Spectrum Astro

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Spectrum Astro was a private American company that designed, built, and sold satellites. Its unique approach was to design and manufacture satellites entirely at one Gilbert, Arizona site, so the whole system could be tested before launch. This helped lower costs and improve reliability. The Gilbert plant had wide hallways and large doors to move satellites through design, assembly, and testing stages. Founded in 1988 by W. David Thompson with $5,000 in cash and a credit card, the company earned $27,000 in its first year. Spectrum Astro served customers worldwide and produced products such as Deep Space 1, MightySat-1, MSTI 1–3, Hessi, SA-200B/HP/LL/S, Xenon Ion Propulsion, and AstroRT. In 2004, General Dynamics bought the company.