NewSpace Systems (NSS) is a South African aerospace manufacturer that develops and produces components for satellites and other spacecraft. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Somerset West, the company makes hardware for satellite positioning, attitude control, navigation and communications. The company’s product range includes sun sensors, magnetometers, GPS and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers and antennas, reaction wheels, magnetorquer rods and radio-frequency (RF) communications equipment. These components help spacecraft determine their orientation, control rotation, obtain positioning data and exchange signals with other spacecraft and ground stations.
NSS hardware has flown on more than 3,000 spacecraft, and the company has sold more than 13,000 units to customers in over 38 countries across six continents. Applications include Earth observation, broadband communications, scientific research, navigation and other satellite missions. The manufacturer also supplies components for recurring spacecraft platforms, allowing customers to use established hardware designs across multiple satellites. These programs require repeatable production, consistent quality, and deliveries that match spacecraft manufacturing schedules. By purchasing specialized components from NSS, satellite manufacturers can obtain individual subsystems without designing and producing every part themselves.
Manufacturing Capacity Expansion
In 2026, NSS opened a 5,200-square-meter manufacturing site in Somerset West, including a 1,260-square-meter cleanroom. The site also contains an engineering laboratory, optical dark rooms, magnetic calibration facilities, and areas for thermal and vibration testing. These resources allow spacecraft components to be assembled, calibrated, inspected, and tested before delivery. The cleanroom provides a controlled setting for sensitive manufacturing work, while specialized equipment helps engineers verify component performance. The site was designed to more than double NSS’s previous production capacity and accommodate multiple production lines for standard products and customer-specific configurations. The additional capacity is relevant to satellite constellation programs that require repeated deliveries of the same or similar components.
NSS expanded its product range in 2025 with a next-generation guidance, navigation, and control product line and entry into RF communications. The manufacturer now serves more than 40 recurring spacecraft platforms and produces both standard components and customized versions for specific missions. Its production procedures include incoming material inspection, in-process checks, functional testing, environmental testing and final acceptance testing. Production traceability records each unit throughout manufacturing. The larger site provides additional space for assembly, testing and repeat production as customers order hardware for new spacecraft and constellation replenishment. It also gives NSS room to manage multiple production programs within one manufacturing operation.
International Business Expansion
NSS maintains offices in South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Its Dutch subsidiary, NewSpace Systems B.V., is based in Amsterdam and gives the business a formal presence in Europe. The international network brings the manufacturer closer to satellite producers and other customers across several major space-industry regions, while its main manufacturing operation remains in South Africa. Most of its production is exported, making international sales important to the business. Direct engagement with overseas customers also helps NSS address requirements for guidance, navigation, control and communications hardware used in different spacecraft designs.
NSS has supplied components for satellites built for Eutelsat OneWeb, including the first generation of OneWeb spacecraft manufactured by Airbus. In December 2024, Eutelsat ordered 100 additional low-Earth-orbit satellites from Airbus, extending the program’s manufacturing requirements. NSS components also flew on SpaceX’s Transporter-17 rideshare mission in July 2026, serving nine customer missions. The shipment included reaction wheels, sun sensors, magnetorquer rods and magnetometers. These programs demonstrate how a specialized component manufacturer can participate in international satellite projects without producing complete spacecraft. Repeat orders create opportunities to supply established hardware designs across multiple missions, although revenue depends on confirmed orders, delivery schedules and the components selected for each spacecraft.
New Product Development
In September 2026, NSS introduced the LIBRA-25 and LIBRA-4 reaction wheels, additions to its LIBRA product family. The two units are designed for different spacecraft torque and angular-momentum requirements, giving satellite manufacturers options for different mission designs. Low micro-vibration operation and radiation tolerance are relevant to applications such as Earth observation and laser communications, where spacecraft control and component reliability matter to mission performance. The first launch of the new reaction wheels is scheduled for 2027. Their performance in orbit will be established only after launch and operational testing. The products extend NSS’s reaction-wheel range and give spacecraft manufacturers additional hardware options for future satellite designs.
NSS holds ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification and operates an ISO-certified cleanroom. Its manufacturing operations also use European Space Agency-accredited technicians and electronic assembly procedures aligned with IPC standards. These credentials relate to manufacturing controls, inspection and documentation, but they do not replace mission-specific qualification or in-orbit testing. Existing capabilities include thermal and vibration testing, optical inspection and magnetic calibration, while thermal-vacuum testing remains under development. The next milestones include the scheduled first launch of the LIBRA reaction wheels in 2027 and production at the expanded site. Commercial results will depend on product qualification, customer orders, and the ability to deliver flight-ready components in the quantities and time frames required by satellite manufacturers.
ABOUT | TANYA LERM
Tanya Lerm is the chief executive officer of NewSpace Systems, a South African aerospace manufacturer specializing in spacecraft components and subsystems. She became CEO in July 2024 after serving as chief operating officer from January 2019 to July 2024. Before joining NewSpace Systems, Lerm was executive manager of customer and programs at RECARO Composites, quality manager at AAT Composites, and held manufacturing, engineering, and spare-parts management roles at British American Tobacco and the Iron and Steel Corporation of South Africa. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Potchefstroom University, now known as North-West University.
