FANTM-RiDE
A containerized, tunable-mass rideshare dispenser enabling rapid payload reconfiguration and hotswap capability up to hours before launch.
Technical specifications
- Capability
- Containerized rideshare payload dispensing
- Reconfiguration mode
- Rideshare Rapid Reconfiguration (R3) — payload hot-swap without altering dispenser dynamics
- Interchange mode
- Rapid Dispenser Hotswap (RDH) — common interface across launch vehicles
- Flight heritage
- Selected for Firefly Aerospace Elytra/Alpha responsive space demonstration supporting NRO (announced 2023)
About
FANTM-RiDE (Flight Agnostic Non-interfering, Tunable Mass Rideshare Dispenser Equipment) is Xtenti’s flagship space logistics dispenser system, designed to maximize responsive launch capability for small satellites on rideshare missions. The system containerizes payloads into standardized, self-sufficient modules with a common interface, allowing operators to add, replace, or remove payloads from a launch manifest within hours of liftoff without invalidating existing coupled-loads or structural analyses.
The dispenser supports two primary operational modes: Rideshare Rapid Reconfiguration (R3), which allows hot-swapping of payloads without altering the dispenser’s mass or dynamic properties, and Rapid Dispenser Hotswap (RDH), which uses a common interface to allow entire dispensers to be interchanged between different launch vehicles. A mass/dynamic response tuning capability allows the system to preserve consistent structural dynamic behavior even as payload configurations change.
FANTM-RiDE has been selected for a responsive space demonstration mission in collaboration with Firefly Aerospace, flying aboard the Elytra orbital vehicle on the Alpha launch vehicle to support a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) mission, deploying commercial rideshare payloads before performing an on-orbit maneuver to deploy U.S. government payloads on demand. Xtenti has also received U.S. Space Force SBIR Phase II funding to develop long-duration, GEO-capable variants of the system for on-orbit storage and pre-positioning of payloads.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.