Astrobotic to open lunar logistics HQ in Pittsburgh

State-of-the-art facility for the development of lunar landers and rovers to open in May 2020.

Astrobotic Technology Inc. plans to open a state-of-the-art headquarters for lunar logistics in May 2020. The 47,000ft2 facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s North Side neighborhood of Manchester will house the company’s spacecraft integration cleanrooms, test facilities, lab spaces, rover test labs, payload operations room, and dedicated mission control.

“This new facility marks the next phase of Astrobotic’s growth and will be the primary hub for lunar logistics in the United States. Our headquarters will be used to design, build, and test lunar landers and rovers all under one roof, and then operate those vehicles from our own mission control right here in Pittsburgh,” said Astrobotic CEO John Thornton.

The facility will feature 15,000ft2 of cleanroom and lab space that can support up to 4 lunar lander missions simultaneously. Within the lab space, there will be environmental test facilities designed to simulate lunar and launch vehicle environments for mission hardware operations, a machine shop for parts manufacturing, a fluids lab for propulsion testing, and a high-power lab for battery assembly and testing. In addition to these lander mission development capabilities, the new facility will feature a space mobility and lunar simulant lab, where mobile rovers can test drive in synthetic lunar regolith.

Once customer payload integration is completed, finished lunar landers and rovers will be transported to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for integration with launch vehicles. Following launch, Astrobotic will operate the mission from its Pittsburgh-headquartered mission control including the landing, power, communications, and rover operations on the moon.

The headquarters will be a short walk from the Carnegie Science Center and Heinz Field. The new facility will host Astrobotic’s growing workforce, which has tripled in the last 4 months and continues to expand at a rapid pace.

Astrobotic’s lunar lander, Peregrine, offers payloads to the moon for companies, governments, universities, non-profits, and individuals for $1.2 million per kilogram. NASA selected Astrobotic in May 2019 for a $79.5 million contract to deliver payloads to the moon in 2021. The company also is developing advanced space robotics capabilities such as terrain-relative navigation, mobile robotics for lunar surface operations, and reliable computing systems for mission-critical applications.

Astrobotic has more than 30 prior and ongoing NASA and commercial technology contracts, a commercial partnership with Airbus DS, and a corporate sponsorship with DHL. Founded in 2007, Astrobotic is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.