Aerospace

Moog ships Meteor satellite buses for national security space mission

12 May 2025

Moog Inc., a worldwide designer, manufacturer and systems integrator of high-performance precision motion and fluid control systems, has announced the shipment of its first Meteor spacecraft buses for national security space missions. This milestone delivery expands their footprint and diversification to the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence community programs, continuing Moog’s seven-decade commitment to protecting the warfighter and equipping those who defend freedom and explore the universe.
Source: Moog Inc.Source: Moog Inc.

Meteor is a mission-configurable propulsive ESPA Grande-class bus, designed with seven decades of Moog experience in flight-proven spacecraft components, subsystems and systems. Its modular and flexible design make it ideal for a wide variety of payloads and flight profiles for dynamic space operations. Meteor builds on the success of the Moog Meteorite small satellite buses, which are currently on orbit supporting a national security space mission.

Meteor features the company’s radiation-hardened space avionics, payload and mission-configurable flight software and modular/expandable payload power. All Moog buses are built around the company’s Integrated Avionics Unit (IAU), which has demonstrated success in missions from low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) to deep space. The IAU offers solutions for command and data handling/electrical power subsystem within one unit for a full range of spacecraft and payload applications. Additionally, Moog engineers designed the hydrazine propulsion system to offer high thrust for collision avoidance, rapid orbit changes and a controlled deorbit from LEO. The robust all-aluminum structure derived from the Moog ESPA provides radiation-shielding and supports a range of payload configurations.

“The shipment of our Meteor satellite buses is a culmination of decades of experience in advanced systems and component heritage, investment in innovative solutions, and our unwavering commitment to protecting the warfighter,” said Mark Covelli, senior vice president of space. “We are continuing internal research and development programs to enhance the capabilities of our buses, including software development, radiation shielding, edge computing, and longer life in all orbits.”

The state-of-the-art Moog facility in Denver, Colorado, is dedicated to designing, manufacturing and integrating its spacecraft platforms. It is specifically set up for high volume spacecraft production with the ability to scale, supporting potential future growth

To contact the author of this article, email GlobalSpecEditors@globalspec.com


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