During the early years of spaceflight only nation states had the resources to develop and fly spacecraft. Both the U.S. space program and Soviet space program were operated using mainly military pilots as astronauts. During this period, no commercial space launches were available to private operators, and no private organization was able to offer space launches.
In 1980s, the European Space Agency created Arianespace, the world's first commercial space transportation company, and, following the Challenger disaster, the American government deregulated the American space transportation market as well. In the 1990s the Russian government sold their majority stake in RSC Energia to private investors. These events for the first time allowed private organizations purchase, develop and offer space launchers; beginning the period of private spaceflight.
The following is a list of non-government-owned spacecraft manufacturing companies and contractors.
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There are six major companies that build large, commercial, Geosynchronous satellite platforms:
| Company | Location | No of satellites launched | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thales Alenia Space | Europe ( France/ Italy) | formerly Alcatel Alenia Space | |
| JSC Information Satellite Systems | Russia | 1160 | formerly NPO PM |
| Boeing | United States | ||
| Astrium Satellites | Europe ( France/ Germany/ Spain) | a business unit of Astrium | |
| Lockheed Martin | United States | ||
| Space Systems/Loral | United States |
In addition to those above, the following companies have successfully built and launched satellite platforms:
Commercial wings of national space agencies:
| Company | Location | No. of probes launched | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lavochkin | Russia | rovers for Lunokhod 1 | |
| Brown Engineering Company | Huntsville, AL United States | Rover for Apollo lunar program | |
| China National Space Administration | People's Republic of China | for Chang'e 3 program in 2013 | |
| Robotics Institute | Pittsburgh, PA United States | for Scarab | |
| NASA JPL | United States | for ATHLETE lunar missions | |
| NASA | United States | Space Exploration Vehicle for future lunar mission |
| Company | Location | Components built | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Technology Consortium | Oxnard, CA United States | Mars Pathfinder Airbag Retraction Actuator Planetary Gearboxes, Mars Pathfinder Camera Pointing Mechanisms, Stardust Scan Mirror Mechanism, Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) Robot Arm Brush Motors, MVACS Camera Pointing Mechanisms, Genesis Array Deployment Mechanism, Shuttle Radar Topography Mapper (SRTM) Mast Deployment Actuators, SRTM Harmonic Drive Actuators, A2100 & A2100M Bus Antenna Pointing Mechanism Linear Actuators, Orbview 3 & 4 Antenna Gimbals, Sirius Satellite Radio Antenna Gimbal Motors, Champollion Cryogenic Comet Drill Actuator, TES Filter Wheel Actuator, Mars Odyssey Mission PanCam Mast Deployment Actuator, Mars Odyssey PanCam Azimuth Twist Capsule and Actuator Assembly, Mars Odyssey PanCam Elevation Actuator, Mars Odyssey Drill Mechanism Gearboxes, and Mars Phoenix Camera Pointing Mechanisms | Asset sale to competitor in 2000, Original corporation renamed to Rocketstar Robotics Inc in 2006 |
| Andrews Space | Seattle, WA United States | ||
| EADS Astrium Satellites | Europe | ||
| Final Frontier Construction LLC | Ashton, MD United States | Scaled examples of Gershin Class and Shia Class inverse truss hulls with artificial gravity capability | |
| Pumpkin, Inc | San Francisco, CA United States | CubeSat Kits | |
| Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace[3] | Kongsberg Norway | Kongsberg Adaptive Rotational Mechanism Assembly [KARMA] in configuration as Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM),used on Rosetta (spacecraft), Mars Express, Venus Express, Sentinel 1, Sentinel 3 and BepiColombo MTM.
Drive electronics for Sentinel 1 and BepiColombo MTM. Booster attachment struts, including separation function,for Ariane 5. |
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| Rocketstar Robotics Inc[4] | Camarillo, CA United States | Space Interferometry Mission Optical Shutter Mechanisms | |
| Thortek Laboratories, Inc. | Irvine, KY United States | merged with SpaceDev | |
| Starsys | Sparks, NV United States | merged with SpaceDev | |
| SpaceDev | Sparks, NV United States | ||
| Clyde Space | United Kingdom | Power System Electronics, Batteries, Solar Panels, Attitude Control Systems |
| Company name | Country | Engine | Engine type | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Rocket Company | United States | hybrid rocket | intellectual property acquired by SpaceDev | ||
| Frontier Astronautics | Valencia, CA United States | VIPER | liquid oxygen | ||
| Asp | high test peroxide | ||||
| AE Aerospace | Luisville, KY United States | HIRE | hybrid ion rocket engine | [5][6] | |
| Orion Propulsion | Madison, AL United States | used on Sundancer and Ares I | |||
| Rocketdyne | Canoga Park, Los Angeles {USA}} | Liquid | Division of Pratt & Whitney | ||
| Ad Astra Rocket Company | Webster, TX United States | VASIMR | magnetoplasma | may be used for future Mars missions | |
| Reaction Engines Ltd. | Oxfordshire, England United Kingdom | SABRE | rocket/turbojet/ramjet | planned to be used in Skylon | |
| SpaceDev | Poway, CA United States | hybrid rocket | used on SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo |
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