Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies LLC or "BCT" or "Blue Canyon", a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies, was selected to build eight X-SAT Venus ESPA-class microsatellite buses for NASA's HelioSwarm science mission. The purpose of the mission will be to study the solar wind and space plasma turbulence.

The HelioSwarm mission is a multi-spacecraft observatory that will capture the first multiscale in-space measurements of fluctuations in the magnetic field and motions of solar wind turbulence. Launching in 2028, one hub spacecraft and eight small satellites will move in coordinated orbits as a swarm using a highly elliptical, lunar resonant earth-orbit. In addition to the spacecraft buses, Blue Canyon will integrate the science instrument payloads and perform spacecraft-level environmental testing.

"Blue Canyon's trusted on-orbit product performance allows our customers to focus on payload efforts," said Stephen Steg, CEO of Blue Canyon Technologies. "The synergy between our spacecraft and component product lines fuels our ability to tailor solutions for each mission's unique requirements."

Blue Canyon has been a mission partner in HelioSwarm since 2020 and will deliver the microsatellites in 2026 and 2027. The HelioSwarm Principal Investigator is Dr. Harlan Spence from the University of New Hampshire, providing the science payload, and other partners include Northrop Grumman's hub spacecraft, and NASA Ames Research Center overseeing project management and mission operations.

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London (AFP) March 21, 2022
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