A young company dedicated to the advancement of spacecraft technology has announced plans to build a 115,000 square-foot production hub in Denver.
York Space Systems, founded in 2016 and dedicated to making spacecraft more reliable and affordable, opened its first facilities on the campus of Metropolitan State University off the Auraria Parkway.
In the spring of 2000 the company, with a clientele that includes the U.S. Army and the federal Space Development Agency, expanded into a 20,000 square-foot structure just to the west of the campus.
Now, York wants to build a three-story structure adjacent to its current Wazee Street location that will include just over 95,000 square feet of research and production space.
The project will also see the construction of parking for just under 75 vehicles below ground.
Specializing in the latest satellite technology, York is currently producing around 1,000 spacecraft on an annual basis. Dirk Wallinger, the company’s chief executive officer, has told CNBC that the new facilities will “blow that out of the water as far as total production capacity goes.”
The company, initially building some four spacecraft at a time, currently has the ability to produce nearly two dozen simultaneously.
York has particularly made a name for itself with the development of its S-Class spacecraft. Earlier this spring, the company unveiled its LX-Class satellite, which has a total mass of 350 kilograms.
If all goes as anticipated, work could begin on York’s new facility later this year, with a general completion date of sometime in 2023.
By Garry Boulard