Space Cargo Unlimited (Space Cargo), which develops autonomous space manufacturing platforms and mission services for commercial microgravity research and manufacturing, has announced a strategic investment in Novespace, Europe's leading provider of parabolic flight services and a subsidiary of CNES (France’s national space agency ).
Parabolic flight services are flights in specially modified aircraft that repeatedly climb and dive along a parabolic trajectory. During part of each manoeuvre, the aircraft and everything inside it are effectively in free fall, creating around 22 seconds of microgravity. Researchers use this to test hardware, conduct biological and medical experiments, and validate technologies before sending them into space.
The move comes at a pivotal moment for Europe's space sector as governments and industry prepare for a future beyond the International Space Station, where commercial providers will play an increasingly important role in supporting research, manufacturing and human spaceflight.
As commercial activity in low Earth orbit continues to evolve, complementary platforms will become increasingly important in providing more flexible and repeatable access to microgravity for research, manufacturing and future commercial missions.
The investment makes Space Cargo a shareholder alongside CNES, expanding the company's portfolio of microgravity access points and reinforcing its long-term vision to build an integrated fleet supporting research, technology development, manufacturing and return-to-Earth operations.
At the centre of this strategy is BentoBox, Space Cargo’s modular Space Factory platform, which enables customers to access microgravity across multiple vehicles and mission profiles.
The addition of Novespace brings parabolic flight into a wider offering alongside future orbital manufacturing and return-to-Earth capabilities, giving customers greater flexibility to select the right platform for each stage of product development.
For more than 35 years, Novespace, a subsidiary of CNES, has enabled researchers, technology developers and astronauts to access short-duration microgravity through parabolic flight campaigns.
These flights provide an important environment for testing and validating technologies before they progress to longer-duration orbital missions, making Novespace a natural addition to Space Cargo Unlimited's growing fleet of complementary microgravity platforms.
Nicolas Gaume, Co-founder and CEO of Space Cargo, said:
"Europe has world-class science, engineering and innovation. The next challenge is giving researchers and businesses access to the right infrastructure to turn ideas into products.
By investing in Novespace, we're strengthening that journey from early microgravity research through to future commercial manufacturing in orbit."
Thomas Pesquet, CEO of Novespace, added:
"Parabolic flight sits at the crossroads of extreme aviation and cutting-edge space research. What Novespace has achieved so far is nothing short of remarkable, establishing itself as the world leader in its field. I’m incredibly proud to be part of this team, and there is nowhere else I would rather be today… except perhaps in space!
We are delighted to welcome SCU as a shareholder, helping us open the door to new markets and new customers.
With the extraordinary momentum we are seeing today in space exploration and research, the possibilities ahead are limitless.”
As part of the investment, Nicolas Gaume will join the Novespace Board, strengthening collaboration between the two organisations as they continue to develop a more integrated commercial microgravity offering.
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