NASA Selects Proteus Space for Novel Rapid Spacecraft Conceptual Design Study

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 25, 2025 – Proteus Space, a leading innovator in rapid satellite design, digital modeling, AI&T, flight and operations solutions, has been selected by NASA for a groundbreaking Rapid Spacecraft Conceptual Design Study.

The 45-day effort will encompass systems engineering, bus and subsystem analysis, mechanical and structural design, orbital operations, and full lifecycle costing, including decommissioning. This rapid delivery timeline demonstrates the utility of Proteus Space’s patent-pending MERCURY™ platform, which transforms months and years of costly and error-prone human engineering labor into days and weeks of human-reviewed, automated computational design.

The MERCURY™ powered study will deliver a multi-mission spacecraft conceptual design that offers enhanced mission performance, rapid analysis of alternatives, faster timeline to launch, reduced costs, and enhanced reliability. Key deliverables, tailored to NASA’s specific multi-payload effort, include:

• Systems and Mission Design: A tradespace visualization of hundreds to thousands mission-closing satellite designs with an analysis of the differences and alternatives.
• Mechanical Design: CAD model visualizing the bus and payloads integrated, along with mass estimates and a frame design optimized for mission requirements.
• Structural Analysis: A Finite Element Model (FEM) informing launch and on-orbit performance.
• Orbital and Operations Design: An orbital model, including a delta-v budget and an operational lifetime analysis.
• Cost Estimates: A Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost for the satellite, Assembly, Integration, and Test (AI&T), launch, and operations.

“Being selected by NASA for this effort is a testament to the growing demand for our automated computational engineering platform, MERCURY™,” said David Kervin, CEO of Proteus Space. “Human-labor-generated satellite system designs and digital modeling processes are too slow, error prone and costly in this fast new era of technological innovation. Our science and national security customers want to rapidly investigate different kinds of satellite architectures, analyze alternatives, simulate digital models and twins and change their minds without regret. Our MERCURY™ platform is modernizing the industry using AI-enabled, advanced automated computational engineering to deliver custom, payload- and mission-optimized satellite designs and their digital models in days and weeks, not months and years. We’re helping America win the new space race with both speed and reliability.”

The latest NASA selection marks another key growth milestone in Proteus Space’s remarkable 2025. Earlier this year, Proteus Space was selected for a TACFI by SpaceWERX and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to rapidly deliver a Preliminary Design Review (PDR)-level custom bus for a novel government payload in less than six months. The company also used MERCURY™ recently to assist a major Defense prime contractor in optimizing one of their GEO standard buses for a new demanding high delta-v mission in under 50 days. This month, Proteus Space successfully completed launch integration of MERCURY ONE, its AFWERX/AFRL-funded inaugural custom bus ESPA satellite, the fastest blank sheet to launch qualified ESPA satellite ever. This trend underscores the company’s growing reputation as a trusted and innovative partner for both government and commercial space programs.

For more information about MERCURY™ or to schedule your own Rapid Spacecraft Conceptual Design Study visit www.proteusspace.com or email us at build@proteus-space.com.

About Proteus Space, Inc.
Proteus Space is helping America win the new space race with MERCURY™, its cutting-edge automated computational digital engineering system. Proteus Space’s approach emphasizes the use of deterministic AI, advanced automated digital engineering, rapid iterative digital modeling, rapid hardware prototyping and AI&T, enabling the company to deliver customized, high-reliability spacecraft designs, models, twins and builds at unprecedented speed, while ensuring the spacecraft meets all customer requirements.

With MERCURY™ – THE FUTURE IS FASTER™