the Hammers Company, Inc.

What the Hammers Company, Inc. does

The Hammers Company, Inc. is a privately held, Maryland-based woman-owned small business founded in 1989 that develops real-time aerospace software for satellite missions. Its portfolio spans flight software (co-developer of NASA's Core Flight Executive/Core Flight System), spacecraft ground systems (Galaxy command-and-telemetry, Stars data access and analysis, Mercury automation, tACT mission planning, Secryt uplink encryption), and dynamic simulation (VirtualSat). The company holds heritage on more than 100 satellite missions and provides professional services through prime and subcontract arrangements with NASA (Goddard, JPL, Wallops), USGS, NRL, the Canadian Space Agency, and the U.S. Air Force, alongside commercial software licensing and a training lab. Office locations include Greenbelt, MD (headquarters), Kirtland AFB, Schriever AFB, and a USGS EROS backup site in Sioux Falls. Product releases continue on a quarterly cadence through 2025-2026, reflecting ongoing investment in CCSDS compliance, encryption, and interoperability standards.

Name

the Hammers Company, Inc.

Legal name

the Hammers Company, Inc.

Website

https://hammers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

the Hammers Company is a Maryland-based woman-owned small business that develops real-time flight, ground, and simulation software for satellite missions, serving NASA, USGS, NRL, CSA, and the U.S. Air Force across 100+ space programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace Mission Software

NAICS

Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336419)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Spacecraft Avionics, Flight Computers & Software (IMABACAI)

Keywords

• Spacecraft flight software
• Satellite ground systems
• Mission operations software
• Spacecraft dynamic simulation
• Satellite command control

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenbelt

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Aerospace Software Contracts: Prime and subcontract contracts providing flight software, ground systems, simulation, and mission operations services to NASA, USGS, CSA, NRL, and other government agencies. Projects include satellite mission development, integration, testing, and sustaining engineering.
2. Commercial Software Product Licensing: Licensing of commercial software products including Galaxy, VirtualSat, Stars, Mercury, Secryt, and tACT to government agencies, educational institutions, and commercial aerospace customers. Products offered with full, client, and workbench license tiers.
3. Training Services: Provides training courses on Core Flight System, Galaxy, Mercury, Stars, and spacecraft operations. Training offered through the Hammers Training Lab for flight software development and ground system operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

the Hammers Company develops and licenses aerospace software products (Galaxy, Stars, VirtualSat, Mercury, Secryt, tACT) and provides engineering services for spacecraft flight software, ground systems, and dynamic simulation. The company delivers real-time embedded flight software for guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) and command and data handling (C&DH), CCSDS-compliant command and telemetry ground systems, and mission operations support to government and commercial satellite programs.

Product overview

the Hammers Company offers a portfolio of aerospace software products designed for spacecraft operations, simulation, and mission management. The core products include Galaxy® (command and telemetry ground system), Stars (multi-satellite data access and analysis), VirtualSat® (spacecraft dynamic simulation), Mercury (data product automation), tACT (team activity coordination), and Secryt (uplink encryption). Galaxy serves as the primary ground system for spacecraft command and telemetry, Stars provides data access and trending analysis, VirtualSat enables simulation and flight software testing, Mercury automates data delivery workflows, tACT coordinates mission planning activities, and Secryt handles secure command uplink encryption. These products are designed to work individually or as an integrated suite, as demonstrated in Hammers' own Mission Operations Center where Galaxy commands virtual satellites simulated by VirtualSat, Mercury delivers data to Stars for archiving and analysis, all coordinated through tACT.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Galaxy: CCSDS compliant satellite command/control and telemetry processing system, derived from ITOS. In use since 2000.
• VirtualSat
• Mercury
• Stars
• tACT
• Secryt

Products and services

• Galaxy® Command and Telemetry System CCSDS-compliant satellite command/control and telemetry processing system derived from the ITOS software developed with NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Processes telemetry, generates spacecraft commands, supports multiple transports (TCP/IP, serial, SpaceWire, MIL-STD-1553, GMSEC), and implements CCSDS Space Data Link Security Protocol using AES-256/GCM encryption. Targets government agencies (NASA, USGS, CSA, NRL) and commercial satellite operators.
• Stars Multi-Satellite Data Access System

Quantifiable outcome

• Flight software flying on 100+ satellite missions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and major.

