Polaris Intelligence
Polaris
Intelligence
About
Ctrl K
Sign in
© Polaris Intelligence 2026
PrivacyTermsAdmin

General Atomics

US

General Atomics (GA) is an American energy and defense corporation that operates in the space industry through its Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) group. GA-EMS designs, manufactures, and tests innovative space systems, including satellites, optical communication terminals, and space nuclear technologies. They partner with organizations like the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) and Radian Aerospace, providing solutions for satellite constellations, space-to-space communication, and advanced aerospace systems.

commercialFounded 1955
History · 2 eventsJan 1, 1986 · Blue family acquires General Atomics
San Diego, California, United States
ga.com
Admin Edit
0.0-5.0

All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems delivered a baseline design of a DRACO nuclear thermal propulsion reactor and engine under contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.6Nov 14, 2022General Atomics Successfully Completes Nuclear Thermal Propulsion System Design

SES and Hughes installed satellite internet service on a General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian surveillance drone for a demonstration.

RelationshipsGeneralValue 4.0Nov 11, 2022SES, Hughes demonstrate satellite internet on General Atomics surveillance drone

Fred Darlington, senior vice president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, indicated that higher data rates are required to operate sensors on remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs).

CapabilityGovernanceValue 3.5Nov 11, 2022SES, Hughes demonstrate satellite internet on General Atomics surveillance drone

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. is expanding MQ-9 series payloads and requires higher data rates to provide bandwidth, security, and robustness for sensor operations.

GrowthCapabilityValue 3.0Nov 10, 2022GA-ASI, SES and Hughes Team Up to Demonstrate Nextgen Satcom on MQ-9B SkyGuardian

Under contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems delivered a baseline design of a DRACO Nuclear Thermal Propulsion reactor and engine.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.5Nov 7, 2022General Atomics completes Nuclear Thermal Propulsion system design + test milestone

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems completed major milestones for the Track A, Phase 1 Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program.

PlanCapabilityValue 3.5Nov 7, 2022General Atomics completes Nuclear Thermal Propulsion system design + test milestone

Rocket Lab launched General Atomics’ GAzelle spacecraft on its 31st Electron mission earlier 2022-10.

RelationshipsPlanValue 4.0Oct 17, 2022Rocket Lab to Build Solar Panels for NASA’s CADRE Program

IMM solar cells are powering General Atomics’ GAzelle spacecraft that Rocket Lab launched on its 31st Electron mission earlier 2022-10.

GeneralCapabilityRelationshipsValue 4.0Oct 17, 2022NASA Selects Rocket Lab to Build Solar Panels for its CADRE Mobile Robot Program

The mission deployed the GAzelle satellite designed and manufactured by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Oct 10, 2022Rocket Lab Breaks Annual Launch Record with its 31st Electron Rocket Launch

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command selected General Atomics to host the Argos Advanced Data Collection System payload through its Hosted Payload Services contract vehicle on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at a cost of $64,000,000.

RelationshipsFinancialPlanValue 5.0Oct 7, 2022Rocket Lab launches Argos tracking payload

The It Argos Up From Here mission deployed the GAzelle satellite designed and manufactured by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS).

CapabilityRelationshipsValue 4.2Oct 7, 2022UPDATE 3: Rocket Lab rockets the GAzelle smallsat to orbit via Electron + breaks their annual launch record + GA-EMS’ comments on the successful launch

The GAzelle satellite was designed and manufactured by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems at their Centennial, Colorado facilities.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.2Sep 21, 2022Rocket Lab to launch the GA-EMS GAzelle spacecraft with Argos-4 payload on October 5th

The Draper SERIES-2 lander is designed by the U.S. subsidiary of ispace, will be manufactured by Systima Technologies, and will have payload integration and testing performed by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Sep 21, 2022Lander companies prepare to shoot for the moon

SES partnered with Hughes on a demonstration for General Atomics that delivered three times the throughput using a terminal less than half the normal size while maintaining constant connectivity across multiple orbits.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.5Sep 19, 2022SES Team Spotlight: Will Tong on Revolutionising Government ISR Missions withO3bmPOWER

NASA and General Atomics mutually agreed to end the MAIA hosting contractual relationship in late 2021 due to overall technical alignment and programmatic challenges.

RelationshipsGovernancePlanValue 4.0Aug 6, 2022Italian satellite may fly NASA Earth science payload

General Atomics was responsible for launching the MAIA-hosting satellite and in February 2021 awarded a contract to Firefly Aerospace for a launch on Firefly’s Alpha rocket.

RelationshipsPlanValue 4.0Aug 6, 2022Italian satellite may fly NASA Earth science payload

General Atomics entered the smallsat industry through acquisitions of Miltec in 2016 and the U.S. subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. in 2017.

RelationshipsValue 4.0Aug 6, 2022Italian satellite may fly NASA Earth science payload

NASA awarded a $38,500,000 contract to General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems in 2018 to host MAIA on the OTB-2 spacecraft.

RelationshipsFinancialCapabilityValue 5.0Aug 6, 2022Italian satellite may fly NASA Earth science payload

Goddard Space Flight Center worked with General Atomics to address scheduling challenges for TSIS-2 preparation for a mission critical design review scheduled for September.

PlanRelationshipsValue 3.8Aug 6, 2022Italian satellite may fly NASA Earth science payload

General Atomics encountered problems in the development of the Total and Spectral solar Irradiance Sensor-2 (TSIS-2) spacecraft for NASA under a $32,900,000 contract awarded in 2020.

CapabilityFinancialLegalValue 4.2Aug 6, 2022Italian satellite may fly NASA Earth science payload
Page7of13
Track