News

SPACERACE unveiled ATLAS22 at SpaceTechExpo 2023 | November 2023

We were excited to finally unveil ATLAS22 non-explosive release actuator together with Initiation Control Unit and preload device UNIKA to the world at the largest European space show in Bremen!

SPACERACE met with president of the Czech Republic | September 2023

SPACERACE had an opportunity to be 1 of 10 companies to present their vision to Czech president Petr Pavel and representatives of South Moravian county. The meeting was charged with positive energy that will fuel us for quite some time 🚀. Mr. president seemed delighted to hear that our ATLAS hold down and release actuators can safely hold his whole limousine if needed ...until he learned we can release it in miliseconds too :-).

The test campaign of the prototypes of ATLAS hold down and release actuator and it's Initiation Control Unit (ICU) is nearly finished with more than 100 full preload releases with the same hardware! As advertised, reset of the device can be done within 30 seconds. The prototypes served as a design demonstrators that are now followed by qualification models - final products which will undergo harsh and unforgiving full qualification to be ready for the market in early 2024.

Mid Term Review successful | May 2023

The company passed the major incubation review ahead of schedule. The major lessons learned from the development and testing of ATLAS prototype were presented together with the plan towards the qualification model and first commercial units of ATLAS release actuators.

SPACERACE at Paris Space Week | March 2023

SPACERACE participated in B2B space industry event ParisSpaceWeek and presented the advantages of use of ATLAS release actuators for development and ground testing of space mechanisms in the scope of ESA Space Challange pitch contest.

SPACERACE selected by ESA BIC | November 2022

SPACERACE company was selected by ESA Business Incubation Centre Czech Republic for the development of ATLAS release actuators for ground testing of space mechanisms. This achievement, among other support, secured 50 000 € for the actuator development.
Use of ATLAS will enable our customers to properly test their mechanisms both at a lower cost and at a higher rate than was possible before. The first ATLAS units will get our customers faster in second half of 2023.

Team

RICHARD HYNEK

Managing director and lead designer

Richard is a true space freak who dedicated his professional life to space industry. As a structural engineer, Richard worked on missions like EUCLID, James Webb Space Telescope or Proba3 in the European Space Agency. After that, as a space systems engineer, he has been developing space technologies in the Czech Republic for ESA as well as various European commercial space players. Richard makes sure that our customers are provided with exceptional product experience.

Tomáš Valenta

Chief business developer

Mechanical engineer by heart and soul. Tomáš designed space mechanisms and related ground support equipment for JUICE mission or new generation of solar arrays. He has more than eight years experience of general mechanical design and project management in mechanical industry, manufacturing and post processing. He is also experienced entrepreneur and coach. In SPACERACE, Tomáš takes care of our customers and help them to select the best solution to their needs.

Partners

ATLAS

Hold down and release actuator

Testing and qualification of space mechanisms can be slow and painful process. Especially when release actuators are involved. Some of these devices can be only fired once and then sent for refurbishment to the United States. Some can be refurbished on site in exchange for high costs and considerable time spent with resets. Some of the new generation devices are resettable, but are limited in number of releases. We have been there and we decided that we do not want to select the least evil.

So we are creating ATLAS. Early 2024 SPACERACE will bring a rapidly resettable substitution of space qualified release actuators for ground testing. Resettable under 1 minute only with supplied tooling directly on the tested article. Designed for efficiency, ergonomy and reliability. Designed to make you faster.

Career - open positions

Junior manufacturing and test engineer | Part time

We are looking for passionate individuals to help us to qualify the ATLAS hold down and release actuators for use with space hardware according to European space standards ECSS and subsequently produce the commercial units to support an ESA project. The job is particularly well suiting (but not limited to) engineering university students or graduates looking for a part time job and work experience.

What should you have:

- High school graduation or higher
- Manual dexterity and engineering skills (previous participation in school/university technical projects is an asset)
- Experience with standard workshop tools
- Feeling for detail
- Responsibility above standards
- Capability to work both alone and in a small team
- Problem solving mindset
- Willingness to learn
- Proficiency in written english (fluent English is an asset)
- Passion for space industry and science
- Experience with 3D modelling (CAD) and FDM 3D printing is an asset

What will be your responsibility:

- Preparation of manufacturing and integration
- Quality assurance of specific parts
- Integration of components from incoming parts
- Acceptance testing of manufactured components
- Management of product assurance database
- Design and prototyping of simple tooling by 3D printing
- Participation on improvement of internal processes

What do we offer:

- Part time contract
- Participation in projects for space industry
- Very solid renumeration reflecting the responsibility of the job
- Flexible hours (agreed in advance)
- Startup spirit and informal atmosphere
- Possible long term cooperation

In case of interest, contact us at career@spacerace.cz with a CV and a few words about you.

MISSION

We are all members of a space race. Whether we realize it or not we travel through the cosmos on our beautiful giant blue spaceship. And just as we have learned to use the gifts of the oceans and traverse their vast expanses, we will learn to travel and live in space and use its resources for the advancement of all humanity.
We want to get you faster in the new space race. To be faster means to be more efficient both in terms of time and cost. This requires to have a deep trust in the products of the supply chain. SPACERACE aims to build this trust and provide exceptional experience through the off-the-shelf or on demand components. We believe in these basic values:

We are looking for partners on this mission. If you share the same values do not hesitate to get in touch with us to create extraordinary things.