LOVELAND, Colo. — Oct 28, 2026 — Opterus Research and Development (Opterus), a provider of advanced deployable structures for space applications, announced that its new 140-foot composite curing oven is operational, significantly expanding its capability to manufacture the lightweight, high-performance structural components needed for next-generation spacecraft.
The investment marks an important milestone in Opterus’ evolution from advanced deployable structures research and development to the manufacturing and delivery of mission-critical flight hardware for commercial, civil, and defense space customers.
As spacecraft power requirements continue to grow, satellite manufacturers are increasingly challenged to accommodate larger solar arrays within launch vehicle constraints while maintaining the deployed stiffness and structural performance required for mission success. Opterus is addressing these challenges with innovative deployable structures, including its Trussed Collapsible Tubular Mast (TCTM) technology, which combines compact stowage, low mass, and high deployed stiffness.
Opterus is already supporting customers developing solar arrays in the 20–100 kW range, providing deployable structural solutions that enable spacecraft designers to pursue larger solar array architectures without proportionally increasing stowed volume and structural mass.
The newly operational oven expands Opterus’ composite boom manufacturing capability to approximately 126 feet (38.4 meters) in length, an increase of 46 feet over its existing long-boom curing capability. Its larger cross section also accommodates greater boom diameters and the potential to process multiple booms simultaneously, providing additional flexibility and capacity to support increasingly demanding spacecraft applications.
“For spacecraft designers, the challenge isn’t simply generating more power—it’s deploying and supporting larger solar arrays while meeting demanding constraints on mass, stowed volume, stiffness, and reliability,” said Tom Murphey, Opterus Founder and CEO. “Opterus is investing in the manufacturing infrastructure needed to turn advanced deployable structures into dependable flight hardware. Our new oven is an important step in scaling production to support the next generation of high-power spacecraft.”
From Technology Development to Flight Hardware Delivery
Opterus has established deep expertise in composite deployable structures through years of technology development, system and component-level structural analysis, materials engineering, and hardware testing. Today, the company is applying that expertise to the manufacturing and delivery of mission-critical flight hardware.
The new oven represents an important expansion of the production infrastructure supporting that transition. Beyond enabling longer composite structures, the system provides improved thermal uniformity, programmable cure profiles, and calibrated process monitoring to support repeatable manufacturing and tighter control of finished hardware geometry.
Additional investments in tooling, mold handling, and process development further support dimensional control and reduce the risk of component distortion during manufacturing.
These capabilities are especially important for large solar array deployment systems, where structural geometry, deployed stiffness, and consistent mechanical performance can directly influence spacecraft dynamics, pointing stability, and mission reliability.
The new oven complements Opterus’ existing 90-foot curing oven and 20-by-20-foot walk-in oven, which support the manufacturing of composite booms, hinges, antenna reflectors, solar panel structures, and other deployable space hardware.
Together, these facilities expand Opterus’ ability to manufacture flight hardware across a broad range of spacecraft sizes, structural configurations, and production requirements.
Enabling Larger Spacecraft Power Systems
Opterus’ TCTM technology offers spacecraft designers a structural solution for deploying large solar arrays and other spaceborne apertures. The architecture is particularly well suited to missions requiring large shape-managed surfaces, compact launch configurations, and high deployed stiffness.
One example of a mission enabled by Opterus’ TCTM technology is NASA’s next-generation solar sail mission. Opterus is developing a TCTM variant incorporating 30-meter composite booms for the solar sail mission to deploy and support the sail membrane, demonstrating the versatility of its deployable structures architecture for large space systems.
With demand emerging for higher-power spacecraft, including advanced communications platforms, orbital data centers and high-power sensor constellations, Opterus is positioning its deployable structures and expanded manufacturing capabilities to support increasingly ambitious mission architectures.
Spacecraft manufacturers and solar array developers evaluating next-generation deployment architectures are encouraged to engage Opterus early in the design process to explore structural configurations, deployment performance, and manufacturing approaches tailored to their mission requirements.
About Opterus
Opterus develops, manufactures, and delivers advanced deployable structures and flight hardware for commercial, defense, and civil space missions. Its capabilities include system architecture, composite booms, deployable hinges, antenna reflectors, solar array structures, and integrated deployable subsystems. Combining innovative structural architectures with advanced composite manufacturing and precision engineering, Opterus helps spacecraft manufacturers achieve larger deployed configurations within demanding launch and mission constraints.
Headquartered in Loveland, Colorado, Opterus is AS9100 certified, DCAA approved, and CMMC Level 2 compliant.
For more information, visit www.opterusrd.com.
Media and Business Inquiries: info@opterusrd.com
