From 3D bioprinting heart tissue to launching groundbreaking science to the Sun, it’s been an exciting year for the Redwire team. As we step into the new year, we’re looking back at a few of the most exciting accomplishments from 2024. Check out the highlights below.

Groundbreaking Biotech Achievements

In 2024, Redwire’s space biotech capabilities continued to create valuable opportunities for the biopharma industry. In May 2024, Redwire announced that it had successfully 3D bioprinted the first live human heart tissue sample through its 3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF) onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Live human heart tissue bioprinted on Redwire’s BFF could eventually be used to create heart patches as a treatment for damaged heart tissue and opens the door to more effective, personalized medicine.

It’s also possible to grow larger and more-highly-ordered pharmaceutical crystals in microgravity. Over the past year, Redwire’s PIL-BOX was further established as the premier space pharmaceutical research platform, with 27 PIL-BOX units flown to the ISS for customers including Eli Lilly and Company, Bristol Myers Squibb, Exesa Libero Pharma, and Butler University.

Redwire also used PIL-BOX to make two new groundbreaking achievements for terrestrial pharmaceutical and space-based manufacturing. These breakthroughs offer researchers opportunities to develop novel drug forms that could offer more potency, fewer side effects, or entirely new properties and the ability to use seed crystal templates for mass production back here on Earth. Read more about the groundbreaking PIL-BOX work in the Mission Report: The Crystal Frontier – How Space-Based Manufacturing will Revolutionize Drug Discovery | Redwire Space

Very Low Earth Orbit: Bridging the Gap Between Air and Space

Very low Earth orbit (VLEO) is a crucial domain for the future of defense and intelligence operations. As a worldwide leader in developing and providing VLEO capabilities, Redwire is conducting trailblazing work to bring this untapped orbit from concept to full-scale operations. In May, Redwire announced its new VLEO spacecraft platforms, SabreSat and Phantom. In June, Redwire also announced that it was awarded a DARPA prime contract for a SabreSat VLEO demonstration.

A couple of key benefits of VLEO include the ability to operate in an unimpaired environment, flying above airborne anti-access and area-denial and below the threats in LEO. Further, debris in VLEO gets pulled into the atmosphere and safely burns up in hours or days. By operating at a lower altitude, VLEO spacecraft are also twice as close to the action on the ground, and therefore better able to observe it. Read more about a recent Redwire VLEO win here.

A Groundbreaking Journey to Study the Sun

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) PROBA-3 mission, the world’s first precision formation flying mission, launched in November 2024. Composed of two spacecraft that will act as one, PROBA-3 will study the sun corona, a dynamic region of the sun with the largest influence on Earth through events solar flares or mass ejections. Proba-3 will also demonstrate formation flying technologies and rendezvous experiments for future science, astronomy and Earth observation missions.

Redwire is proud to be an integral part of the Proba-3 team. Redwire’s facility in Belgium was responsible for spacecraft integration and testing. Redwire also provided the spacecraft’s onboard computer, which will act as the “brain” of the mission. One of the technology demonstration payloads, the 3D Energetic Electron Spectrometer (3DEES), a high-fidelity 3D energetic electron spectrometer, was also developed by Redwire. See the Redwire team packing up and preparing the spacecraft for their flight to India in the video below.  You can also check more behind the scenes photos from Proba-3’s exciting road to launch on the blog.

Paving the Way for Lunar Infrastructure

In 2023, Redwire was selected for a $12.9 million NASA Tipping Point award to prototype Mason, a first-of-its-kind manufacturing technology which seeks to build critical infrastructure on the surface of the Moon, including shielding structures (e.g., berms), landing pads, roads, and foundations for habitats. This technology could enable robust construction on the lunar surface to advance human and robotic operations, paving the way for long-term human presence and a dynamic lunar economy. In 2024, Mason successfully completed a Preliminary Design Review for the Mason program, bringing it one step closer to flight.

Read more about Mason in the newest web article:  Redwire’s Innovative Manufacturing Technology Could Pave the Way for NASA’s Moon Missions | Redwire Space

New Spacecraft Platforms for National Security Space Missions 

In September, Redwire completed its acquisition of Hera Systems, a spacecraft developer focused on specialized missions for national security space customers. With the addition of Hera Systems’ cutting-edge spacecraft platforms, Redwire has strengthened its spacecraft portfolio and become more equipped to support specialized National Security Space missions in geostationary orbit. The acquisition has broadened Redwire’s product technology portfolio while extending the company’s spacecraft platform capabilities with two new platforms, Mako and Thresher.

In 2022, Hera Systems was contracted by Orion Space Solutions to develop three satellites for U.S. Space Force’s Tetra-5 mission—an on-orbit servicing demonstration in GEO. Read more about the news here.

Want to see more out-of-this-world news from 2024? Check out all the stories in the Redwire Newsroom.