York Space Systems, an aerospace company specializing in complete space segment customer solutions and the manufacturer of standardized spacecraft platforms, announced on 19 May 2020 the opening of its new production facility in Denver. With the new space, York is tripling the footprint of its existing production facility to expedite the mass manufacturing of the company’s spacecraft platform and will now have the capability to manufacture 20 spacecraft simultaneously. By 2021, this expanded manufacturing capacity will enable York to further reduce satellite delivery timelines, going from one year to less than two months after the contract is awarded.
York’s unique, state of the art manufacturing approach enables the simultaneous production of spacecraft and immediately increases throughput by more than 80 percent. By early 2021, York’s new facility will be capable of manufacturing and testing up to 20 spacecraft per week, to meet commercial and government customer demand.
“The York team is experiencing increasingly high demand for our S-class satellites, and we are growing our production capacity to ensure we meet that demand with further room for expansion if needed,” said Dirk Wallinger, CEO of York Space Systems. “This new production facility allows us to maintain the superior quality and reliability we’re known for while delivering end to end space solutions in months from contract award to our commercial and government customers.”
Reductions in manufacturing costs will be directly passed down to York’s customers, enabling the rapid production and launching of constellations. In the upcoming weeks, York will complete testing of production facility integrated capabilities, including an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), a 1.5 gigawatt Power Generator System, and dual isolated independent Internet Service Providers (ISP). These upgrades will ensure production and mission operations can be sustained indefinitely under virtually any adverse conditions.
“Our new, best in class production facility marks a major step forward for the York team, allowing us to deliver even lower cost customized constellations for the next generation of companies in the space economy. The operational resilience gained with this first block of upgrades will prove valuable in future crises where failure of any kind is just not an option,” said Charles Beames, executive chairman of York Space Systems. “The executive team at York has a proud history working on national security programs, and we know how important resilience becomes when critical national infrastructure, like space systems manufacturing and operations are threatened. This facility will serve both commercial and national security sectors to not only assure, but also streamline access to space.”
Dr. Barry Behnken Announced as Vice President of Engineering
In conjunction with the new production facility, York leadership also announced the appointment of Dr. Barry Behnken as Vice President of Engineering. Behnken will lead York’s engineering teams developing tailored customer solutions to meet the increasing variety of customer needs. His strong technical and managerial background in space systems development, multi-sensor data fusion and electronic warfare enable York to design custom constellations for specialized customers. After a 20-year Air Force career that included serving as a program director in the National Reconnaissance Office, Dr. Behnken went on to serve as a technical fellow at Raytheon Technologies before co-founding and leading AEye, Inc., a Silicon Valley leader in driverless car technologies. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Dr. Behnken also holds a Ph. D in physics and optics from the Naval Postgraduate School.
“We’re thrilled to have yet another NRO and Air Force veteran joining the executive team at York,” said Beames. “That experience combined with his executive time co-founding and leading AEye, Inc. will enable York to assist our government partners in designing the next generation of multi-payload, multi-sensor satellites, which are sorely needed to win against the gathering threats challenging U.S. space superiority.”
