Redwire, a newly formed company for space solutions, on Tuesday said it has acquired Made In Space (MIS), a provider of on-orbit space manufacturing technologies, including 3D printing and robotic assembly.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MIS, which is based in Jacksonville, Fla., has worked with NASA for the past decade on in-space manufacturing and assembly technologies for building large scale space assets on-orbit. On its website, MIS says that as NASA begins its manned exploration of the Moon and Mars its platforms will need in-space manufacturing capabilities without having to worry about launching components from Earth.
NASA is MIS’ largest customer.
“To truly realize the full potential for space exploration, innovation must change the economics,” Peter Cannito, Redwire’s CEO, said in a statement. “Made In Space has been driving these innovations and is now positioned to revolutionize the industry.”
Redwire, a portfolio company of the private equity firm AE Industrial Partners, was created in June through the combination of two AEI portfolio companies acquired earlier this year, Adcole Space and Deep Space Systems. Redwire has about 230 employees, including 125 added through the MIS deal.
“Joining Redwire is an exciting opportunity to be part of a new company taking an innovative approach to address the needs of today’s space industry,” Andrew Rush, MIS’ president and CEO, said in a statement. “Redwire provides us with the scale and space heritage we need to take our technology to the next level.”
MIS’ 3D printing and on-orbit manufacturing technologies are new to Redwire, which has capabilities sensors, payloads, exploration spacecraft, ground support equipment, software, data acquisition and recovery systems, and satellite components.
MIS also has locations in California, Alabama, Ohio and Luxembourg.
Redwire’s financial adviser on the deal was
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.