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Draper Laboratory, a not-for-profit research organization founded in 1932, developed the Apollo guidance computer and continues supplying guidance, navigation, and control avionics for NASA.
ACTIVEDraper is an independent non-profit research, development and manufacturing company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, providing engineering services to government, industry and academia on problems from space to undersea. As the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory it developed the Apollo Guidance Computer, and it became an independent nonprofit in 1973.
Originally the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory founded by Charles Stark Draper in 1932, Draper became an independent nonprofit in 1973. The laboratory is renowned for developing the Apollo guidance computer and inertial navigation systems that guided astronauts to the Moon. Today, Draper designs GN&C systems for ballistic missiles, spacecraft, and autonomous vehicles. The lab provides navigation and guidance solutions for NASA's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, and is developing precision landing systems for lunar landers. Draper also works on MEMS-based inertial sensors, biomedical devices, and AI-driven autonomy systems.
Not ranked: No measurable space activity in our data (space-coded federal awards or subcontracts, space revenue in the company’s SEC annual report, an orbital launch, or a space-segment profile: for a defense company or a diversified aerospace group, a subsector naming space work, and for a diversified group a space line cited at $100M or more): scored, but not ranked as a space company.
4 of 6 inputs measured · Insufficient data · 100% of applicable weight backed by data
Not measured: Reported revenue
Not measured: Open-role change (90 days)
A pillar score averages the company’s percentiles among the tracked companies with a value: relative standing, not a grade. Inputs measured 2026-10-14 (UTC) · methodology v6. Every input, its value and percentile · How it is computed
The Space Score ranks companies relative to each other on public data we hold. It describes; it does not rate, forecast or recommend. It is not a credit rating and not investment advice. Full disclaimer
Sources: Founded, Headquarters, CEO, Employees, Legal name
For information only, not investment advice. SpaceNexus is not a registered investment adviser, broker or dealer, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. Data may be delayed, estimated or incomplete; check the source before acting. Full disclaimer
No private round on record. Debt, grants, state capital, owner funding and acquisitions are listed under Funding history by class and not added in.
Vision-based terrain relative navigation and hazard detection system for precise, safe lunar landings; flight-tested on Astrobotic Xodiac (2024) and Blue Origin New Shepard (2025).
Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based inertial sensors for precision navigation in size-constrained applications.
Integrated guidance, navigation, and control systems for crewed and uncrewed spacecraft, including SLS/Orion.
Contracts, suppliers, launches and schedule for each program, every fact sourced:
Checking for a discussion…
Compiled Oct 14, 2026 from 3 public records. Every figure links the record it comes from.
Space federal awards
13 awards, $115.5M obligated
Awards with activity since Oct 1, 2018, as searched Sep 24, 2026. Awarded Jun 29, 2012 to Jan 21, 2026; most from NASA (10 awards)
Counts awards the government's own product code or programme title marks as space work, or the space research industry code; the satellite-telecoms industry code counts only together with a space agency, office or a space word in the award's own description. Obligated dollars, not ceilings; umbrella contracts (IDVs) are left out because their orders are counted one by one. Amounts as USAspending reported them on Sep 24, 2026.
Source: USAspending.gov recipient profile (all awards, not only space)
Latest award Jan 21, 2026
Latest space award
$525K from NASA
NIAC PHASE II SEEKS PROPOSALS THAT WILL CONTINUE THE EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF REVOLUTIONARY ADVANCED CONCEPTS STARTED THROUGH A NIAC...
Source: USAspending.gov award record
Awarded Jan 21, 2026
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
10 space awards, $45.8M obligated
USAspending.gov award record, Jan 21, 2026
Department of Defense
3 space awards, $69.7M obligated
USAspending.gov award record, Jan 29, 2021
APA
SpaceNexus. (2026, October 14). Draper Laboratory: Company dossier [Data set]. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/draper-laboratory
Chicago
SpaceNexus. "Draper Laboratory: Company dossier." Data as of October 14, 2026. Accessed October 14, 2026. https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/draper-laboratory.
BibTeX
@misc{spacenexus_draperlaboratory_2026,
author = {{SpaceNexus}},
title = {{Draper Laboratory}: Company dossier},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
howpublished = {\url{https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/draper-laboratory}},
url = {https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/draper-laboratory},
urldate = {2026-10-14},
note = {Data as of 2026-10-14; each fact links its primary source}
}