Tesseract

Tesseract Space Inc. designs and manufactures cost-effective spacecraft propulsion hardware for the space industry. Founded in 2017 by Erik Franks, Jeff Gibson, and Jake Teufert, the company specializes in safer, low-toxicity propulsion solutions for commercial Earth-orbiting satellites, robotic exploration missions, and human spaceflight. The company is an alumnus of the Y Combinator accelerator program.

The founding team combines expertise in aerospace and business. CEO Erik Franks has a background in economics and space studies, with previous roles at Masten Space Systems. Jeff Gibson serves as COO, and Jake Teufert is the Chief Engineer & CTO. The company's development was supported by a seed funding round of $120K in 2017 led by Y Combinator.

Tesseract's core business involves providing off-the-shelf thrusters, which can be purchased individually, integrated into multi-thruster modules, or incorporated into complete turn-key propulsion systems. They are committed to green propulsion, using modern materials and manufacturing methods like 3D printing to control costs while maintaining high reliability for flight-qualified hardware. This approach targets the high costs and hazards associated with traditional toxic propellants. Their product line includes green bipropellant thrusters designed for smallsats and CubeSats. In 2020, Tesseract entered into a licensing partnership with Benchmark Space Systems to integrate its intellectual property and further develop non-toxic chemical propulsion solutions.

Keywords: spacecraft propulsion, satellite thrusters, in-space propulsion, green propulsion, non-toxic propellant, smallsat components, cubesat systems, aerospace hardware, orbital transfer vehicle, space exploration technology, commercial satellites, propulsion systems, rocket engines, flight qualified hardware, Y Combinator alumnus