Garvey Spacecraft Corporation (GSC) is a small aerospace R&D company focusing on the development of advanced space technologies and launch vehicle systems. GSC became a full-time enterprise in January 2000 when founder and CEO John M. Garvey left Boeing to concentrate his time and energy on the company. At present, GSC is providing engineering, technical support, project management and hardware prototyping services to a number of customers in the southern California region. The company is also funding several internal projects that focus on reusable launch vehicles and associated technology validation flight testing. Its most visible accomplishments include the first-ever flight of a composite LOX tank (conducted in partnership with Microcosm, Inc.), the first-ever powered flights of a liquid-propellant aerospike engine and the launch and 100% recovery of several prototype reusable test vehicles. GSC has leveraged its in-house capabilities by participating in several cooperative programs. The most notable of these has been the California Launch Vehicle Education Initiative (CALVEIN) with California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). This effort focuses on both hands-on hardware mentoring for future aerospace engineers as well as the low-cost development of candidate launch system technologies and services. Since getting started in early 2001, the CALVEIN work has resulted in nine static fire tests and seven flight tests, including the two noted above with the CSULB-developed aerospike engine. The team is now focused on the preliminary development of a Nanosat Launch Vehicle (NLV) that is designed to deliver 10 kg payloads to low Earth orbit. Team members draw upon their extensive experiences from a broad range of previous aerospace programs, including most recently the DC-XA (Delta Clipper), Delta III, Delta IV, and Sea Launch..
