An affordable SLV could be used to launch cubesat and nanosat payloads, either in clusters into low Earth orbit or into high energy trajectories typical of deep space exploration missions. Typical users include the CubeSat Launch Initiative and the Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program. At the technology level, AM components could improve the subsystem affordability of engines and structural components for both launch systems and spacecraft.
The affordable launch system(s) could conduct dedicated missions for Planetary Labs, which recently had 28 of their "Flock 1" CubeSat-class spacecraft delivered as a secondary payload on an Antares rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) for eventual deployment. Skybox Imaging is another candidate commercial SLV customer. NSF, AF Space Command, Army Space and Missile Defense Command and NRO all represent government customers that could eventually engage in commercially-contracted SLV launch operations, much as NASA has pathfinded for ISS re-supply.
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