Company History
A Beginning is a Very Delicate Time…
It began with an idea.
Darrell David Cain and Bradley Cheetham connected through Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) in 2007 and immediately began working together in support of their shared passion for the exploration, development, and settlement of space.
In 2008, Bradley was supporting NASA’s ARTEMIS mission at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which relocated two out of a five-spacecraft constellation from Earth orbit to L1 and L2 Lagrange Point orbits on either side of the Moon. At the same time, Darrell was supporting the LADEE mission at NASA Ames Research Center. At a summer conference, Bradley and Darrell started thinking: Could orbital mechanics be used as an innovation and eventually a company?
Being relative newcomers to the space business, they focused on networking, connecting, and learning how to position their idea.
After joining up with Dr. Jeffrey Parker and Scott Washburn, in January 2010, the founding team started a company that began with a technology called the GEO Parker Transfer (GPT). The company was then formally established as Geryon Space Technologies in 2011. The team focused on generating and protecting patents for their work and meeting with potential investors to build the organization.
Losses, Departures, and Survival
The mid-2010s were challenging. Darrell David Cain passed away in 2012. Scott Washburn departed the company in 2013. After creating a new company—Advanced Space, LLC—in 2013, Bradley and Jeffrey identified an investor. Unfortunately, the investor suffered major health complications and the deal fell through. Advanced Space began focusing urgently on survival.
The founding team personally invested to get Advanced Space started and spent several years working, traveling, and building without pay so that all revenue could be reinvested into the business. Initially the business was “operated” out of a loft and then moved into shared office space over a mattress store in North Boulder. In 2015 Advanced Space moved into dedicated office space in East Boulder where they continued to add customers and team members.
Dr. Jeffrey Parker, Darrell D. Cain (photo), Scott Washburn, & Bradley Cheetham
Advanced Space Today
Forming and expanding Advanced Space has been a long and challenging process that has required continuous learning and adaptation. In 2019, the company had less than 15 team members, growing to over 55 by 2023. The current lines of business include flight dynamics, technology development, and rapid turn-key missions.
Advanced Space has the distinction of being the first commercial company to orbit a spacecraft in the vicinity of the Moon—the CAPSTONE™ satellite—in a Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO), which is also designated for the Gateway.
Inspired by the company mission, the team has overcome many challenges in the pursuit of contributing to and participating in a spacefaring future full of possibilities. Commitment to our vision—the exploration, development, and settlement of space—is what keeps us going.
Updated June 2023
Address
Advanced Space, LLC.
1400 W 122nd Ave Suite 200
Westminster, CO, 80234
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Advanced Space is continuously looking to add to our team. We're always taking resumés for full-time and internship positions.