Redwire’s SpaceMD Announces its First Commercial Mission on SpaceX’s Starfall Spacecraft to Scale In-Space Pharmaceutical Development
SpaceMD plans to fly 32 PIL-BOXes in 2028 on this Starfall mission
Space Microgravity Development LLC (SpaceMD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Redwire Corporation (NYSE:RDW) and venture company focused on leveraging the microgravity environment to create dynamic innovations, announced today that it has signed a contract for a Starfall mission. Starfall is SpaceX’s new spacecraft that enables affordable, routine access to a microgravity environment and provides unique opportunities for on-orbit manufacturing, scientific research, and testing. The agreement creates a scalable new pathway for Redwire to continue expanding its commercial pharmaceutical research and manufacturing business to serve a growing customer base.
SpaceMD’s first Starfall mission is planned for launch in 2028 and is expected to have the capacity to carry up to 32 of Redwire’s Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory (PIL-BOXes), making it the largest dedicated commercial microgravity research mission flown to date. Drug candidates selected through SpaceMD’s research initiatives will leverage the highly tailorable microgravity environment and mission duration provided by Starfall before returning to Earth for analysis, accelerating pharmaceutical development and other forms of commercial research.
