In Poway, California, there is a company with a grand vision of the future. SpaceDev, Inc. conceives, designs, and manufactures a wide array of extra-terrestrial technologies. These innovative products range from micro-satellites and other planetary orbiters, all the way up to the launch vehicles that enable these satellites to reach outer-space.
It’s true that space is indeed the final frontier, and perhaps the ultimate destiny of the human race. We cannot circumvent the fact that the Earth is an island of finite space and limited resources that will eventually reach its capacity for supporting an ever-expanding population. It is for that reason we should be glad that companies like SpaceDev, Inc. exist.
Founded in 1997, and fueled by a vision of low-cost, practical space technologies, SpaceDev has provided more than 2000 mechanisms flown on 250 missions without a single instance of system failure. SpaceDev has worked in collusion with such high-profile aerospace industry leaders as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and, most recently, NASA.
On March 24th, the company announced that it was awarded a contract to develop next-generation seal technology for NASA instruments, to be used in the enhancement of current lunar-equipment operations. Commenting on these new instruments, Mark Sirangelo, SpaceDev’s CEO stated, “Once developed, they are expected to provide a key solution set to harsh environments that presented significant operational issues during the Apollo missions. Although our initial efforts are focused on NASA’s lunar requirements, we expect these products to translate over to future Mars and terrestrial applications as well.”
It certainly seems as if SpaceDev, Inc. is a name that will potentially come to greater recognition as we approach an age where affordable aerospace products and systems are quickly becoming a technological imperative.
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