written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . august 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message planetary resources inc. type private industry asteroid mining founded november 2010 2010 11 as arkyd astronautics 1 founder peter h. diamandis eric c. anderson headquarters redmond washington u.s. number of employees 60 2 2016 website planetaryresources.com planetary resources inc. formerly known as arkyd astronautics is an american company that was formed in november 2010 1 and reorganized and renamed in 2012 . their stated goal is to expand earth s natural resource base 3 by developing and deploying the technologies for asteroid mining . although the long term goal of the company is to mine asteroids its initial plans call for developing a market for small 30 50 kg cost reduced space telescopes for both earth observation and astronomy . these spacecraft would employ a laser optical system for ground communications citation needed reducing payload bulk and mass compared to conventional rf antennas . not verified in body the deployment of such orbital telescopes is envisioned as the first step forward in the company s asteroid mining ambitions . the same telescope satellite capabilities that planetary resources hopes to sell to customers can be used to survey and intensively examine near earth asteroids . a test satellite named arkyd 3 reflight a3r was launched and successfully transported to earth orbit on 17 april 2015 and was deployed from the international space station via the nanoracks cubesat deployer on july 16 2015 . 4 5 the reflight descriptor was used because planetary s first satellite arkyd 3 was destroyed on october 28 2014 after an antares resupply rocket exploded seconds after launch . 6 contents 1 history 2 plans 2.1 arkyd 3 flight test system 2.2 arkyd 6 flight test system 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit arkyd astronautics was founded in november 2010 with peter diamandis as co chairman and director and president and chief engineer chris lewicki . 1 according to co founder eric andersen the name arkyd astronautics was deliberately ambiguous to help keep the company s asteroid mining agenda secret . 7 the company gained media attention in april 2012 with the announcement of a press conference scheduled for april 24 2012 . 8 the initial press release provided limited information ; as of april 20 2012 only a list of major investors and advisors was known . 9 included in the list were a number of people notable for their entrepreneurship and interest in space exploration and research . some also had previous involvement in space research . it was speculated that planetary resources was looking for ways to extract raw materials from non earth sources as the means by which it would as stated in the press release add trillions of dollars to the global gdp . 9 from the outset the dominant assumption was that the company intended to develop asteroid mining operations 3 9 10 11 with one anonymous source reportedly verifying that claim in advance of the april 24 event . 12 arkyd astronautics became a wholly owned subsidiary of planetary resources . 7 in july 2012 planetary resources announced an agreement with virgin galactic to enable multiple launch opportunities for its series of spacecraft on launcherone starting with the arkyd 100 series of space telescopes . 13 14 15 by january 2013 planetary resources had completed a ground test prototype of the arkyd 100 and released a limited set of details publicly . 16 in april 2013 planetary resources announced that bechtel corporation has joined planetary resources group of investors and will be a collaborative partner in helping planetary resources achieve its long term mission of mining asteroids . 17 in may 2013 planetary resources announced the launch of kickstarter funding for the arkyd 100 . their goal was surpassed on 19 june 2013 . 18 in april 2013 the company announced that they planned on launching a cubesat called arkyd 3 a3 in early 2014 as a testbed manifestation for the arkyd 100 spacecraft . the purpose of the flight is to test technologies for the first arkyd 100 spacecraft . 19 in the event the first a3 was launched in fall 2014 but was destroyed in a launch accident ; a second a3 spacecraft designated a3r was launched in april 2015 and deployed into orbit in july 2015 . 20 in june 2013 planetary resources took an undisclosed investment from 3d systems and intends to make use of its 3d printing technology to manufacture components of the arkyd spacecraft that planetary resources intends to use for finding near earth asteroids . 18 21 by mid 2016 the company had grown to 60 employees but still has no firm date for the launch of its first arkyd satellite . the first prospective mission is planned to take place in a couple of years . 2 plans edit planetary resources aims to develop a robotic asteroid mining industry . 22 23 to achieve this the company is operating on the basis of a long term strategic plan . unveiling the planetary resources 3d printed satellite in february 2014 arkyd 300 24 satellite bus configuration . the torus holds the propellant and provides the structure for the satellite . from left peter diamandis chris lewicki and steve jurvetson . the first stage will be a survey and analysis using purpose built satellites in earth orbit to locate the best potential targets among near earth asteroids . several small space telescopes with various sensing capabilities are to be launched for this purpose . 22 the company website asserts that their space telescopes will be made available for hire for private uses . the company also intends to produce satellites for sale . their first model of space telescope the arkyd 100 has been introduced . 