Made in Space acquired by private equity firm

July 6, 2020 (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) Jacksonville-based Made in Space, a company’s whose 3D printing technology has made products on the International Space Station, has been acquired by Redwire, a private equity-based venture that has been snapping up space-related businesses.

The deal — whose terms were not disclosed — includes Made in Space Europe, which is based in Luxembourg and produced robotic systems for the space industry.

Made in Space, whose CEO is a graduate of the University of North Florida, moved its headquarters to the First Coast earlier this year, working out of a 19,000-square-foot space on Phillips Highway.

The company created the first 3D printer to be used in space and has teamed up with NASA on several space manufacturing projects. Perhaps the biggest one in the works now is the $73.7 million Archinaut One project, which will manufacture and assemble solar arrays in space.

Eventually, that technology can be used in NASA’s Mars exploration efforts, the deployment of the next generation of advanced telescopes, to develop in-space solar power plants and in manned missions, Vice President Justin Kugler previously told the Business Journal.

As well as its headquarters, the company has offices in California, Alabama and Ohio.

Redwire is a venture by AE Industrial Partners that was launched earlier this month with the combination of Adcole Space and Deep Space Systems, both of which were acquired by the private equity firm earlier this year.

“To truly realize the full potential for space exploration, innovation must change the economics,” Redwire CEO Peter Cannito said in a statement. “Made In Space has been driving these innovations and is now positioned to revolutionize the industry.”

The acquisition will allow the company to grow, Made in Space CEO Andrew Rush told Space News, a publication covering the global space industry.

“There have been constraints by being that small, independent company,” he told the magazine. “Now, by joining forces with Redwire and having the resources and reach that they bring to the table, it’s really going to unshackle us and let us deliver faster on the possibilities.”

As a part of the acquisition, Rush will become the chief operating officer of Redwire, while Made in Space Chief Engineer Mike Snyder will become Redwire’s chief technology officer. Rush will continue as president of Made in Space and Snyder as chief engineer, the company said.