Technology, Inc., ("Summa"), a leading provider of high-end sub-systems and precision machining, fabrication,
welding and engineering services. The acquisition of Summa builds upon AAR's wide range of capabilities and extends the
Company's portfolio of manufactured products and engineering services.
Kayser-Threde GmbH OHB Technologies Jun 2007 €5.95 million
Kayser-Threde GmbH ranks among the three largest space companies in Germany and specializes in the development
and implementation of payloads, scientific devices, and equipment for aerospace, science, and the industry. Kayser-
Threde GmbH provides support over the complete life cycle of a scientific device for manned and unmanned spaceflight
missions, from feasibility study and the development of hardware and software up to mission support and data
interpretation
SBS Technologies GE Fanuc June 2006 $215 million, 2005 Revenues: $152.4 million
SBS (Nasdaq: SBSE) designs and builds embedded computer components for the medical, aerospace, military,
transportation and telecommunications industries. Last fiscal year, ending June 30, the company reported sales of $152.4
million, up from the previous year's $133.9 million. The company has locations in California, Massachusetts, Minnesota
and North Carolina, as well as Canada, China and Germany.
SSG Precision Optronics L-3 Communications Apr 2006 Expected annual sales of $60 million
SSG Precision Optronics, Inc. is a recognized leader in the world of space and airborne telescopes and electo-mechanical
subsystems. The company develops key technologies and designs for applications in strategic and tactical optical systems
and continues to invest and pursue R&D opportunities.
Starsys Research $33.8 million (with earn-out)

SpaceDev Feb 2006
Corporation 2005 revenues of $18 million
Starsys designs, engineers and manufactures mechanical systems, structures, and mechanisms that open, close, release,
and move components on spacecraft, including motion-control actuators, cover systems, deployment systems, and
separation systems. Starsys components have flown on over 200 missions including the Mars Rover missions, Cassini,
and Deep Impact with 100% operational success
Dutch Space BV EADS Dec 2005 Not provided
Dutch Space, formerly part of the Fokker group, was established as an independent company in 1995, and has nearly 300
employees. The company’s core business areas are robotics, space instruments, launchers and solar arrays. In spacecraft
solar arrays, the company’s range extends from telecoms and science to Earth observation applications. Dutch Space’s
unique expertise in lightweight, rigid and strong structural components has led to close involvement in the Ariane launcher
development and production programme.
Cincinnati Electronics L-3 Communications Dec 2004 $172 million
Headquartered in Mason, Ohio, Cincinnati Electronics designs and manufactures a range of infrared (IR) detectors,
imaging sensors, missile warning systems, space launch vehicle products and spacecraft electronics. These operations
provide IR components, electronics, and systems reconnaissance, navigation and missile seekers for a number of U.S.
launch vehicles and spacecraft electronic niche markets.

PSI Group ATK Sept 2004 $165 million, 8x EBITDA
The PSI Group is a leader in the design and manufacture of components for military and commercial space-based
applications, including global positioning, navigation and communication satellites, satellite bus structures, struts, reflectors
and deployable mast booms. The acquisition strengthens ATK's advanced space systems portfolio and positions it to
capture emerging opportunities in spacecraft integration and satellite technology.
Composite Optics Inc. ATK Jan 2003 Not provided
Composite Optics Inc. (COI), a supplier of advanced composite products for the space and aerospace markets. COI (San
Diego) manufacturers such products as telescope structures, optical benches, mirrors, instrument housings, satellite
structures, and antenna reflectors; they will be integrated with ATK's existing composite structures operations.

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purposes. The report is aimed at institutional investors and investment professionals,
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Small Aerospace Companies - Space Activities in North America and Europe

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See Last Page for Important Disclosures

SPECIALISTS IN SATELLITE, MEDIA AND TELECOM INVESTMENT BANKING

3. Eventually, small companies face challenges to growth,

4. Industry consolidation plays an important role in

5. Founders and senior management should focus some

6. Investment highlights and value proposition:

January 2009 Page 2 of 50

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 4

January 2009 Page 3 of 50

Despite the promising landscape, small companies face challenges to sustainable

January 2009 Page 4 of 50

 High credit quality customers. Revenues tend to come from

 Significant barriers to sustained entry. While it is relatively easy

 Strong government support and contracting preferences. Small

 Committed management and employees. Founders and key

 Sector ripe for consolidation. Investors and participating

January 2009 Page 5 of 50

These large aerospace companies contribute significantly to the advancement of man’s

January 2009 Page 6 of 50

January 2009 Page 7 of 50

Civil Space: Civil space consists of programs, primarily sponsored by governments, to

Commercial Space: Commercial space consists of the diverse range of activities

January 2009 Page 8 of 50

 Human spaceflight operations: the developing, implementing and operation of

The scale of many of these projects has often meant

The side photos illustrate this very nicely. Below we

The civil agencies, either by government policy or out of

January 2009 Page 9 of 50

Office of Small Business Programs operates a variety of programs, some

Science: Planetary exploration (Mars Express, Venus Express, Huygens), Earth

January 2009 Page 10 of 50

Small Business Participation in NASA Procurements

SB Procurements % of total procurement

2007 numbers includes $505.4 million awarded to small disadvantaged firms

Trends and Issues

January 2009 Page 11 of 50

January 2009 Page 12 of 50

19.388 19.115 19.69

US DoD space spending (2000-2008). 2007 and 2008 are

January 2009 Page 13 of 50

Surveillance and sensing

DoD Launcher systems

Small Business Set-Asides – procurements reserved for bidding by small businesses.

Operates and develops intelligence satellites for reconnaissance and surveillance

Dedicated to providing geospatial intelligence solutions for US national defense, homeland

January 2009 Page 14 of 50

Trends and Issues

January 2009 Page 15 of 50

January 2009 Page 16 of 50

Broadband 2 (1,1,0) Hughes, WildBlue, ViaSat, Avanti Screenmedia, O3b

GeoEye, DigitalGlobe, RapidEye, ImageSat International, SPOT Image,

Trends and Issues

January 2009 Page 17 of 50

Commercial Orbital Launch Forecast (1993-2016), Source: FAA-AST

January 2009 Page 18 of 50

January 2009 Page 19 of 50

Most of these revenues, however, flow

involve different degrees of system 0.0

integrators, the largest of the firms who Non-US US

Major Tier-II Subsystem Developers

January 2009 Page 20 of 50

Major Mission Support and Service Companies

High credit quality customers. Revenues tend to come from

Significant barriers to sustained entry. While it is relatively easy

Strong government support and contracting preferences. Small

Committed management and employees. Founders and key

Sector ripe for consolidation. Investors and participating

Human spaceflight operations: the developing, implementing and operation of

Cost-plus contracting: Determines compensation as a function of cost as well

Mission planning, towards the planning of