Positive Margin
Vehicle Design, Analysis, and Test Consultancy
About Positive Margin
Positive Margin LLC is an independent vehicle engineering consultancy with 13+ years of flight hardware experience. Founded by Jacob Kurtz, who served as a structures Responsible Engineer for Dragon 1 and Dragon 2 at SpaceX, a Principal Structural Dynamics Engineer on Class A USG satellites at Northrop Grumman, and Vehicle Engineering Manager on Helios at Impulse Space.
We primarily serve early- and growth-stage space companies building satellite buses, space-rated payloads, and launch vehicles. We offer (and encourage) on-site support.
Positive Margin prioritizes balancing speed with rigor, to deliver robust, optimized products on aggressive timelines. We have worked from white sheet to flight on several space systems ranging from rigorous Class A government programs to scrappy zero-to-one development efforts.
Our Services
Structural Design
Comprehensive aerospace hardware design support and independent design criteria decomposition / review.
Areas of expertise:
≥ metallic primary and secondary structures
≥ payload accommodations
≥ satellite bus architecture
≥ cryogenic rocket structures
≥ space rated mechanisms
≥ ground support equipment (tooling and test)
Structural Analysis
Full-spectrum structural analysis from initial sizing to detailed flight certification.
STATICS:
≥ linear statics and buckling
≥ non-linear statics and buckling
≥ fatigue and fracture
≥ structural optimization
DYNAMICS:
≥ modal / normal modes
≥ random and acoustic
≥ sine and transient
≥ shock analysis (SRS)
≥ Craig-Bampton reduction
≥ jitter and disturbance
≥ on-orbit, deployment, and latch-up
Test Prediction and Support
End-to-end test effort support ranging from payload sub-components to full vehicle.
Services include:
≥ test house coordination
≥ loads / levels specifications
≥ instrumentation selection
≥ pre-test analysis and predictions
≥ on-site test support
≥ post-test correlation
We have extensive experience with Primary payload and Rideshare payload qualification.
Tell us about your project!
We typically respond within 48 hours.