We were pleased to have our Chief Strategy Officer Philip Bracken participate in Payload’s recent webinar, “Cost Effective Launch Beyond LEO.” He was joined by panelists Tony Frego, Vice President of Mission Management at Spaceflight, Will Coogan, Chief Engineer at Firefly Aerospace and James Bultitude, Senior Consultant at Orbit Fab.
The panel of experts agreed: there is a growing demand for launches beyond LEO and organizations have to consider many factors in getting there - and staying there, with the price tag being an early, important factor. However, Bracken noted price is just one of the considerations, “You can’t just take what you proved out in LEO and simply move it to GEO. The environment is much more challenging.”
Among the challenges noted:
Hardware: harsher thermal and radiation environments
Propulsion: need more Delta-V to get there, and to do it fast, you need higher thrust
Routine access: Fewer launches available
Data services: Limited communication infrastructure
Risk v. Reward: Appetite for early missions
The panel concurred that OTVs are one of the ways to reduce the cost of getting payloads out to cislunar and beyond. We’re proud that Quantum has developed our Ranger vehicle specifically to reduce the barrier to entry to GEO, laying the foundational infrastructure for more services to be delivered in this environment. Ranger not only transports payloads of all sizes - including smaller OTVs, it also deploys, relocates, hosts, and provides a wide range of logistics services, making it the choice for routine and affordable GEO missions.
The panel also discussed how customers can’t afford to wait two to four years to test out hardware; in this industry, speed is critical. It’s another advantage that Quantum Space enjoys. Bracken explained how Quantum Space has positioned itself for speed with its purpose-built size and capabilities. He also noted that Quantum feels that the size of the vehicle is critical - there is a “sweet spot” for vehicles in cislunar and GEO. They need to be large enough to provide a wide variety of logistics and data services, and yet flexible enough to keep launch costs down.
The panel also noted the market continues to grow for operating spacecraft beyond LEO, with both government and commercial customers looking for a wide range of on-orbit services. Bracken agreed, noting the growing need for broad situational awareness and logistical services in GEO that Ranger provides.
One thing the panel made clear, and all participants agreed upon: the demand for cost-effective access to GEO orbits and beyond is growing rapidly and the progress we’re making in not only getting there – but staying there — is extremely encouraging. We’re proud to be shaping the future.
To view the recorded webinar, click below.