Voyager Space purchases majority ownership of on-board electronics maker
By
Ross Wilkers
Voyager Space is pursuing a strategy to become a vertically-integrated and publicly-traded company focused on exploration and infrastructure, and has made an acquisition to add key technologies into that portfolio.
Voyager Space is pursuing a strategy to become a vertically-integrated and publicly-traded company focused on exploration and infrastructure, and in the midst of that has identified an acquisition to add key technologies into that portfolio.
In a release Monday, Voyager said it has purchased a majority stake in on-board satellite computer and electronics manufacturer Space Micro for an undisclosed sum. The agreement will see Voyager also provide strategic operations support to help advance Space Micro's technology across government and commercial entities.
Space Micro is headquartered in San Diego and its U.S. government customer base includes NASA, Space Force, the Air Force and Special Operations Command. The company’s contracts with NASA cover the development of sorting interference processing units for Earth observation and transponders for two missions to the Moon under the Artemis program.
Founded in 2002, Space Micro delivered its first computer and image-professing subsystem in space within the first four years and then proceeded to develop software-defined radios for NASA in support of three imagery and surveying missions: Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, Lunar Atmosphere Dust and Environment Explorer and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
The Defense Department has acquired Space Micro’s technology for space payloads, laser-secure communications terminals and signal converters.
Led by noted angel investor and CEO Dylan Taylor, Voyager was founded in late 2019 with the intent to acquire multiple space startup companies as part of its vertical integration strategy. For Voyager, the transaction involving Space Micro represents number six of either a partial stake in another company or an outright acquisition.
Voyager has previously acquired Valley Tech Systems, NanoRacks, The Launch Company, Altius Space Machines and Pioneer Astronautics.
Voyager's board of directors includes notable government veterans such as Ellen Lord, the former defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment; Alan Stern, for chief of space and Earth science programs at NASA; and William Shelton, retired Air Force general and former leader of the branch’s Space Command.