LOS ANGELES, CA, September 8th, 2026. Proteus Space, a dual-use aerospace company delivering rapid, end-to-end access to space, today announced it has been selected by The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. (Draper) for an advanced on-orbit mission under a multi-year agreement.
Under the agreement, Proteus will provide tailored, end-to-end rapid access to space services spanning rapid spacecraft design, assembly, integration and test (AI&T), licensing, launch brokerage, launch integration, and on-orbit commissioning and operations.
The award reflects growing demand by novel payload owners for Proteus custom bus and mission solutions that shrink timelines, maximize mission and payload performance, and avoid the uncertainty, compromises, risks and costs associated with standardized satellite bus integration campaigns.
“We’re proud to be selected by Draper, an organization synonymous with daring human space achievements and engineering excellence, to take on this challenging and important mission.” said David Kervin, founder and CEO, Proteus Space. “This award adds to a growing portfolio of national security, civil, and commercial space programs for Proteus, from customers who refuse to compromise their payloads and mission to fit a standard bus, need to move fast, and won’t sacrifice engineering rigor.”
“We selected Proteus because they solve problems that don’t have off-the-shelf answers. The pace of space missions has changed, the payloads and missions have changed, and the way we develop spacecraft has to change with it,” said Aaron Blow, Vice President and General Manager, Space Systems at Draper. “Proteus’ ability to move from concept to customized spacecraft hardware on a compressed timeline is a strong match for what Draper requires, and we’re looking forward to working alongside their experienced team.”
Proteus designs spacecraft around the mission and payloads rather than forcing payloads onto a standard bus, using its patent-pending, AI-native, autonomous digital engineering platform to rapidly generate machinable, mission-tailored spacecraft designs with accompanying high-fidelity, digital twins and models. The company conducts AI&T in its own Los Angeles facility and conducts launch and early-phase operations and mission operations from its own internal mission operations centers.
About Proteus Space Proteus Space, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based dual-use aerospace company providing rapid, one-stop access to space. Proteus designs mission-tailored spacecraft from blank sheet through PDR and CDR, performs assembly, integration, and test in its own facility in downtown Los Angeles, brokers all licensing and launch, conducts launch integration and delivers on-orbit LEOPs and operations from its own internal mission operations centers. The company’s automated computational engineering platform, Proteus, turns payload and mission requirements into high-fidelity, manufacturing-ready spacecraft designs and digital twins in a fraction of the traditional timeline.
About Draper Draper is a non-profit research, development, and manufacturing company that solves some of the nation’s most important challenges. With more than 2,600 employees working in collaboration across 12 locations, Draper delivers transformative, mission-driven solutions that successfully meet our customers’ requirements. These efforts focus on four critical mission areas: Strategic Systems, Space Systems, Electronic Systems, and Biotechnology Systems. To extend our legacy into the future, the
Draper Scholarsprogram engages with the next generation of innovators while DraperSPARX™seeks to partner with startups and small businesses that can further our mission. To learn more about Draper, visit
[www.draper.com](http://www.draper.com). Follow Draper on
[Linked In](https://www.linkedin.com/company/163500)and
**Media Contact**[media@proteusspace.com](mailto:media@proteusspace.com)
This release has been reviewed and approved for publication by all parties. Forward-looking statements reflect current expectations and are subject to change.