TEMPE, Ariz., April 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KinetX Aerospace, the first commercial company to provide mission design and navigation services for NASA’s deep space missions, has been recognized for its innovation and leadership in the space industry, in addition to being named Fast Company’s Most Innovative Company in Space in 2024, and ranked 10th overall on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2024.
KinetX has been at the forefront of the commercialization of space for over 30 years and is made up of a team of highly qualified engineers with deep space expertise and experience. The team is focused on leading, developing, and demonstrating innovative solutions to global and space-based challenges.
“We are extremely proud to be recognized on this list among some of the world’s most well-known companies,” said Chris Bryan, CEO and Founder of KinetX. “Our team of engineers is integral to the success of many high-profile NASA missions, most recently OSIRIS-REx, and we are second to none in the world for deep space navigation to any planet, moon, or celestial object in the solar system.”
The OSIRIS-REx team was awarded the National Aeronautic Association’s (NAA) Robert J. Collier Trophy, the greatest achievement in aerospace and astronautics in America, and the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid and deliver it to Earth for study.
KinetX played a critical role in the success of the OSIRIS-REx mission. The team was responsible for successfully navigating the spacecraft to rendezvous with asteroid Bennu, flying a delicate web of trajectories for approximately two years to study the surface and shape of the carbonaceous asteroid. The KinetX team was instrumental in achieving many new spaceflight records at Bennu, demonstrating new navigation and astrodynamics techniques for the first time at a small body.
“The OSIRIS-REx mission team is well-deserving of the Collier Trophy and Goddard Memorial Trophy,” said Coralie Adam, KinetX Optical Navigation Lead for OSIRIS-REx. “From mission development to space navigation operations, the team has put in countless hours over the years to make this mission a success. We are thrilled with the results and are already looking forward to the spacecraft’s next asteroid rendezvous.”
OSIRIS-REx successfully completed its mission in September 2023 delivering samples of Bennu to Earth, and the spacecraft was diverted onto its next mission, OSIRIS-APEX, where KinetX engineers will continue to navigate and study the asteroid Apophis, a near-Earth object (NEO) that will pass close to Earth in 2029.
KinetX provided navigation services for NASA’s MESSENGER mission to Mercury, the first spacecraft to orbit the planet, in addition to successfully navigating New Horizons, the first spacecraft to explore Pluto and distant Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth.
For more information, visit kinetx.com
About KinetX Aerospace
KinetX is the first commercial company to provide mission design and navigation services for NASA’s deep space missions by bringing winning solutions to our partner’s competitive mission proposals. KinetX is a world leader in the innovative design, development and operation of complex systems of spacecraft and telecommunications systems.
Media Contact
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Communications Strategy Group (CSG)
khamill@wearecsg.com
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