Quick Summary
• A compact deployment mechanism developed at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) successfully activated aboard a commercial spacecraft on February 3, 2026, demonstrating how additive manufacturing techniques can reduce both expense and design complexity for future orbital antenna systems. The device, designated JPL Additive Compliant Canister (JACC), extended on Proteus Space’s Mercury One satellite, with an […]
Additional Context
A compact deployment mechanism developed at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) successfully activated aboard a commercial spacecraft on February 3, 2026, demonstrating how additive manufacturing techniques can reduce both expense and design complexity for future orbital antenna systems.
The device, designated JPL Additive Compliant Canister (JACC), extended on Proteus Space’s Mercury One satellite, with an onboard camera recording the deployment as the vehicle traveled over Antarctica in low Earth orbit.
Funding for JACC came from JPL’s internal research development resources and NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO).
Technical Design and Companion Payload
JACC represents one of two JPL experimental systems aboard the spacecraft testing technologies intended to minimize sto