Blue Canyon Technologies Provides Multiple Spacecraft & Components Aboard Virgin Orbit Launch
LAFAYETTE, Colo., July 14, 2022 – Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies LLC ("BCT" or "Blue Canyon"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, today announced the launch of Slingshot 1, MISR-B, and a government customer satellite, aboard Virgin Orbit on July 1, 2022.
Slingshot 1 is the first-ever Blue Canyon 12U CubeSat bus carrying 19 payloads to low Earth orbit. Built for Aerospace Corporation, the mission will demonstrate the accessibility of integrating numerous payloads into a single interface.
MISR-B is a 6U CubeSat bus, which Blue Canyon provided along with the radio, GPS, reaction wheels, torque rods, sun sensors, solar arrays, batteries, Guidance Navigation & Control System and power management. The program is intended to demonstrate a robust, responsive, multi-mission CubeSat capability to satisfy a varied set of requirements and provides significantly more power to the payload.
“Currently, there is not a widely accepted standard interface for payload integration,” said Jeff Schrader, President, Blue Canyon Technologies. “The mission's success in orbit will show that all payloads, of large quantities, can plug into any small satellite, rather than customizing each interface.”
Blue Canyon is providing additional spacecraft buses and components for several missions set to launch this summer, including TROPICS, Starling, Artemis-1, and CIRCE, a historic Virgin Orbit launch. Teaming with U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and U.K. Defense Science Technology Laboratory, Blue Canyon will provide twin 6U CubeSats, that will fly in a circular orbit to measure Earth’s ionosphere and particle radiation environment. CIRCE, Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment, will be the first U.K. satellite to launch from Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay.
Work will be completed at the Blue Canyon Technologies facilities in Boulder, Colorado.
Media Contact:
Natalie Miller
About Blue Canyon Technologies
Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, is comprised of four business units: CubeSats, Microsats, Components, and Mission Operations. BCT offers a diverse portfolio of innovative, reliable, and affordable spacecraft and components that enable a broad range of missions and technological advancements for the new space economy. The company currently supports numerous unique missions with over 100 cumulative spacecraft orders. Microsatellites are manufactured at the 80,000 sq-ft Lafayette facility and CubeSats and components are manufactured in 40,000 sq-ft of dedicated facilities in Boulder, Colorado.
BCT has supported missions for the U.S. Air Force, NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and provided the Attitude Control Systems for the first interplanetary CubeSats, which successfully traveled to Mars. The company has been recognized with awards from Inc. Magazine's 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies, the Best in Biz Award and the 2020 Tibbetts Award.
For the latest news on Blue Canyon Technologies and for other company information, please visit www.bluecanyontech.com. You can follow the company on LinkedIn here, Instagram here, or Twitter here.
About Raytheon Intelligence & Space
Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, delivers the disruptive technologies our customers need to succeed in any domain, against any challenge. A developer of advanced sensors, cyber services and software solutions, Raytheon Intelligence & Space provides a decisive advantage to civil, military and commercial customers around the world.