• Capitol Technology UniversitystrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 April 2017Partnership to establish Space Flight Operations Training Center (SFOTC) using Hammers' VirtualSat and Galaxy software. University uses Hammers' real spacecraft control software for student training, providing pipeline to future aerospace workforce.
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developer of NASA's cFE/cFS flight software system, widely used across NASA missions from large observatories to CubeSats. Also co-developer of NASA's GMSEC (Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center). Deep technical partnership spanning decades with flight software and ground systems co-development.
• General Dynamics Mission SystemsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubcontractor relationship on Landsat 8 Mission Operations Element (MOE) as prime contractor, with General Dynamics as one of three major subcontractors. Demonstrated ability to manage ground system development with major subcontractors.
• Engility-SAICcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeamed with Engility-SAIC on Air Force Engineering, Development, Integration and Sustainment (EDIS) contract to update satellite ground systems and transform them into enterprise architectures.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GMV: GMV is a Spanish-headquartered space technology firm offering spacecraft ground systems (focusSuite, hifly), flight dynamics, and mission operations software directly comparable to Hammers' Galaxy and VirtualSat. GMV competes with Hammers for international space-agency command/control contracts and shares the same customer profile of NASA, ESA, and national civil-space agencies.
• RHEA Group: RHEA Group provides space operations services, flight-software engineering, and ground-systems support for ESA, NASA, and commercial operators. RHEA competes head-to-head with Hammers in spacecraft operations engineering and shares the same small-business-prime hybrid model serving government space agencies.
• General Dynamics Mission Systems: GD Mission Systems is both a Landsat 8 subcontractor to Hammers and a prime in its own right on satellite ground systems and mission operations for DoD/IC customers. It is a directly comparable provider of NASA-derived command-and-control ground systems and competes for the same prime contracts Hammers targets.

Regional players

• Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace: KDA supplies spacecraft ground systems and mission operations software across European space programs and is a regional equivalent of Hammers in the European market. Comparability is strong on product (ground-segment software) but geographic separation prevents direct head-to-head bidding on most NASA work.

Broad incumbents

• SAIC: SAIC is a large IT services and systems-integration prime serving NASA, NOAA, DoD, and the intelligence community on space and ground systems. SAIC (via the Engility acquisition) is the prime contractor on the Air Force EDIS contract where Hammers is a subcontractor, and competes with Hammers on NASA software-services bids at much larger scale.
• Parsons Corporation: Parsons provides space engineering, satellite ground systems, and mission operations support across DoD and civil space customers. Comparable to Hammers on the ground-systems engineering side, with significantly larger headcount and contract scale.
• Leidos: Leidos is a major federal systems integrator with substantial NASA and DoD space-systems work, including mission operations and ground-systems engineering. It competes with Hammers on the same prime and subcontract opportunities at the upper end of the contract-size spectrum.
• Ball Aerospace (BAE Systems): Ball Aerospace (acquired by BAE Systems in 2024) is a NASA heritage prime for spacecraft, instruments, and ground systems with mission operations on JWST, Landsat, and other flagship programs. Directly comparable to Hammers on NASA mission operations heritage but at much larger platform scale.
• MDA Space: MDA is the Canadian prime contractor for the RADARSAT constellation that Hammers' Galaxy system supports. MDA operates in the same satellite command/control domain for CSA and commercial operators and is the natural incumbent counterpart for any follow-on RADARSAT-related work.
• KBR: KBR's Science & Space business provides IT services, mission operations support, and ground-systems engineering for NASA (notably NASA IV&V and Ames). KBR competes with Hammers on NASA services work but at much larger contract scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hammersco
• Facebookfacebook.com/hammerscompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-hammers-company-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about the Hammers Company, Inc.