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Stellar Exploration, Inc.

Type: Small business (independent, bootstrapped) Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Products: Miniaturized hypergolic propulsion, power systems, CubeSat integration Key person: Ali Guarneros Luna (NASA PI on SST project)

Last updated: 2026-04-14 (session 35)

SST Project (1)

Qualification Testing of Nanosatellite Propulsion System — 106831

  • TRL: 6→8 | Period: 2020-12 → 2023-11
  • Lead: Johnson Space Center (JSC) | Stellar as industry partner
  • ACO mechanism: NASA provided vacuum testing at White Sands Test Facility (WSTF); Stellar provided hardware.
  • Vacuum hot-fire testing of both monopropellant (hydrazine) and bipropellant (hydrazine + NTO/MON-3) systems. Steady-state and pulsed lifetime stress testing. Thrust and Isp measurements.
  • Key innovation: Pump-fed design (electric gear pumps) eliminates pressurized tanks → major range safety advantage for rideshare launches. Tanks store propellant at vapor pressure with modest inert gas blanket.
  • Specs: 3N thrust, 285s Isp (bipropellant), >1 km/s delta-v capability for nanosatellites.
  • ARC and GSFC consulted on small spacecraft operational constraints.
  • View count: 3,619 — second-highest in entire SST propulsion portfolio.
  • No TechPort documents attached.

TechPort Footprint

0 projects as lead organization. The SST project (106831) was JSC-led with Stellar as industry partner. No SBIR/STTR projects in TechPort. Stellar's pre-SST funding came from NASA research contracts (non-SBIR) and MDA-derived technology.

Upstream Lineage

Source Detail Confidence
MDA propulsion heritage 2008-2009 NASA SBIR contracts explicitly mention "leveraging MDA investments in high-performance propulsion systems" confirmed (USASpending descriptions)
NASA SBIR (2008) Phase I: $100K each — precision lunar landing GNC + MDA-derived propulsion for lunar lander confirmed
NASA SBIR (2009) Phase II: $600K each — both topics continued confirmed
SST ACO (2020) WSTF vacuum qualification elevated system from sea-level testing to flight-qualified TRL 8 confirmed

Federal Funding Footprint

USASpending ($3.0M+ across 6 awards)

Award ID Agency Amount Period Description
140D6319C0011 Interior $1.49M 2019-02 → 2022-04 Spacecraft identification device
NNX09CA12C NASA $600K 2009-02 → 2010-04 Precision lunar landing GNC sensors
NNX09CA13C NASA $600K 2009-02 → 2010-04 MDA-derived propulsion for lunar lander
IND17PC00403 Interior $150K 2017-06 → 2018-09 Spacecraft identification device (earlier phase)
NNX08CA88P NASA $100K 2008-07 → 2008-07 Precision lunar landing (Phase I)
NNX08CA90P NASA $100K 2008-01 → 2008-07 MDA-derived propulsion (Phase I)

Direct federal total: ~$3.0M | NASA: ~$1.4M | Interior: ~$1.6M

Note: SST ACO costs (WSTF vacuum testing) are borne by NASA, not charged to Stellar. So SST's investment is NASA facility time, not visible in Stellar's USASpending awards.

Also note: The Dept of Interior "spacecraft identification device" contracts ($1.64M) are unexpected for a propulsion company. Suggests diversification or dual-use hardware.

Venture Funding

No VC funding visible. Stellar appears to be a bootstrapped small business, not a VC-backed startup. This contrasts sharply with Accion ($65M), Phase Four ($44M), and ExoTerra (acquired by Voyager).

Downstream Impact

Flight Heritage — 6+ Missions

1. LightSail-A (Planetary Society, 2 CubeSats, 2015–2016) - Stellar built 2× 3U CubeSats for The Planetary Society's solar sail mission. 32 m² deployable sail. Development 2010–2013, budget under $1.5M. - Earliest confirmed Stellar spacecraft integration. Pre-dates SST involvement by ~5 years. - Confidence: confirmed (company website).

2. Perseus-M (Dauria Aerospace, June 2014) - 2× AIS (Automatic Identification System) satellites for Dauria Aerospace. 8-month development timeline from authorization to launch. - Confidence: confirmed (company website).

3. EchoStar EG-3 (SpaceX Transporter-2, June 30, 2021) - Stellar provided hydrazine monopropellant system on Tyvak-built 6U/12U spacecraft. - Generated ~65 m/s delta-v shortly after launch — broke the world record for small satellite delta-v at the time. ~485 m/s remaining for mission life. - EchoStar used the satellite to claim S-band spectrum rights. - Previous EchoStar nanosatellite attempts (2020 launches) had technical anomalies — EG-3 with Stellar propulsion was the success. - Confidence: confirmed (SpaceNews).

