Jason Andrews

Last updated
Jason Andrews
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater University of Washington
Occupation(s)Space and Technology Entrepreneur.
OrganizationSpaceflight inc.
Awards
  • Andrews was named a 40 Under 40 Awardee by the Puget Sound Business Journal in 2006.
  • Andrews named 'Newsmaker of the Year' by Geekwire.

Jason Andrews is an American space and technology entrepreneur. [1] He co-founded with his wife Marian Joh, Andrews Space in 1999, founded Spaceflight Inc. in 2010, BlackSky Global LLC in 2013, and integrated all three entities together in 2015 under Spaceflight Industries. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Andrews grew up in Seattle, Washington and attended the University of Washington where he graduated with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. In 1995, he joined Kistler Aerospace in Kirkland Washington, one of the early space startups developing a fully reusable two stage launch vehicle to serve the emerging LEO communications market. [4] [5] His first role was as launch vehicle performance analyst, where he developed the "rocket back" trajectory to recover the first stage at the launch site. Andrews then led the Kistler propulsion system development contracts with Pratt & Whitney and Aerojet, and went on to manage the K-1 vehicle integration team located in El Segundo, California.[ citation needed ]

Andrews Space, Inc.

Andrews left Kistler in late 1998 and started Andrews Space & Technology in July 1999; the name was shortened to Andrews Space in 2003. The company's first two contracts were a NASA Phase 1 SBIR to develop the Mini-Mag Orion Propulsion System, [6] and supporting Buzz Aldrin's company Starcraft Boosters. [7] Andrews led day-to-day operations as president, working with his father (Dana Andrews - CTO) and wife (Marian Joh - CEO). [8]

In 2007 the firm diversified into space hardware and acquired Automated Controlled Environments Inc (ACEi), a company focused on nanosat subsystems. [9] Andrews was one of the first people to identify and articulate the “killer app” for cubesats and nanosats: deployment of swarms of spacecraft to observe the planet in near real time. [3] From 2008 to 2012 his firm developed a series of cubesat and nanosat products, many as part of a contract with the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) to study how to “put UAVs in space”, which required deploying a constellation of nanosats to observe the planet in near real time. This effort would evolve into the Kestrel Eye 2 spacecraft development effort. [10] [11]

Spaceflight, Inc.

In 2009 Andrews founded Spaceflight Inc as the first “commercial spaceline”; the company did not build or own rockets, but instead provided space transportation services via rideshare on all existing rockets. [12] [3] [13] Spaceflight addressed the emerging need to launch cubesats and nanosats, vehicles that were too small to buy their own launch vehicles. Spaceflight established classes of launch services by volume and mass for satellites weighing up to 1,000 kilogram, and published list pricing. [14] Over the next eight years the firm built a $75 million a year business.

Spaceflight signed its first customer contract in October 2011 with Cosmogia (which later changed its name to Planet Labs, and then just Planet).[ citation needed ] It conducted its first two launches in April 2013, which launched within hours of each other: one on a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle and the other on the maiden launch of the Orbital Antares launch vehicle. [15] From 2013 to 2018 the company launched over 210 spacecraft for different customers. [16]

BlackSky Global LLC

In 2013 Andrews founded BlackSky Global LLC to build the infrastructure to observe the planet in real time with a constellation of 1 meter resolution satellites to provide near real time observations (giving revisit rates measured in hours or minutes versus days) to complement existing high resolution spacecraft. The network of satellites could be used to direct high performing space assets to monitor conflict and critical infrastructure. [3] BlackSky operated in "stealth mode" for two years, and was formally unveiled in June 2015 at the GeoInt Conference based on a Pathfinder launch planned for later that year. [17] Two weeks after the GeoInt Conference a SpaceX Falcon 9 exploded in flight,[ citation needed ] significantly delaying the launch of the Pathfinder spacecraft. [18]

Spaceflight Networks

In August 2014 Andrews unveiled plans for Spaceflight Networks at the SmallSat Conference in Logan, UT. [19] The company was already planning a series of commercial ground stations to support the then unannounced BlackSky constellation. The business plan was to sell excess capacity on the BlackSky communication network and establish a set of communication standards and radios to further accelerate the growth of the satellite ecosystem. [20] [3] This business was eventually put on hold so that available resources could be focused on operating the existing businesses and building the BlackSky constellation.

