GoKawiilBefore he became NASA administrator in 2018, Jim Bridenstine was a naval aviator who then served as a US representative from Oklahoma for three terms, sitting on the Committee on Armed Services. Now, five years after leaving NASA, Bridenstine is returning to those military roots.
This week, Bridenstine was named chief executive of a Maryland-based company building “advanced maneuverable spacecraft” called Quantum Space.
“For us, national security space is a priority,” said Bridenstine in an interview.
Meet Ranger
The company is developing a spacecraft, Ranger, that is about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle before its solar panels are deployed. Ranger is intended to provide the military an unparalleled maneuvering capability in space, from low-Earth orbit to geostationary orbit to cislunar space. Ranger will carry 4,000 kg of hydrazine propellant on board to enable rapid maneuvering.
“This is high energy,” Bridenstine said. “The fuel gets burned quickly. The spacecraft can also be refueled, and it can refuel others.”
Bridenstine said the US Space Force is interested in bringing on new capabilities for in-space maneuvering. He believes Ranger can meet this demand with its large fuel tanks, capacity to be refueled, and a proprietary “multi-mode” technology that allows the spacecraft to operate in both high-thrust maneuvering mode and high-efficiency operations. To that end, Quantum Space acquired Phase Four last September.
He noted that, in President Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2027, funding for the Space Force would increase by approximately 80 percent, to $71 billion.
Getting around space quickly
So, what might the military use Ranger for?
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