25 later stages of the strategic plan envision sending survey probes to selected asteroids in order to map including deep scanning and to conduct sample and analysis and or sample and return missions . the company has stated that it could take a decade to finish identifying the best candidates for commercial mining . 8 ultimately their intent is to establish fully automated robotic asteroid based mining and processing operations and the capability to transport the resulting products wherever desired . in addition to the extraction of industrial and precious metals for space based and terrestrial use the project envisions producing water for an orbital propellant depot . 26 27 28 arkyd 3 flight test system edit planetary resources packaged a number of the non optical satellite technologies of the arkyd 100 essentially the entire base of the arkyd 100 satellite model revealed in january 2013 16 but without the space telescope into a cost effective format for early in space flight testing on a nanosatellite named the arkyd 3 or a3 . the arkyd 3 testbed satellite was packaged in a 3u cubesat form factor of 10 10 30 centimetres 0.33 0.33 0.98 ft . the first attempt to validate and mature the technology 29 30 31 32 met a setback on 28 october 2014 when the first arkyd 3 test satellite was destroyed during launch in the explosion of the antares rocket carrying it to the international space station iss . 33 a second attempt to launch an arkyd 3 spacecraft designated a3r or arkyd 3 reflight took place on april 14 2015 with a flight of spacex crs 6 to the iss from where it was planned to be deployed later . 34 in the event after spending several months attached to the iss a3r was deployed on orbit on 16 july 2015 to begin flight testing . the test flight is expected to have an approximately 90 day duration . 20 35 as of january 2016 update the company has been completely silent on the progress of any on orbit testing post deployment from the iss . 36 the satellite subsystems being tested on a3r include the avionics attitude determination and control system both sensors and actuators and integrated propulsion system that will enable proximity operations for the arkyd line of prospectors in the future . 37 38 a3r reentered the atmosphere on 23 december 2015 . 36 arkyd 6 flight test system edit a second flight test unit for planetary resources twice the size of a3r with a 6u form factor is the arkyd 6 a6 . it is slated to test attitude control power and communication systems as well as a photo display and retransmission system . as of july 2015 a6 was planned to launch in late 2015 along with a number of other cubesats . 20 39 this date slipped to an april 2016 launch . 40 needs update see also edit wikimedia commons has media related to planetary resources inc. . asteroid mining deep space industries in situ resource utilization mining the sky untold riches from the asteroids comets and planets propellant depot shackleton energy company space based industry spacedev & their near earth asteroid prospector space manufacturing space mining space trade space technology inspiration mars references edit a b c john cook july 8 2011 . nasa vet and x prize creator at the helm of secretive space robot startup arkyd . geekwire . retrieved 2012 04 25 . a b levine alaina g. 2016 07 11 . looking to space as an asteroid miner . science . aaas . retrieved 2016 07 13 . planetary resources which last year deployed a demonstration vehicle into low earth orbit to test core avionics navigation and computing systems is soon to deploy another vehicle to test remote sensing capacities . a first prospective mission is planned to take place in a couple of years . a b christopher mims 2012 04 18 . are ross perot jr. and google s founders launching a new asteroid mining operation . technology review . http www.planetaryresources.com 2015 07 planetary resources first spacecraft deployed http www.nasa.gov mission pages station research experiments 1718.html plait phil 28 october 2014 . breaking antares rocket explodes on takeoff . slate . retrieved 28 october 2014 . a b asteroid mining venture to start with small cheap space telescopes . spacenews.com . retrieved 14 april 2015 . a b amir efrati 24 april 2012 . start up outlines asteroid mining strategy . wall street journal . retrieved 2012 04 25 . a b c andew pulver 20 april 2012 . james cameron backs space explorers planetary resources . the guardian . retrieved 2012 04 22 . adi robertson april 18 2012 . mystery company backed by james cameron and google executives may be an asteroid mining project . the verge . retrieved 2012 04 22 . brian caulfield april 20 2012 . planetary resources co founder aims to create space gold rush . forbes . retrieved 2012 04 22 . nate c. hindman april 20 2012 . planetary resources new space startup to mine asteroids and sell materials on earth . the huffington post . retrieved 2012 04 22 . bishop todd 2013 07 11 . asteroid miners on board with virgin galactic s launcherone . geekwire . retrieved 2013 01 23 . schmidt klaus 2013 07 12 . planetary resources inc. announces agreement with virgin galactic for payload services . spacefellowship . retrieved 2013 01 23 . knapp alex 2013 07 11 . asteroid mining startup planetary resources teams with virgin galactic . forbes . retrieved 2013 01 23 . a b heater bryan 2013 01 21 . planetary resources shows off arkyd 100 prototype gives a tour of its workspace . engadget . retrieved 2013 01 23 . boyle alan 2013 04 17 . big time players are getting serious about asteroid perils and profits . nbc . retrieved 2013 04 17 . a b romano benjamin 2013 06 26 . planetary