Terran Orbital Unveils Two New Spacecraft Platforms for U.S. Government Agencies

On June 4, 2024, the US company Terran Orbital Corporation announced the development of two new space vehicles in partnership with NASA. The new spacecraft, called Nebula and Ambassador, will join the existing Triumph and Renegade, offering a wide range of missions to US government agencies.

This expansion of Terran Orbital’s assets is part of NASA’s long-standing multi-participant Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV (Rapid IV) Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The Rapid IV program has the objective of providing aims to simplify the acquisition of spacecraft and related components for government agencies. The contracts under Rapid IV have a shared maximum ceiling of $6 billion.

“By offering a broader selection of space vehicle solutions, Terran Orbital empowers government agencies to efficiently execute their missions. This streamlined approach allows for faster space vehicle delivery, accelerating scientific discovery and national security advancements.”

— Marc Bell, Co-Founder and CEO at Terran Orbital

Flexible spacecraft platform

The Nebula-class platform is designed to accommodate the largest payload mass available on a standard 15″ ESPA (EELV Secondary Payload Adapter) port, while also offering the flexibility to use a 24″ ESPA Grande or similar interface. Thanks to its propulsion system, Nebula is ideal for deplying a constellation into its mission orbit. The Nebula-class bus can carry a payload of up to 130 kg in Low Earth Orbit and can provide up to 1kW of energy through its solar arrays.

Ambassador is the enhanced version of the Nebula class. This ride-share platform can accommodate a payload of up to 200 kg, providing a maximum solar array power of 1.5 kW, and is adapted for the ESPA Grande-class ring. Both platforms can support commercial payloads or those intended for defense applications thanks to the optional Type 1 encryption for military-grade security.

In fact, Nebula and Ambassador are derived from the previous classes, Zuma and Zuma+, respectively, developed for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 0 and Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellations.

Terran Orbital leverage “top-of-the-line automation and modern manufacturing processes to support the delivery of hundreds of buses annually”.

Experience and reliability

Terran Orbital, based in Florida, leverages extensive experience in delivering important missions for NASA and other government agencies, as well as various clients worldwide. As previously mentioned, the company built 10 satellite buses for Lockheed Martin as part of SDA’s Tranche 0 Transport Layer and is producing 42 spacecraft for Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL). Additionally, it has been awarded the development of 36 buses for T2TL, scheduled for 2026.

Furthermore, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, a subsidiary of the US company, developed and built the satellite for the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE).

Launched in June 2022, the 12U Cubesat is currently orbiting the Moon to test and verify the dynamics of the Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) for the future Lunar Gateway space station. CAPSTONE is based on Terran Orbital’s Voyager platform.

_{*Cover image credits: Terran Orbital}