Loft Orbital's 'Payload as a Service' — fly your sensors and payloads in space without building or operating your own satellite.
Hosted Payload Satellite Service
Loft Orbital's 'Payload as a Service' — fly your sensors and payloads in space without building or operating your own satellite.
Description
Loft Orbital provides a 'Payload as a Service' (PaaS) model where customers can fly their sensors, instruments, or technology demonstrations on Loft's own satellites without the cost and complexity of building, launching, and operating their own spacecraft. Customers provide their payload hardware; Loft handles the satellite bus, launch, and full mission operations including power, downlink, and attitude control.
Loft Orbital's satellite buses (YAM series) are standardized platforms designed to accommodate a variety of hosted payload types: RF sensors, optical cameras, Earth observation instruments, technology demonstrators, and communications payloads. The satellites operate in LEO sun-synchronous orbit, providing daily global revisit coverage.
Loft has launched multiple YAM satellites carrying hosted payloads for US Department of Defense (via AFRL), commercial Earth observation companies, and institutional customers. The model dramatically reduces time-to-orbit for payload developers who need in-orbit validation, government programs needing quick demonstration, or commercial operators wanting incremental market testing before committing to a full satellite program.
Specifications
| Platform | YAM satellite bus (standardized, multi-hosted payload) |
|---|---|
| Orbit | LEO sun-synchronous |
| Services | Power, attitude control, downlink, operations — customer provides payload |
| Customers | US DoD (AFRL), commercial EO, institutional |
| Location | San Francisco, California, USA |
