COLORADO SPRINGS — Boeing subsidiary Millennium Space Systems is nearly doubling its satellite manufacturing capacity as it works to deliver on a backlog of defense contracts.
“We’re at an inflection point where we have to prove we can deliver these missions at rate,” said Tony Gingiss, who took over as CEO in December. The company aims to increase production from one or two satellites monthly to between six and 12 — a leap for an industry historically known for methodical, low-volume work.
Millennium Space, based in El Segundo, California, has approximately 1,000 employees and is expanding its production space from 22,000 square feet to nearly 42,000 square feet. The expansion comes as the satellite manufacturer seeks to transition from a boutique builder to a reliable production house.
Growing defense portfolio
Millennium’s growth is driven entirely by military programs, as the company currently has no commercial business. A small percentage of its work involves civil space projects, including two recently delivered spacecraft for an upcoming NASA science mission focused on space weather events.
The main catalyst for expansion is a $414 million contract to build and operate eight missile-tracking satellites equipped with advanced infrared sensors, known as “Foo Fighter” — short for Fire-control On Orbit-support to the Warfighter. A new facility dedicated to this program is being constructed within Boeing’s satellite manufacturing campus in El Segundo, though Gingiss noted Millennium’s facilities remain separate from Boeing’s operations.
The company is also working on a nearly billion-dollar order for 12 missile-tracking satellites for the U.S. Space Force that will operate in medium Earth orbit (MEO). Additional contracts are for classified satellites that Gingiss declined to discuss.
Industry transition
Gingiss, a veteran aerospace executive with previous roles at Terran Orbital, Virgin Orbit and Airbus OneWeb Satellites, joined Millennium at what he described as a pivotal moment for the satellite manufacturing sector.
“The environment has changed,” Gingiss said. “It’s no longer good enough to be fast or cheap or good — you’re expected to be all three.”
This marks a significant shift from the 1990s NASA mantra of “faster, better, cheaper,” when, as Gingiss noted, “you could pick two.” Today’s market, driven by rising geopolitical tensions and increasing demand for satellite capabilities, expects manufacturers to excel in all areas simultaneously.
Supply chain challenges
Since taking the helm, Gingiss has directed a retooling of supply chain processes. While the most severe pandemic-era shortages have subsided, the industry now faces a second wave of constraints, particularly in advanced electronics and space-grade materials.
These challenges come amid escalating global trade tensions following the Trump administration’s recent imposition of tariffs on products manufactured overseas.
Despite possible headwinds, Gingiss sees positive developments in the space industry’s ability to use technologies and components from commercial electronics, automotive and aviation sectors.
“We’ve moved into an innovative space industry, where we leverage a lot of technologies from other industries,” Gingiss said. This cross-industry adoption has made components more widely available and often at better prices. However, it also means satellite manufacturers may compete with non-aerospace companies for limited supply of certain components.
“The beauty of sharing parts with other industries is that they’re more widely available. You can typically get a better price on them,” he explained. “But the downside of it can be if there’s high demand in other industries that maybe have larger profit margins, you may be competing against limited supply.”
Across Millennium’s satellite programs, he said, “we try to reuse common components, whether they be flight computers or elements of the power subsystem of our vehicles or mission data processors or similar items. We try to use those among programs, so we don’t have a lot of unique parts and we’re not building multiple versions of something.”
