On May 18, 2016 the 111th customer CubeSat was deployed from the Company’s NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) via the JAXA KIBO airlock on the International Space Station (ISS).
The NanoRacks commercial ISS program has proven critical for emerging companies, universities and organizations worldwide, either as a technology demonstration opportunity or for educational purposes. Customers include: Planet Labs, NanoAvionics, NanoSatisfi (Spire), Southern Stars, NASA, Lithuanian Space Association, Kaunas University of Technology, MIT, Booz-Allen Hamilton, Planetary Resources, GOMspace, Aalborg University, University of Colorado, Boulder and University of Michigan to just name a few.
NanoRacks is able to offer this CubeSat deployment opportunity via the Company’s Space Act Agreement with NASA as part of the ISS National Lab in coordination with CASIS. The program is commercially funded, meaning there is no government funding and it is sustained by customer’s revenue.
“This week marks an important milestone for NanoRacks and for the Space Station, as we demonstrate the value of commercial contributions to existing government resources,” explains NanoRacks CEO Jeffrey Manber. “Government and industry working together with both sides contributing is the most efficient pathway forward.”
NanoRacks is very thankful to all the ISS partners for allowing our CubeSat Program to grow, especially from NASA’s ISS Program office and the space station team at JAXA. “A new program faces technical and commercial risks but we keep learning and look forward to more innovative commercial services in low-earth orbit in the years to come,” adds NanoRacks’ CTO Mike Lewis.
About NanoRacks
NanoRacks LLC was formed in 2009 to provide commercial hardware and services for the U.S. National Laboratory onboard the International Space Station via a Space Act Agreement with NASA. NanoRacks’ main office is in Houston, Texas, right alongside the NASA Johnson Space Center. The Business Development office is in Washington, DC. Additional offices are located in Silicon Valley, California and Leiden, Netherlands.
In July 2015, NanoRacks signed a teaming agreement with Blue Origin to offer integration services on their New Shepard space vehicle. The Company has grown into the Operating System for Space Utilization by having the tools, the hardware and the services to allow other companies, organizations and governments to realize their own space plans.
As of March 2016, over 350 payloads have been deployed by NanoRacks on the International Space Station and our customer base includes the European Space Agency (ESA) the German Space Agency (DLR,) the American space agency (NASA,) US Government Agencies, Planet Labs, Urthecast, Space Florida, NCESSE, Virgin Galactic, pharmaceutical drug companies, and organizations in Vietnam, UK, Romania and Israel. The NanoRacks customer base has propelled the company into a leadership position in understanding the emerging commercial market for low-earth orbit utilization.
For further media inquiries, please contact Abby Dickes at adickes@nanoracks.com
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