Sierra Space signs up its first customer for its commercial space station
Capitalism in space: Sierra Space, the newly created space division of Sierra Nevada, announced last week that it has signed an agreement with Redwire, formerly known as Made in Space, to establish manufacturing facilities on its LIFE private space station.
The press release is vague about details, being mostly a sales pitch for encouraging other in-space manufacturing companies to consider partnering with Sierra. This in turn suggests the agreement is nothing more that a statement by Redwire that should Sierra’s station launch, it will then be willing to launch its 3D printing technology to it.
Nonetheless, this agreement lends weight to Sierra’s station proposal, which while plausible still remains somewhat vague as there is no indication on when the company plans to launch it.
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Capitalism in space: Sierra Space, the newly created space division of Sierra Nevada, announced last week that it has signed an agreement with Redwire, formerly known as Made in Space, to establish manufacturing facilities on its LIFE private space station.
The press release is vague about details, being mostly a sales pitch for encouraging other in-space manufacturing companies to consider partnering with Sierra. This in turn suggests the agreement is nothing more that a statement by Redwire that should Sierra’s station launch, it will then be willing to launch its 3D printing technology to it.
Nonetheless, this agreement lends weight to Sierra’s station proposal, which while plausible still remains somewhat vague as there is no indication on when the company plans to launch it.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Your support is even more essential to me because I keep this site free from advertisements and do not participate in corrupt social media companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook. I depend wholly on the direct support of my readers.
You can provide that support to Behind The Black with a contribution via Patreon or PayPal. To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If Patreon or Paypal don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
I always remembered that Space Stations were always ring shaped with central sphear and they rotated to create artificial gravity
From the linked article:
This is excellent news. Even though it is only a memorandum of understanding, it shows that there is growing interest in space manufacturing facilities. The coming decade should be very exciting.
Wait. Wasn’t that what I just said?
Sierra Space and Axiom seem serious about putting space habitats in orbit. If Bigelow comes back, they seem serious, too. I have not heard from Ixion in a while, but they had ideas for space habitats, as well. Getting someone from such a high position at NASA makes it look like Redwire is serious about space manufacturing. Have I mentioned that this coming decade should be very exciting?
Robert wrote: “… Sierra’s station proposal, which while plausible still remains somewhat vague as there is no indication on when the company plans to launch it.”
Which means that it is not yet a plan. Redwire must have received some indication as to when Sierra’s station could or should be ready, so that Redwire can plan and finance their manufacturing facility.
Depending upon how far along the design is, Sierra Space could use Redwire’s requirements as an important guide for that design.