Spaceflight Industries, Inc.

In 2015 Andrews integrated all three corporate entities under Spaceflight Industries, the parent corporate entity, [21] with the ability to build, launch and operate spacecraft. [3] Andrews led the firm as its president, CEO and chairman, overseeing operations at the operating companies. Coincident with this event, Spaceflight Industries closed a $21.5 million Series B investment led by venture capital firms Vulcan and RRE. [22] [23]

BlackSky's business plan centered around revolutionizing the price point, frequency and user experience of satellite based imagery [24] by developing a compelling user experience to achieve its commercial potential. [25] [26] [27] In June 2016 Andrews lead the acquisition of OpenWhere Inc. of Herndon VA, which had a unique cloud-based geospatial intelligence platform. [28] Coincident with this acquisition Spaceflight Industries closed a $25 million Series B-1 investment led by Mithril Capital. [29] [30]

In September 2016 following lengthy delays, BlackSky launched the Pathfinder-1 spacecraft on an Indian PSLV. The spacecraft met its demonstration objectives and validated the spacecraft economics (size and price) to enable the overall BlackSky business plan. [31]

In March 2018 Spaceflight Industries closed a $150 million Series C investment led by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) [32] and Mitsui [33] to fund the construction and launch of twenty (20) BlackSky spacecraft. [34] [35] As part of this investment, Spaceflight Industries and TAS created a 50/50 joint venture, LeoStella, to produce the spacecraft for the BlackSky constellation based on the design developed by Spaceflight Industries. [36] [37]

In October 2018 Spaceflight Industries was listed as one of the most valuable startups in the Seattle area with a valuation of $750 million. [38]

Orbite Inc.

Jason Andrews co-founded Orbite with Nicolas Gaume in 2019. [39] The company is building its "Spaceflight Gateway and Astronaut Training Complex" for commercial astronaut training in a yet to be disclosed U.S. location. [40] Orbite has tapped world-renowned architect Philippe Starck to design its complex. [41]

Awards and recognition

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacecraft</span> Vehicle or machine designed to fly in space

A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private spaceflight</span> Spaceflight not paid for by a government agency

Private spaceflight refers to spaceflight activities undertaken by non-governmental entities, such as corporations, individuals, or non-profit organizations. This contrasts with public spaceflight, which is traditionally conducted by government agencies like NASA, ESA, or JAXA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Small satellite</span> Satellites of low mass and size, usually under 500 kg

A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under 1,200 kg (2,600 lb). While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites can be built small to reduce the large economic cost of launch vehicles and the costs associated with construction. Miniature satellites, especially in large numbers, may be more useful than fewer, larger ones for some purposes – for example, gathering of scientific data and radio relay. Technical challenges in the construction of small satellites may include the lack of sufficient power storage or of room for a propulsion system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Orbital Transportation Services</span> Former NASA program

Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) was a NASA program to spur the development of private spacecraft and launch vehicles for deliveries to the International Space Station (ISS). Launched in 2006, COTS successfully concluded in 2013 after completing all demonstration flights.

Andrews Space was founded in 1999 by Jason Andrews and Marian Joh to be a catalyst in the commercialization, exploration and development of space. Originally named Andrews Space & Technology, the company shortened its name in 2003 to Andrews Space. Over its life the company developed many unique technologies and space transportation architectures for the US Government and commercial customers. The company is now Spaceflight Systems, a subsidiary of Spaceflight Industries, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3 Corner Satellite</span>

Three Corner Satellite consisted of three student-built microsatellites flying in formation. Primary mission objectives were to demonstrate formation flying, provide stereoscopic imaging of cloud formations, and demonstrate distributed and autonomous operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocket Lab</span> New Zealand and American public spaceflight company

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. is a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. It operates and launches lightweight Electron orbital rockets used to provide dedicated launch services for small satellites and a suborbital Electron variant called HASTE. The company plans to offer a larger Neutron rocket as early as 2025. Electron rockets have launched to orbit 49 times from either Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand or at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia. In 2023 Rocket Lab launched one sub-orbital HASTE rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia. Rocket Lab manufactures and operates spacecraft and is a supplier of satellite components including star trackers, reaction wheels, solar cells and arrays, satellite radios, separation systems, as well as flight and ground software.

