Space propulsion developer Morpheus Space today announced its first software product, a mission simulation and design platform called Journey.
Morpheus product manager Jim Gianakopoulos said in a recent interview (and in a recent product walkthrough) that the product has been in the works for nearly two years. This was born out of the typical thruster sales process. Customers come to Morpheus to ask if the startup’s lineup of electric propulsion systems can meet their mission requirements. However, the process is highly technical, fragmented, and manual.
“We found that to be a deterrent,” Giannakopoulos said. “Just by giving the user a place of control to actually simulate the entire mission themselves, analyze and refine it, and see what kind of propulsion system fits, it empowers them. Masu. [their] needs. “
Journey aggregates all the data typically spread across Excel sheets, Python, and other systems and quickly spits out mission and system designs. The software allows customers to input measurements, operations, launch dates, and other requirements for a custom system. The software is designed to be easy to use, even for non-technical users, with templates for common attributes such as satellite size.
In particular, the Journey platform does more than just match customers to Morpheus’ unique propulsion system. Depending on mission requirements, we may also recommend third-party chemical propulsion systems and various subsystems such as attitude determination, control systems, and communications.
The platform’s first product is called Preliminary Mission Design (PMD), and the company also plans to roll out a higher-fidelity Advanced Mission Design (AMD). The platform is designed to support customers from mission conception through end-of-orbit operations.
Morpheus has five to six early customers who are using PMD products to inform early mission and system designs. AMD plans to release a closed beta within the next two weeks. Morpheus was founded in 2018 with offices in Germany and El Segundo, California. Last September, the company closed its $28 million Series A round led by Alpine Space Ventures.
Source: techcrunch.com
