Voyager Technologies completes acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic

A Pittsburgh company that is helping shape the future of space exploration is now entering a new chapter.

The Colorado-based Voyager Technologies has officially acquired Astrobotic, located on Pittsburgh's North Side, keeping space-based technology in the area. But what does this acquisition mean for the future of Astrobotic?

"Pittsburgh is going to be a part of building the moon base on the moon," said John Thornton, executive vice president of lunar systems.

Astrobotic designs, builds, and tests spacecraft, lunar landers, and rovers that go to the moon.

They say this deal only strengthens their ability to grow while keeping Pittsburgh at the center of the work.

"This company has continued to grow and excel, and we know they're looking at expansion over at the North Side, so I think the more we can support a local company that not only brings attention nationally and worldwide to Pittsburgh, the better off we all are," Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O'Connor said.

With the sale also comes a major investment: two separate NASA contracts worth nearly $300 million to build and launch lunar landers.

"Three payloads on each one of the missions, so those payloads are basically going to go do science on the surface of the moon in different locations," Thornton said. "The whole purpose is to, A, make sure we can build landers reliably and cheaply, affordably on a regular basis, then B, demonstrate that we can collect science data on the surface of the moon."

It's the first step in what leaders say is, hopefully, the beginning of building a sustained human presence on the moon.

"It will develop our capabilities to fly routine regular flights, open the doors to future cargo deliveries and science missions out to the surface of the moon, and this is laying the groundwork for the very beginnings of building the moon base on the moon," Thornton added.

"We were steel. Now, not only are we looking at space and different technologies, and again, it's our city being able to tell the new Pittsburgh story about what we're about right now and where we're going in the future," O'Connor said.

Voyager says the team is now working on the landers scheduled to launch to the moon in 2028.