KC’s Enduralock secures $1.25M SpaceWERX contract to boost satellite docking tech
June 2, 2025 | Startland News Staff
A Lenexa tech company has been selected by the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force to address one of the most-pressing challenges facing military operations in the skies and beyond.
Enduralock just announced its selection for a $1.25 million contract aimed at using the company’s new connector system, OneLink, to enable modular in-space servicing and refueling for next-gen military and commercial satellites.
“At Enduralock, we believe the future of space is modular, serviceable, and sustainable,” said Dr. Harold Hess, co-founder and CEO of Enduralock. “OneLink is our answer to that future — a robust, multi-functional connector designed to unlock in-orbit refueling, upgrades, and interoperability.”
Harold Hess, co-founder and CEO, and Diana Greenberg, co-founder and COO, Enduralock; courtesy photo
With an evolved focus on space logistics, Enduralock — which boasts more than 30 worldwide patents — develops technologies that eliminate the need for traditional safety wiring, reducing lifecycle costs while enhancing structural reliability.
The Kansas City-built business is currently advancing satellite docking systems and adapting its fasteners for vision-based intelligent systems, paving the way for fully autonomous in-orbit assembly.
“As the space industry evolves, the company remains committed to innovation, focusing on solutions that will enable the servicing, upgrading, and construction of satellites in orbit,” Enduralock said in a press release.
The new Direct-to-Phase II contract comes through a partnership between the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and SpaceWERX (part of the U.S. Space Force and a unique division within AFWERX).
Enduralock benefits from the agencies streamlining the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution, Hess said.
“We’re honored to partner with SpaceWERX in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” he added.
The Department of the Air Force (DAF) began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018, which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded. With such changes, Enduralock has now started its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America, Hess said.
Check out a recent interview with Enduralock’s Harold Hess below.
Featured Business
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Inclusion Open funding helps Determination Incorporated reunite KCSourceLink alums
Within days of securing funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Inclusion Open, Determination Incorporated is expanding its team, the nonprofit announced Wednesday. “We are so thankful to the Kauffman Foundation and excited to announce that Leslie Walton, an experienced entrepreneurial ecosystem builder in KC, is joining the team in support of our mission,” Johnny…
Kauffman Inclusion Open: Six KC grant winners ‘building an inclusive pathway to entrepreneurship’
Plans to educate, inspire, and assist entrepreneurs traditionally left out of small business conversations will ramp up for the Porter House KC — thanks to new support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s inaugural Inclusion Open. “We are so excited to be selected as one of this year’s grant recipients,” said Dan Smith, co-founder of the…
Natural fit: Ruby Jean’s opening new juicery inside busy Whole Foods
The fresh-pressed, multi-year deal to open a brick-and-mortar Ruby Jean’s Juicery inside a high-traffic Whole Foods location puts Chris Goode in a position to scale his clean concept even further beyond Kansas City, he said. “We’re in the healthy food space and Whole Foods has cornered that market pretty broadly. With its parent company now…
Major Kansas City grocery chains stock SERV Nutrition less than a year into business
Doing good is more than just a motto for SERV Nutrition — it’s the state of the startup’s operation seven months into business, Isaac Collins said as the company’s patented protein pods hit shelves at Price Chopper and Hen House stores across the metro. “Online sales have been going well, but we saw a great…