6 August 2026 a subsidiary of Redwire Corporation — Space Microgravity Development (SpaceMD) — announced the acquisition of a separate mission on the SpaceX Starfall return vehicle. The launch is planned for the end 2028 year.
For reference: Redwire is an American aerospace and defense technology company, which
is a world leader in space infrastructure development, unmanned systems (UAV) and microgravity biotechnologies. In December 2024 year, the company officially entered the Ukrainian market, by registering a subsidiary company "Redwire Defense Tech Ukraine" LLC in Kyiv.
Space Microgravity Development specializes in space pharmacology, drug development, biotechnology and growing high-quality protein crystals in microgravity conditions (weightlessness)
для потреб земної медицини.
Апарат перевозитиме до 32 модернізованих експериментальних пакетів Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory (PIL-BOX) компанії Redwire. The mission will be used for pharmaceutical research using the adaptive microgravity environment and Starfall flight duration.
SpaceMD стала першою усталеною компанією з досліджень у мікрогравітації, яка оголосила про використання Starfall. WITH 2023 року Redwire доставила на МКС 54 системи PIL-BOX; will 12 заплановано до запуску цього року. Redwire CEO Peter Cannito noted, that Starfall's capabilities will significantly accelerate the delivery of pharmaceuticals, biotechnological and other services for production in microgravity. According to him, this mission will be the largest single commercial microgravity research mission to date.
The contract shows growing interest in commercial research and production
in microgravity, and also about increasing competition in the market of return devices.
Source: https://spacenews.com