VACCO Industries

VACCO Industries is a company that makes propulsion systems for CubeSats. It also supplies feed systems and valves for small spacecraft. The company says it has served the defense, space and commercial markets for more than 60 years.

The CubeSat range covers cold gas, warm gas and green monopropellant systems. The company calls its main product line the Micro Propulsion System, or MiPS. Fourteen flight MiPS units have been built so far. They support AFRL, NRO, NASA and commercial flights, including the JPL MarCo CubeSat program.

Each module is a self contained unit. It holds thrusters, valves, a system filter, a propellant tank, flow paths, control electronics, sensors and a digital interface. The company also lists hybrid and green propulsion systems and a propulsion controller. In addition to full systems, it provides Xenon and Iodine micro feed systems and valves.

The site explains that the company uses a process called Chemically Etched Micro Systems, or ChEMS, to build these compact systems. Work on CubeSat propulsion began in the early 2000s. The first 0.25U MiPS was delivered in 2003. The chief engineer, Joe Cardin, has 36 years of experience with fluid controls for space flight. Under his lead, the company has delivered, or is under contract for, 44 propulsion systems. The team also builds more powerful Integrated Propulsion Systems for SmallSats.

The wider company supports programs for aircraft, filtration, navy and space. A sales engineer handles technical support and custom subsystems for small satellite customers. The website has a contact form. It asks which CubeSat system is closest to the need, such as attitude control, delta-V or a hybrid of both, and lets the visitor describe the project in detail.