Proteus Space Achieves Automated High-Fidelity Satellite Bus Design
Proteus Space™, a company specializing in rapid custom satellite bus solutions, has announced a breakthrough in satellite design with its automated computational engineering system, MERCURY™. In a significant achievement, MERCURY™ autonomously generated a physics-based, high-fidelity, and manufacturable structural design for a custom bus satellite frame. This design successfully endured launch loads testing on its initial attempt.
The company reports that MERCURY™ has drastically reduced the satellite design timeline from 12-16 months of mechanical engineering work to just one week. This represents a schedule compression of 48x to 64x, with corresponding cost reductions.
According to Proteus Space, MERCURY™ delivers a comprehensive suite of design outputs at the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) stage. This includes:
- Functional system model
- High-fidelity finite element modeling (FEM) structural analysis
- Launch load path optimized frame design
- Craig-Bampton reduction
- FlatSat
Proteus Space emphasizes that this rapid and precise process allows for high confidence early in the satellite bus design process—within the first 120 days—that the satellite will withstand launch conditions, including shock, vibration, and coupled loads. The company asserts it is currently the only custom satellite bus provider offering this combination of speed, cost-efficiency, and reliability.
“We are excited to be at the forefront of the evolving custom satellite bus industry,” stated David Kervin, CEO and Co-Founder of Proteus Space. “Customers, including government agencies, major aerospace contractors, and innovative startups, require tailored satellite solutions. They need proven reliability and a design process aligned with stringent satellite industry standards. MERCURY™ automation, combined with advanced payload capabilities, allows clients to overcome limitations often associated with standard bus designs. These advancements in technology, customer adoption, and funding enable Proteus Space to support the next generation of demanding payloads, delivering faster, more reliable, efficient, and affordable custom bus solutions.”
First Commercial Payload Customer Secured for MERCURY ONE Flight
Proteus Space has also announced securing its first commercial payload customer for the MERCURY ONE flight. The launch window is scheduled to open in October 2025. The customer, identified as a major multi-billion dollar prime contractor in the Defense & Aerospace sector, will utilize the MERCURY ONE custom satellite to test and evaluate their payload. This marks a key milestone in the commercialization of Proteus’ automated custom satellite bus design solutions.
$6.1M Seed-2 Funding Round Completed
Simultaneously, Proteus Space has announced the successful completion of a $6.1 million Seed-2 venture capital funding round. Lavrock Ventures led the round, with participation from The Veteran Fund, SAIC, Crosscut Ventures, and Moonshots Capital. The company intends to use this funding to accelerate the development and deployment of MERCURY™ and other Rapid Access to Space (“RAS”) solutions. Proteus Space aims to solidify its position in transforming the cost, schedule, and reliability benchmarks for custom satellite buses. The funding is expected to enable Proteus to scale operations and address increasing demand for rapid, affordable, and reliable custom bus satellite design, build, and launch services in the competitive space exploration sector.
About Proteus Space, Inc.
Proteus Space is advancing custom satellite bus design and production with MERCURY™, its automated Digital Engineering and Digital Twin system. MERCURY™ aims to deliver rapid custom satellite bus solutions tailored to payload, mission, and launch requirements. The system is designed to reduce concept-to-orbit timelines, lower costs, and eliminate non-recurring engineering (NRE) expenses, utilizing TRL9 flight heritage subsystems and components. Proteus Space states that MERCURY™ offers rapid analysis of alternatives with quantifiable data on costs, schedule, and reliability. The company provides comprehensive services encompassing the design, construction, launch, and operation of custom satellites.