Space Vector Corporation

Space Vector Corporation

Company type	Private
Industry	Aerospace, Defense
Founded	1969
Founder	Richard Rasmussen
Headquarters	Chatsworth, California , United States
Area served	Government and commercial sectors
Products	Flight safety batteries, GPS tracking solutions, bespoke avionics and structural components, attitude control mechanisms, pneumatic parts, separation systems
Number of employees	small enterprise

Space Vector Corporation (SVC) is an aerospace and defense firm based in the United States, with its headquarters located in Chatsworth, California. Established in 1969 by Richard Rasmussen, Space Vector operates as a privately owned small enterprise focusing on flight safety batteries, GPS tracking solutions, bespoke avionics and structural components, attitude control mechanisms, pneumatic parts, and separation systems. The company caters to both government and commercial sectors and serves as the prime contractor for launch services under the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Sounding Rocket Program (SRP-3), managing vehicle integration, system testing, payload integration, launch execution, and mission planning.

History

Space Vector's origins trace back to supplying NASA with Miniature Inertial Digital Attitude System (MIDAS) platforms alongside reaction control systems designed for sounding rockets. In 1972, the company acquired authorization to utilize surplus Minuteman I motors for guided suborbital rockets, successfully launching 30 Aries vehicles over a twenty-year span to facilitate microgravity research. Building on this foundation, Space Vector collaborated with Lockheed in 1980 to develop the Homing Overlay Experiment (HOE) booster for the U.S. Army, marking the inaugural hit-to-kill intercept of a simulated ballistic missile beyond Earth's atmosphere—a breakthrough technology later incorporated into the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and the Exoatmospheric Reentry-vehicle Interception System (ERIS).

In 1982, Space Vector joined forces with Space Services Inc. of America to construct and launch Conestoga 1, recognized as the first privately financed rocket to reach space. By 1992, the company partnered with Coleman Research Corporation and Aerotherm to deliver 25 Hera target vehicles for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, supporting tests for THAAD and Patriot PAC-3 missile defense systems. In 1997, Space Vector became the pioneer in air-launching a Minuteman-based target vehicle through its single-stage AltAir system developed for the U.S. Air Force.

That same year marked a milestone as Space Vector secured a prime contract from the Air Force to provide launch services for the Sounding Rocket Program. It executed a successful launch of a two-stage medium-range ballistic missile target from Kodiak Launch Complex aimed at evaluating PAVE Phased Array Warning System radar performance.

By 2002, Space Vector redirected its efforts towards delivering high-reliability aerospace components to major prime contractors such as Lockheed Martin on Targets and Countermeasures (T&C) and Payload Launch Vehicle (PLV) initiatives. In 2005, as part of Team Air Launch, it contributed to DARPA’s FALCON small launch vehicle endeavor by manufacturing a Vapak pressure-fed coaxial pintle injector engine along with a Storage and Launch Carrier system facilitating deployment from a C-17 cargo aircraft.

In 2007, Space Vector engineered a non-explosive separation system designed for large vehicle stages and payloads that minimizes shock and debris generation; a 50-inch variant was qualified for Alliant Techsystems’ ALV X-1 flight test vehicle launched at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The following year, in 2008, the company secured a contract from United Launch Alliance (ULA) to produce GPS tracking devices and low noise amplifiers that deliver real-time metric tracking on Atlas V and Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs). This GPS tracking technology first flew in 2012 and achieved full certification by 2013 after multiple successful launches. Additional contracts awarded in 2013 included manufacturing fuel level sensing systems for Delta II rockets and developing fuel depletion probes for Atlas V vehicles.