The satellite industry represents the largest portion of the nearly $400 billion global space economy. Many of the earliest satellites sent into orbit were larger systems that weighed upwards of a ton.
But the satellite industry has in recent years trended toward smaller satellites, typically referred to as satellites about the size of a refrigerator or smaller. A report by Virginia-based consulting firm BryceTech shows nearly 2,500 smallsats were launched in 2022, accounting for 96% of all spacecraft.
One particular sub-category of small satellites is CubeSats, which vary in size based on length factors called "units." Aerospace technology companies, especially early stage ones that might be unable to afford to fly aboard larger satellites, can use CubeSats to send specific payloads into space for testing.
That's where Huntsville, Alabama-based aerospace contractor Axient Corp. sees an opportunity.
Previous U.S. CubeSat manufacturers like Blue Canyon Technologies and Terran Orbital have moved away from building CubeSats in favor of producing slightly larger satellites or satellite constellations. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, housed at Kirtland Air Force Base and one of Axient's primary customers, has also moved away from building in-house satellites to instead focus on the tech payloads flown on those satellites, said David Rosprim, a program director for the Alabama-based company.
So, in 2022, Axient established a new business unit in Albuquerque focused on building CubeSats. Called Space Monkey, the unit operates a bit like a startup within the much larger space contractor, which employs over 2,000 people across the country.
Its "niche" market, Rosprim explained, is building bespoke CubeSats ranging in size from three units up to 12 units for various space technology customers. Space Monkey has built one CubeSat so far, a system nicknamed "IGOR" that's set to carry a deorbit drag device developed by California-based Orbotic Systems sometime this fall.
While Space Monkey has only built one CubeSat so far, Rosprim said there's a "keen" market for those types of custom-built systems. The team, he said, designs its CubeSats — also called "buses," the term used for satellites that carry payloads into space — based on the payloads they're set to fly.
"A lot of the people out in the market right now say, 'Well, I'm going to build this satellite, and if you want to put a payload on it, great,'" Rosprim said. "But you're designing the payload for the bus. It should be the opposite. Once you have a payload and a mission, we provide the bus for it."
The cost to build CubeSats varies significantly depending on their size — three units, six units or 12 units, for example — and the specific tech payload they're designed to carry. Rosprim said costs usually range from a bit less than $1 million for smaller buses to upwards of $2 million for larger ones.
Although California's Orbotic Systems is Space Monkey's only payload customer so far, Sarah Means, business operations specialist for Axient and Space Monkey, said it's currently marketing for its next customers. Space Monkey, she said, wants to move "aggressively."
Part of that aggressiveness is accelerated hiring in Albuquerque. Means said if Space Monkey lands "even a quarter" of the work it's looking for right now, the business unit would need to more than double its current employee count. It employs 17 people in Albuquerque currently, including eight hires last year — most of which, Means added, came from out of state.
New employees would need more space to work. So, Means said Space Monkey is also actively hunting for a new, much larger standalone facility. Right now, its 2,300-square-foot office is on the second floor of an office building at 2201 Buena Vista Drive SE.
Means said Space Monkey is looking for an around 20,000-square-foot facility, which would increase its current office size by nearly 10 times. That facility would require certain things, she added — a high bay, garage door, crane access, larger conference room and other office amenities like more break and lounge areas.
The company wants to stay near Kirtland Air Force Base to be in close proximity to the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, a primary customer, Means added.
A new, much larger facility, with all those amenities, would help boost Space Monkey's recruitment. Means said the company has had success finding talent from outside New Mexico and recruiting them to move to the Land of Enchantment. That includes one employee from Buffalo, New York, who Means said started with Space Monkey as an intern in the summer of 2023.
As Space Monkey looks to aggressively expand, a big goal for the business over the next year or so, Rosprim and Means said, is demonstrating its satellite technology expertise by landing more customers and flying more of its CubeSats into space.
