Orbital Technologies Corporation
Home Company Products and Services Employment Web Store Links Contact Us
 
The mission of Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) is to:

Develop, demonstrate, and deploy innovative technologies and advanced products that enhance the quality of human life and support mankind's exploration of the universe.

Company

Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, ORBITEC is a national leader in aerospace research and development. In its first 20 years, ORBITEC has been awarded over $150 million in contracts from government and industry for aerospace subsystem development and integration, including the largest Phase III Small Business Innovation Research Program in NASA's history.

Teeter, Rice, Crabb

ORBITEC was founded in 1988 by Dr. Eric E. Rice, Mr. Ronald R. Teeter, and Mr. Thomas M. Crabb, who worked together at the Astronautics Corporation of America and the Battelle Columbus Laboratories. Beginning by working from their homes, the three founders rapidly gathered talented engineering and science teams. Over time, the company's focus evolved from the expertise of the founders into controlled environments, sensors and instrumentation, advanced combustion and propulsion systems, and space resources processing.

Organization

Strong capabilities in research, development, engineering, and management enable continued growth of technologies and intellectual property for ORBITEC. With eighteen successive years of profitability and 75 members strong, the company has evolved into a provider of complete, targeted solutions for commercial and government markets.

Organization
Products Header
1988 ORBITEC is founded by Dr. Eric Rice, Ron Teeter and Thomas Crabb.
The company wins its first contract for environmental impact testing and assessment.
1989 ORBITEC is awarded its first research contract from NASA.
1991 The company conducts its first hardware test in reduced gravity on the KC-135.
1993 A new rocket testing facility is opened in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
1995 ORBITEC breaks ground on the Space Center complex in Madison, Wisconsin.
The company is named Wisconsin’s Professional Service Business of the Year.
1996 ORBITEC’S first patent is awarded for Reflected Light Rotation Sensors.
The company receives its first Tibbetts Award from the Small Business Administration.
1999 ORBITEC receives a patent for its Vortex rocket engine technology.
The company wins its second Tibbetts Award.
2000 NASA awards ORBITEC the largest SBIR Phase III contract in its history for the Plant Research Unit.
2002 The Biomass Production System launches to space on STS-110 for 73 days on the ISS.
2003 ORBITEC becomes the first small business admitted to the Integrated High Performance Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) Consortium.
2004 ORBITEC’S Hypercosm 3D Software Division releases its first product, the Teleporter for 3ds Max.
NASA awards ORBITEC the second largest SBIR Phase III contract for the Advanced Animal Habitat.
2005 ORBITEC receives ISO 9001:2000 certification.
NASA awards ORBITEC a contract for 16 metric tons of JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant.
2006 ORBITEC receives a $25 M IDIQ contract from the US Air Force for the Universal Small Launch Vehicle.
The Bigelow Aerospace Genesis I Spacecraft launches into space and inflates with an ORBITEC valve assembly.
2007 The Emergency Response Systems group completes its first L3 Ultra High Pressure Mobile Fire Apparatus.
The AstroGarden launches to space on STS-118 for three weeks on the ISS.
2008 ORBITEC opens its first production-scale plant-made protein facility powered with all LED lighting.
The Emergency Response Systems SBU initiates sales of the L1 Mobile Fire Apparatus.
2009 Interactive 3D SBU builds training system for COLBERT treadmill on International Space Station.
ORBITEC test fires new Vortex Hybrid Rocket Motor.
Products Header