Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies, part of RTX's Raytheon business, is increasing reaction wheel production capacity to support demand for spacecraft subsystems and components.
The company has allocated more than $1 million to expand production capability from 650 reaction wheels per year to 2,400 wheels per year – a planned increase of nearly 400%.
Reaction wheels use motor-driven torque to control spacecraft movements while on orbit without propulsion. A small satellite typically utilizes three to four reaction wheels to maintain position. Blue Canyon Technologies' line of reaction wheels features 13 products ranging in size and torque options for the smallest CubeSats to spacecraft that are 400 kilograms and larger.
"Demand across the space industry continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, and we're not simply reacting to supply chain challenges," said Chris Winslett, general manager of Blue Canyon Technologies. "We've made targeted investments in our facilities, equipment and supplier partnerships to ensure we can meet that demand without compromising performance or reliability for our customers. Our customers depend on us for both innovation and execution, and these investments support those objectives."
Blue Canyon Technologies has manufactured reaction wheels since 2014, producing 3,500 flight units.
