The platform that flies our service missions is available as a bus. ION mk2 is flying today. ION mk3 is available for flight in 2028 — a larger, higher-power spacecraft bus available with either electric propulsion, chemical propulsion, or hybrid, engineered in Boulder to U.S. government requirements.
One product line, two generations. mk2 has successfully delivered 23 missions. mk3 is the next-generation space tug: two and a half times the payload mass, an order of magnitude more payload power, and pointing performance built for high-resolution imaging and optical crosslinks.
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| Specification | ION mk2Current platform · flying today | ION mk3Next generation · available for flight 2028 |
|---|---|---|
| Payload mass | Up to 160 kg | Up to 400 kg |
| Payload power | 200 W peak · 30+ W OAP | Up to 2.5 kW peak · up to 1 kW OAP |
| Lifetime | Up to 3 years in LEO | Up to 5 years in LEO |
| Propulsion | Chemical | Electric, chemical, or a hybrid of both — selected against your mission requirements |
| TM&TC | S-band and X-band link connectivity | S-band, and X-band for downlink |
| Onboard memory | 16 GB | 1 TB |
| Payload interfaces | LVDS, Gb Ethernet, CAN, RS422 | LVDS, Gb Ethernet, CAN, RS422/485, SpaceWire |
| Attitude control | Three-axis — reaction wheels and magnetorquers | Three-axis — reaction wheels and magnetorquers |
| Pointing accuracy | 100 arcsec | < 200 arcsec, 3σ |
| Pointing knowledge | 100 arcsec | < 40 arcsec, 3σ |
| Jitter | Contact us | < 50 µrad RMS, 10 Hz to 1000 Hz |
ION mk3 pointing accuracy and stability support high-resolution imaging and optical communications terminal missions. Orbit-specific performance, propulsion sizing and interface details are mission-dependent — talk to us about your payload and we will size the bus for it.
We have repeatedly delivered customers to orbit in nine months or less from authority to proceed.
ION mk2 is available as an affordable satellite bus with delivery times under twelve months.
Start with a pathfinder and scale to a production run on the same bus, with the same team.
USA-designed avionics and flight software, engineered against U.S. government cybersecurity requirements.
Existing facilities and personnel to support constellation customers, from technology demonstration through full build-out.
Where the mission needs it, we adapt the platform rather than forcing the payload to fit.
Our Boulder, Colorado facility can integrate up to three ION mk2s at the same time in our clean room. American payloads are integrated onto the carrier here before shipment to the launch site — which matters when the payload is sensitive and the customer is a U.S. government program.
Tell us the mission and the date you have to meet. We will tell you what it takes to accomplish it — and reserve the capacity to do it.