An illustration of the reentry of a SpaceX Starfall spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX
WASHINGTON — A Redwire subsidiary working on space biotech and pharmaceutical applications has signed an agreement to fly microgravity research payloads on SpaceX’s Starfall reentry vehicle.
Space Microgravity Development, or SpaceMD, a subsidiary of Redwire, announced Aug. 6 it purchased a dedicated Starfall mission scheduled to launch in late 2028. Starfall is SpaceX’s reentry vehicle that made its first test flight in June.
The spacecraft will carry up to 32 of Redwire’s Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory, or PIL-BOX, experiment packages, which the company said will be redesigned to optimize the capabilities offered by Starfall. SpaceMD said it will use the mission to perform pharmaceutical research, taking advantage of what it calls the “highly tailorable microgravity environment and mission duration” offered by Starfall.
“Space-based pharmaceutical development is reaching an inflection point,” said John Vellinger, chief executive of SpaceMD, in a statement. “By combining our flight-proven microgravity payloads, such as PIL-BOX, with SpaceX’s innovative transportation capabilities, we’re dramatically expanding our ability to serve customers, increase research cadence and accelerate the creation of life-changing therapies.”
