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Benchmark Space Systems has announced the expansion of its headquarters and the opening of a new production facility in Burlington, Vermont. The company aims to ramp up production on propulsion systems and introduce a new autopilot on-board processing feature for customer satellites.

As part of its expansion plans, Benchmark has secured a million Series B funding round and will invest in a 40,000-square foot facility, increasing its manufacturing capacity by four times. The new facility, located near its previous headquarters, will allow the company to deliver on its backlog of more than 1,000 thrusters representing 250-plus systems.

Benchmark’s CEO, Ryan McDevitt, explains that the decision to expand is driven by the increasing demand from customers. Many of Benchmark’s clients are setting up their own manufacturing capabilities and are planning to build a dozen or more satellites a month. Consequently, Benchmark needs to be prepared to meet this demand across multiple customers.

The industry’s focus on in-space mobility, collision avoidance, and responsible use of space is also contributing to the propulsion company’s growth. The new facility will bring testing in-house, improving the production flow and allowing for end-to-end flow lines for production.

However, Benchmark recently underwent a restructuring and laid off approximately 15% of its team. McDevitt attributes this to the company’s shift from an R&D focus to a production focus. Previously, resources were heavily allocated to research and development, but now the focus is transitioning to production.

In addition to the facility expansion, Benchmark announced SmartAIM, an onboard software control solution for its propulsion systems. SmartAIM acts as an “autopilot” for satellites, executing autonomous space maneuvers. The company has partnered with Kayhan Space to integrate its Pathfinder spaceflight safety into SmartAIM to optimize maneuver planning.

SmartAIM aims to improve propulsion efficiency and reduce the need for manual work by customers. By abstracting propulsion commands from customers, the software layer ensures that thrusters are operated correctly and reduces the risk of failures on orbit.

With its headquarters expansion and the introduction of SmartAIM, Benchmark Space Systems is positioning itself to meet the growing demand for propulsion systems and satellite control solutions in the space industry.

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