Planetary Resources, Inc., formerly known as Arkyd Astronautics, was an American company that was formed on 1 January 2009, and reorganized and renamed in 2012. Its stated goal was to "expand Earth's natural resource base" by developing and deploying the technologies for asteroid mining.

SkySat is a constellation of sub-meter resolution Earth observation satellites owned by Planet Labs, providing imagery, high-definition video and analytics services. Planet acquired the satellites with their purchase of Terra Bella, a Mountain View, California-based company founded in 2009 by Dan Berkenstock, Julian Mann, John Fenwick, and Ching-Yu Hu, from Google in 2017.

Deep Space Industries, or DSI, was an American privately-held company operating in the space technology and space exploration sectors. It was acquired on January 1, 2019 by Bradford Space.

Spaceflight Industries, Inc. is an American private aerospace company based out of Herndon, Virginia, that specializes in geospatial intelligence services. It sold its satellite rideshare business, Spaceflight, Inc., in June 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planet Labs</span> American company specializing in satellite imaging of Earth

Planet Labs PBC is a publicly trading American Earth imaging company based in San Francisco, California. Their goal is to image the entirety of the Earth daily to monitor changes and pinpoint trends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer</span> Device to deploy CubeSats into orbit from the International Space Station

The Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) is a device to deploy CubeSats into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS).

BlackSky Pathfinder-1 is an Earth imaging satellite. The satellite is equipped with payloads from Harris Corporation designed to image an area approximately 4.4 × 6.6 km (2.7 × 4.1 mi).

SHERPA is a commercial satellite dispenser developed by Andrews Space, a subsidiary of Spaceflight Industries, and was unveiled in 2012. The maiden flight was on 3 December 2018 on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, and it consisted of two separate unpropelled variants of the dispenser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ÑuSat</span> Series of Argentinean commercial Earth observation satellites

ÑuSat satellite series, is a series of Argentinean commercial Earth observation satellites. They form the Aleph-1 constellation, which is designed, built and operated by Satellogic.

