L'garde, Inc.

L'Garde, Inc., based in Tustin, California, is an Asian-Pacific American-owned small business manufacturer specializing in advanced space technologies, deployable structures, and innovative solutions for orbital applications. Registered in SAM.gov since January 2002, the company brings established expertise in developing cutting-edge space systems for federal agencies including NASA and the Department of Defense. L'Garde has built a track record as a trusted innovator in space technology development, positioning itself as a prime contractor for research and development initiatives focused on next-generation space exploration and orbital infrastructure capabilities.

Through federal contract awards, L'Garde has demonstrated substantial expertise in space technology development across multiple research domains. The company has received six prime federal contract awards totaling approximately $1.5 million, all designated as total small business set-asides and funded through NASA's Shared Services Center or the Air Force Research Laboratory. These contracts encompass Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at both Phase I and Phase II levels. Specific contract work includes developing a bolt-on capture detumble deorbit device for orbital debris mitigation and spacecraft deorbit capabilities ($150,000 SBIR Phase I, awarded September 2025 with completion targeted for March 2026); a deployable capture device for orbital debris ($250,000 STTR Phase I through Air Force Research Laboratory, completed February 2023); a design tool for highly accurate shape and structural evaluation of space antennas and composites ($149,864 STTR Phase I, completed August 2023); and a lightweight, low stow volume solar concentrator for lunar-based in-situ resource utilization ($124,965 SBIR Phase I and $749,941 SBIR Phase II, completed November 2024). Additionally, L'Garde received a contract for development of shape memory alloy antenna technology ($124,900 SBIR Phase I, completed November 2021). The company has also served as a subcontractor on advanced manufacturing and space systems initiatives, including work under HRL Laboratories on solar array exemplar problems involving system-level parametric modeling and environmental testing (awarded January 2022), and feasibility studies for solar sail technology supporting NOAA requirements through The Aerospace Corporation (awarded October 2023).

L'Garde has received one federal grant award through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the form of a project grant awarded August 30, 2024, with completion targeted for January 31, 2025. This grant supports the SOLSTICE Test Program, a six-month initiative designed to advance the technology and manufacturing readiness levels of L'Garde's vectored solar sailcraft from TRL/MRL 4 to 6. The program aims to develop a commercially viable solution to NOAA's unmet requirements for solar wind data collection from 0.98 AU, enabling advanced solar storm warning capabilities. Under this grant, L'Garde led a team effort to design and build a full-scale engineering test unit of the SOLSTICE vehicle for ground deployment testing and as a manufacturing pathfinder for subsequent commercial flight programs. The vehicle is engineered to achieve and maintain its duty station for a minimum five-year mission, positioned at the edge of cislunar space to provide a new commercial solar wind data source. The grant deliverables include a ground demonstration vehicle, deployment data, and detailed cost and schedule information for building the SOLSTICE flight vehicle as a commercial effort. This initiative represents L'Garde's expansion into commercial space applications while supporting government space weather monitoring objectives, with anticipated commercial revenue projections of $5 million from the sensor and derived subcomponents during the first ten years.

DEPLOYABLE PRECISION INFLATABLE SPACE STRUCTURES - RF & SOLAR REFLECTORS, SOLAR ARRAYS & STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS; INFLATABLE MILITARY SPACE & MISSILE STRUCTURES - DECOYS, TARGETS, RF COUNTERMEASURE & BALLOONS; ADVANCED MATERIALS & ELASTOMERS; & RUGGEDIZED FLI