SAN FRANCISCO – York Space Systems unveiled its largest satellite to date, the M-Class platform for payloads as large as 1,000 kilograms.
Denver-based York developed the M-Class platform in response to customer demand “for more power and capability,” Michael Lajczok, York chief technology officer, said in a statement.
Both government and commercial customers are demanding larger platforms offering additional power for Earth-observation and communications missions. The M-Class platform is designed for payloads with a peak power consumption of 8 kilowatts.
The first M-Class platform will house an Earth-observation mission for an unnamed customer.
York, founded in 2012, built its business as small-satellite specialist. S-Class, York’s initial three-axis-stabilized platform for 85-kilogram payloads, came out in 2019. The LX-Class platform, unveiled in 2021, hosts payloads of 300 kilograms or less.
M-Class satellites share 75 percent of the S-Class and LX-Class technology. York is not disclosing the price of the M-Class satellite, but said it was “designed to offer the same capabilities of competitors at half the cost.”
SDA Contracts
Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris and York are among the Space Development Agency’s largest contractors. York has delivered satellites for the Space Force Space Development Agency’s Tranche 0 Transport Layer, demonstrated the first Link 16 communications from space and transmitted optical data in orbit through Tesat-Spacecom terminals.
“York continues to demonstrate how leveraging commercial innovation can effectively support critical government operations,” Melanie Preisser, York general manager and executive vice president, said in a statement. “As the space industry evolves, the intersection of government mission needs and the commercial sector’s ability to innovate and scale has never been more necessary. The M-CLASS is a direct result of this growing synergy, enabling all customers the ability to access powerful, flexible, and efficient solutions for a wide range of applications.”