Astranis Space Technologies Corp. is an American company specializing in geostationary communications satellites. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Spaceflight, Inc. is an American aerospace company based out of Seattle, Washington, that specializes in organizing rideshare space launches of secondary payloads. It was part of Spaceflight Industries until June 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "Jason Andrews - Spaceflight Industries". Spaceflight Industries. Archived from the original on 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  2. ↑ "About - Spaceflight Industries". Spaceflight Industries. Archived from the original on 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Space Conferences (2015-07-16), NewSpace 2015 - Keynote Presentation by Spaceflight Industries President & CEO Jason Andrews , retrieved 2018-10-30
  4. ↑ "Kistler K-1". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  5. ↑ 4500jas (2017-08-04), Rocketplane Kistler K-1 COTS Video , retrieved 2018-10-26{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "Andrews Space & Technology Successfully Completes Compression Experiments in World's Largest Pulse Power Machine". www.spaceref.com. 7 April 2003. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  7. ↑ Aldrin, Buzz. "Buzz Aldrin Astronaut Apollo 11, Gemini 12 » Starbooster". buzzaldrin.com. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  8. ↑ "Bloomberg - Jason Andrews Profile". Bloomberg.
  9. ↑ "Andrews Space Expands Integration Capability by Acquiring Avionics and Guidance, Navigation and Control Company". GlobeNewswire News Room. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  10. ↑ "US ARMY SMDC FUNDS ANDREWS SPACE TO BUILD KESTREL EYE 2 EARTH IMAGING NANOSAT - Spaceflight Industries". Spaceflight Industries. 2013-01-31. Archived from the original on 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  11. ↑ "Local space entrepreneurs take on the new frontier". The Seattle Times. 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  12. ↑ "Spaceflight Plans 2014 Demo Launch of Sherpa In-space Tug". SpaceNews. 2012-05-07. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  13. ↑ "Executive Profile: Jason Andrews". SatMagazine.
  14. ↑ "Spaceflight - Schedule and Pricing". Spaceflight. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  15. ↑ Wilhelm, Steve (Apr 22, 2013). "Seattle's Spaceflight Inc. puts five satellites into orbit". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  16. ↑ "Spaceflight Successfully Launches 64 Satellites on First Dedicated Rideshare Mission". Spaceflight. 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  17. ↑ "Here's why small satellites are so big right now". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  18. ↑ "Spaceflight waits out SpaceX delays, expands rideshare business to larger satellites and GEO orbit - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  19. ↑ Andrews, Jason (August 2014). "Spaceflight Networks - A New Paradigm for Cost Effective Satellite Communications". 28th Conference on Small Satellites.
  20. ↑ "Spaceflight Networks – Parabolic Arc". www.parabolicarc.com. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  21. ↑ "Spaceflight Integrates 3 Service Lines in New Website – Parabolic Arc". www.parabolicarc.com. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  22. ↑ "Spaceflight Industries Raises $20 Million to Accelerate Growth" . Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  23. ↑ Wilhelm, Steve (Mar 11, 2015). "Spaceflight Industries to double in staff, revenue and footprint over next year". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  24. ↑ "Spaceflight Industries plans one-stop shop for satellite images". The Seattle Times. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  25. ↑ Bench, The Lab. "More Than A Pretty Picture: What Businesses Should Know About Satellite Imagery". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  26. ↑ "From selling data to selling answers, EO market faces transformation - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  27. ↑ "Spaceflight Industries Unveils its BlackSky Platform for Observing the Planet - Black Sky". Black Sky. 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  28. ↑ "Syrian crisis puts Spaceflight Industries' BlackSky satellite data platform to the test". GeekWire. 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  29. ↑ Nielsen, Rachel (Jun 21, 2016). "Spaceflight Industries gets $18M in Series B funding, plans Series C". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  30. ↑ "Spaceflight raises $18 million and acquires OpenWhere to build satellite data portal". GeekWire. 2016-06-21. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  31. ↑ "Spaceflight Industries unveils BlackSky satellite's first pictures of our planet". GeekWire. 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  32. ↑ "The Space Alliance Invests in the BlackSky Geospatial Platform - Via Satellite -". Via Satellite. 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  33. ↑ "Mitsui to invest in U.S. Next-generation Aerospace Company Spaceflight Industries". WebWire. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  34. ↑ "Spaceflight Industries firms up European satellite alliance and $150M funding round". GeekWire. 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  35. ↑ "Spaceflight raises $150 million for BlackSky constellation - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  36. ↑ "BlackSky will build satellites here after deal with big European company". The Seattle Times. 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  37. ↑ "With Spaceflight's help, LeoStella moves ahead with Seattle-area satellite factory". GeekWire. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  38. ↑ "Here are the top 10 highest-valued startups in the Seattle area". GeekWire. 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
  39. ↑ "The next step in space tourism? A luxury training center for civilians". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  40. ↑ Stimac, Valerie. "5-Star Space Camp? Orbite Plans For Luxury Space Tourist Training". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  41. ↑ Jenny (2021-11-18). "Philippe Starck to design Orbite Astronaut Training Complex". Globetrender. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  42. ↑ "Puget Sound Business Journal - 40 Under 40 2006". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  43. ↑ "GeekWire's 2015 Newsmakers of the Year: These industry leaders made their mark in tech, science and space". GeekWire. 2015-12-03. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  44. ↑ Crowe, Melissa (Jul 6, 2017). "Satellite ride-share: Spaceflight Industries prepares for outer space revolution (Video)". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  45. ↑ "Five top small satellite start-ups that are transforming the EO industry". Geospatial World. 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
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