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Satellite manufacturer lands NASA, Space Force contracts

(photo courtesy of NearSpace Launch)

UPLAND, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — NASA and the U.S. Space Force have awarded contracts to an aerospace manufacturer in Grant County. NearSpace Launch Inc. says the contracts call for further development of its ThinSat Constellation devices, to be used for studying space weather and rapid payload testing.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. NSL says NASA is seeking a space weather constellation that “integrates different payloads from leading space weather partners.” Meanwhile, the Space Force will receive a scaled-up ThinSat Constellation for rapid testing of commercial systems and raising technology readiness levels for the U.S. Department of Defense.

The ThinSat Constellations are small satellites developed by NSL to make it more cost effective to get research into space.

“NSL has had the privilege of seeing 600+ systems and subsystems go into orbit over such a short time period through the hard work and dedication of our team,” said Dr. Hank Voss, co-founder of NSL and inventor of ThinSats. “It has been accomplished in partnership with so many different customers across the USG and industry. We look forward to continue working more with our commercial partners, NASA and the USSF.”

Last month, NSL announced plans to develop a new central office in the Grant County town and add 10 jobs.