In hopes of building its secondary satellite and payload business, Space Operations International LLC (SOI) has signed a memorandum of agreement with Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT]. The companies plan to work together to provide the small (500 Kg or less) satellite/payload marketplace with affordable transportation to space.

“The agreements provides SOI the use of excess capacity on Lockheed Martin’s family of launch vehicles, including the Atlas 2, Atlas 3 and Atlas 5,” said Bill Olson, president and CEO of SOI. “This should prove to be a great value to our customers, the owners of small satellites.”

Marco Caceres, senior space analyst with Teal Group Corp., estimates one-third of the satellite market is made up of secondary payload operators and manufacturers.

“The secondary payload community should welcome SOI’s effort to facilitate a standard method for accommodating their products as the potential benefits are numerous,” said Todd Swank, secondary payloads program manager for Lockheed Martin.

The significance business plans such as SOI’s offer to industry executives is cost savings. With prices rising within the launch community, a small satellite owner stands to save money by piggy-backing onto a given mission rather than signing a separate multi-million dollar launch contract. “Launching as a secondary payload, a company stands to spend 70 percent or less than if they were to contract their own launch vehicle,” Stuart Wiens, executive vice president and director of marketing for SOI, told SPACE BUSINESS NEWS.