Space Machines Company
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| Private | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Founders | Rajat Kulshrestha George Freney |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Rajat Kulshrestha (CEO) George Freney (CDO) |
| Products | Satellites Orbital servicing vehicles Command and control software |
Number of employees | ~58 (2024) |
| Website | spacemachines |
Space Machines Company (SMC) is an Australian space technology company that develops orbital servicing capabilities and space infrastructure solutions. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Sydney, the company specialises in developing rapid response vehicles and command systems for satellite inspection, monitoring, and protection services.
History
Space Machines Company was founded in 2019 by Rajat Kulshrestha and George Freney.The company is based at the University of Technology Sydney's Tech Lab in Botany, New South Wales, with additional offices in Adelaide, South Australia, and Bangalore, India.
Optimus mission
On 5 March 2024, SMC launched their first vehicle, Optimus Rollout, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket during the Transporter-10 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base.The 270-kilogram Orbital Servicing Vehicle was Australia's largest private satellite.
Despite successful launch and deployment into orbit, Space Machines Company was unable to establish communications with Optimus. In May 2024, after several weeks of attempts to make contact, the company confirmed it had been unable to establish communications with the spacecraft.
Space MAITRI mission
In April 2024, SMC was awarded an A$8.5 million grant from the Australian Space Agency's International Space Investment (ISI) India Projects programme for Space MAITRI (Mission for Australia-India's Technology, Research and Innovation), a joint Australian-Indian mission focused on space debris management.
The mission brings together multiple Australian and Indian partners including Digantara, Ananth Technologies, the University of Adelaide, University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, LeoLabs, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, HEO, OrbitAID, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) through NewSpace India Limited, Lúnasa, Indian Institute of Science, and Australian Astronomical Optics at Macquarie University.The mission is scheduled to launch in late 2026 aboard India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
Optimus Viper announcement
In December 2024, the company unveiled Optimus Viper, a rapid-response spacecraft variant designed specifically for space domain awareness and asset protection missions.
Manufacturing facility expansion
In June 2025, SMC announced a partnership with the University of Technology Sydney to establish the Optimus Factory (OF-01), described as Australia's largest industrial-scale spacecraft manufacturing facility.The facility, located at UTS Tech Lab in Sydney, is designed to produce up to 20 Optimus Viper spacecraft annually, with capacity for simultaneous production of five spacecraft.
In September 2025, SMC signed an agreement with the Bradfield Development Authority to establish manufacturing operations at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility in Bradfield, a planned city in Western Sydney. The partnership is intended to support increased production capacity as part of the company's manufacturing scale-up plans.
Products and technology
Optimus Viper Rapid Response Vehicle
The Optimus Viper is SMC's primary spacecraft platform, a 200-kilogram small satellite designed for proximity operations and rapid orbital response. Key specifications include 500 m/s of delta-v capability, modular payload hosting with streamlined integration processes, and a target production cost of less than US$1.25 million per unit. The platform use chemical propulsion and is designed to operate across LEO, MEO, GEO, and beyond-GEO orbits.
The spacecraft features the company's internally developed Scintilla propulsion system, a regeneratively cooled bi-propellant thruster capable of more than 1,000 ignition cycles. The platform is designed for autonomous proximity operations within 10 kilometres of target satellites, providing sub-centimetre resolution imagery from 1-kilometre standoff distances.
Solstice OS
Solstice OS is SMC's command and control software platform for managing orbital assets. The system is designed to provide real-time mission planning and execution capabilities, space domain awareness integration, autonomous command and control for multiple vehicles, and sub-second state synchronisation across network elements. The platform is being developed in phases, with Solstice OS 1.1 focused on mission planning and simulation, version 1.2 adding operational integration with physical assets, and version 1.3 delivering full multi-vehicle coordination capabilities.
Business model
SMC positions itself as providing "orbitside assist" services, offering rapid response capabilities for satellite inspection, monitoring, and protection.The company has announced commercial pricing for proximity inspection services starting at US$2–3 million per inspection in low Earth orbit.
The company's strategy focuses on achieving cost reductions through volume manufacturing, targeting production of more than 30 vehicles annually by the late 2020s at a target unit cost below US$1.25 million.
Partnerships
SMC has established partnerships with various organisations for launch services, technology development, and research collaboration.
Launch and technology partnerships
The company works with SpaceX and NewSpace India Limited for launch services, and has technology partnerships with Advanced Navigation, Orbit Fab, ANT61, CSIRO, LeoLabs, Digantara, and Ananth Technologies.
Research and academic partnerships
SMC collaborates with the University of Technology Sydney, University of Adelaide, University of Sydney, and Macquarie University for research and development activities.
International partnerships
Through the UK Space Agency's International Bilateral Fund, SMC participates in two collaborative projects under the UK-Australia Space Bridge. The SLOSH-CAT project with Satellite Applications Catapult and University of Sydney examines liquid fuel movement in spacecraft to improve stability and control systems.The ARGUS project with Lúnasa develops autonomous rendezvous technology for geostationary orbit operations.
The company has also established partnerships with Reaction Dynamics (Canada) and other international organisations.
Government agency collaboration
SMC collaborates with government agencies including the Australian Space Agency, Indian Space Research Organisation, UK Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and Australian defence organisations.The company has established partnerships with state governments, including Investment NSW for manufacturing development in Western Sydney.
Funding
SMC has raised approximately A$2.25 million in funding, with investors including RADventures.The company has received grant support from the Australian Space Agency, including the A$8.5 million ISI India Projects grant.In 2025, the company also secured federal funding through the Defence Trailblazer's Accelerating Sovereign Industrial Capabilities program for space domain awareness technology development.
Recognition
SMC has received multiple industry recognitions including being named an InnovationAus 2025 Awards finalist and receiving an Australian Good Design Awards shortlist.
References
External links
This article "Space Machines Company" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.