RDW Redwire Corporation

By Will Feuer

Space contractor Redwire Corp. said it has been awarded a $5.9 million contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to finish designing a new in-space manufacturing system.

The multi-material three-dimensional printing system, dubbed FabLab, will be tested onboard the International Space Station and serve as a precursor for Artemis missions to the moon and Mars, Redwire said. The system will let crews make tools and components as needed while in space.

"Astronauts won't need to pack their spacecraft with every tool or part they may need millions of miles from Earth," Redwire Executive Vice President John Vellinger said. "Make it, don't take it."

In 2017, Redwire was selected to prototype FabLab, but the latest award will let the company continue to design it through until it is spaceflight ready.

"This is a rapidly evolving, disruptive area in which NASA wants to continue working with industry and academia to develop these technologies through collaborative mechanisms such as this one," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate programs.

Redwire shares rose almost 2% to $2.92 in the premarket session.

Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2023 07:58 ET (11:58 GMT)

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