Shares of Redwire Corp. (RDW) soared 5.22% in the premarket trading session on Thursday, following an announcement of a partnership with Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) to manufacture research payload lockers for Virgin Galactic's upcoming Delta-class spaceships.
The partnership aims to significantly enhance Virgin Galactic's microgravity research capabilities. Redwire, a leading provider of space infrastructure and innovation, will leverage its decades of experience in developing biotech and industrial-manufacturing technologies for microgravity environments. The company will build customizable "plug-and-play" lockers designed for autonomous and human-tended research, allowing real-time data transmission during spaceflights.
The lockers will also enable researchers to transition their suborbital experiments to payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at a lower cost and risk. This partnership is expected to further expand the commercial space innovation market and provide new opportunities for suborbital-to-orbital research and development.