4. CAPSTONE (launched June 2022, lunar orbit Nov 2022) - Stellar provided the monopropellant hydrazine propulsion system: 8 × 0.25N thrusters, ~200 m/s delta-v, unpressurized tank. 8" × 8" × 4" package. - CAPSTONE was the first spacecraft to test the NRHO (Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit) planned for the Lunar Gateway. One of the most high-profile CubeSat missions in NASA history. - Bus by Tyvak. Navigation by Advanced Space (CAPS). Propulsion by Stellar. - SST connection: CAPSTONE is an SST-funded mission (93372 for Advanced Space CAPS). Stellar's propulsion was a commercial procurement, not directly SST-funded — but the SST qualification testing at WSTF (project 106831) was the qualification pathway. - Confidence: confirmed (NASA.gov, Wikipedia, press).

5. ICEYE SAR Constellation (ongoing) - Stellar provided multiple high-current lithium-ion battery systems — not propulsion. ~4,000 cells deployed in orbit (company claims "Prius-equivalent capacity"). - Customer: ICEYE (Finnish SAR constellation operator). - Reveals Stellar is also a power systems supplier, not just propulsion. Diversified product line. - Confidence: confirmed (company website).

6. NASA PACE RF Tag (PACE-1 and PACE-2) - Passive RF tag payload for satellite tracking, integrated on NASA's PACE satellites. - Small contract but shows NASA relationship beyond SST propulsion. - Confidence: confirmed (company website).

Upcoming Missions (announced)

  • Mars ESPA-class satellite — propulsion system for interplanetary mission
  • DOD mission — highly maneuverable satellite constellation
  • In-space refueling — capabilities development
  • Confidence: suggestive (company website, no confirmed contracts visible)

Commercial Products

  • Miniaturized hypergolic bipropellant system (hydrazine + NTO/MON-3): 3N, 285s Isp, >1 km/s delta-v
  • Monopropellant hydrazine system: as flown on CAPSTONE and EchoStar EG-3
  • Pump-fed architecture is the differentiator: no pressurized tanks = easier range safety approval for rideshare

Publications

  • NTRS: 0 citations found.

Assessment

Outcome category: commercialized | Confidence: confirmed

Stellar Exploration is the quiet craftsman archetype — a small, bootstrapped company that doesn't raise VC rounds or get acquired, but builds flight-proven hardware for high-profile missions. Session 35 revealed Stellar is broader than just propulsion — they also supply power systems (ICEYE batteries), RF hardware (PACE tags), and complete CubeSat integration (LightSail, Perseus-M). The contrast with the other propulsion commercializers is stark:

Company Total Funding SST Role Flight Heritage
Accion/Revolution Space $65M+ VC Direct Tipping Point ($3.9M) NanoAvionics orbit raise
ExoTerra/Voyager $6M+ NASA SBIR 10 SBIRs + Tipping Point ($1.7M) DARPA Blackjack, SDA ×21
Phase Four $44M VC + $8.9M DoD ACO test infrastructure Capella Space commercial
Stellar Exploration $3M fed, no VC ACO vacuum qualification CAPSTONE (cislunar), EchoStar (record)

Stellar achieved flight heritage on the most prestigious SST-adjacent mission (CAPSTONE) with the least funding of any propulsion commercializer. The 6+ mission portfolio (spanning 2014–present) shows a company that has been steadily shipping hardware for over a decade.

What SST funded: The WSTF vacuum qualification (ACO, project 106831) was the bridge between sea-level prototype and flight-qualified system. Without it, Stellar's propulsion couldn't have been selected for CAPSTONE. The ACO mechanism gave a small company access to NASA's unique vacuum test facilities.

Surprise delta (session 8): Expected a marginal small company. Instead found the propulsion supplier for CAPSTONE — arguably the highest-profile CubeSat mission in SST history. Tyvak partnership appears repeatedly (EchoStar EG-3 was also a Tyvak bus).

Surprise delta (session 35): Expected propulsion-only. Instead found a multi-product hardware house — batteries for ICEYE, RF tags for PACE, full CubeSat builds for Planetary Society and Dauria Aerospace. The LightSail work (2010–2013) predates SST involvement by 7 years, showing Stellar was already an established CubeSat integrator before SST. The ICEYE battery work shows Stellar is diversifying into power systems for commercial constellations — a revenue stream invisible in government databases.

Cross-connections: - Tyvak built buses; Stellar supplied propulsion (CAPSTONE, EchoStar EG-3). Two SST-adjacent companies working together. - Advanced Space provided CAPSTONE navigation (CAPS). Three SST-funded companies on the same mission. - Ali Guarneros Luna (GRC/ARC) is PI on both Stellar's SST project (106831) and Phase Four's lifetime testing (106833). Same NASA engineer shepherding two competing propulsion companies through SST qualification.