York Space Systems Begins Production of Larger LX-CLASS Spacecraft Platform

Space Mission Solutions Manufacturer Expands Capabilities for Military and Commercial Customers with New, Flight Proven Platform with Deliveries Beginning in 2022

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York Space Systems

Apr 27, 2021, 08:00 ET

DENVER, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- York Space Systems (York), a Denver-based aerospace company specializing in complete space mission solutions and the manufacture of a family of spacecraft platforms, announced today that it has begun producing its new LX-CLASS spacecraft, a larger and more powerful platform scheduled for delivery in 2022 for a commercial constellation customer.

Size comparison of York Space System's S-CLASS (left) and larger, more powerful new LX-CLASS (right) spacecraft developed to provide greater mission flexibility for both commercial and government customers.

The LX-CLASS leverages over 90 percent reuse of York's flight proven S-CLASS hardware and software design currently in use across ISR, global communications, remote proximity operations, commercial earth observation, and weather missions. It will feature York's innovative man-out-of-the-loop autonomous operation capability and utilize the same cybersecurity and encryption systems developed for York's multiple military customers who demand the highest level of cyber protection.

With the addition of the LX-CLASS, government and commercial customers now have access to a new, even larger basic platform with enhancement options for a wider range of missions. The LX-CLASS leverages much of the flight proven, on-orbit technology of the S-CLASS, which will also remain in production. Both platforms will offer customers a level of affordability and delivery cadence unrivaled in the sector.

"Leveraging and evolving key subsystems with true flight heritage is fundamental to our spiral development approach across all product lines and a great way to introduce new capabilities for our customers," said Charles Beames, Executive Chairman of York. "This low-risk approach ensures production schedules and performance our customers can rely on. The addition of the LX-CLASS is just the latest example of York's dedication to always improving our products to deliver even better capabilities year-after-year, similar to what is seen in the automotive and computing industries."

As compared to the S-CLASS, the new LX-CLASS features:

3x the power generation
4x increase in payload battery capacity
200% increase in payload volume
300% increase in payload mass
Cross track laser rates of 1-10 Gbps
2TB of payload memory – expandable to 10TB
ESPA Grande compatible

"The LX-CLASS was designed to support our next generation of multi-mission satellite customers including the Space Development Agency's Transport Layer with enough extra capacity to easily accommodate the integration of additional payloads. We are very excited to offer the expanded features of this platform, which is supported by our secure and proven supply chain for both military and commercial customers" said Dirk Wallinger, CEO of York.

The LX-CLASS is currently in production in York's Denver manufacturing facility, which is designed to produce 20 spacecraft simultaneously.

About York Space Systems
York Space Systems was founded to radically improve spacecraft affordability and reliability and is leading the industry in transforming and enabling next-generation space mission operations worldwide. York specializes in rapid production of complete mission-ready spacecraft platforms leveraging commercial development applied to numerous government and commercial missions. York's complete solution includes spacecraft production, payload integration, system integration and test, launch services, ground segment services, and mission operations. By leveraging York's existing technology solutions customers can rapidly and responsively get to orbit outpacing competitors. York's proven S-CLASS and LX-CLASS platforms are standardized 3-axis stabilized spacecraft executing ISR, remote proximity, weather, and communication missions for a wide variety of government and commercial customers. It is fully compatible with most launch vehicles, including ground and air-launched, and ground segment providers. When combined with York's cloud-based mission tasking and autonomous operations center, customers get an ultra-low-cost solution for on-demand data collection and analytics. For more information, visit http://www.YorkSpaceSystems.com.

SOURCE York Space Systems