Voyager Space Holdings is expanding its range of space services through the purchase of a controlling interest in X.O. Markets, the organization that owns Nanoracks. Nanoracks has been a provider of commercial space services for a considerable period, and recently supplied the Bishop Airlock, which has been integrated into the International Space Station. Bishop represents the first commercial, permanent airlock on the ISS, substantially enhancing the ability to access the orbital platform for both private small satellites and scientific studies.

This marks Voyager’s third significant acquisition this year, following its majority stake purchase in The Launch Company, a business offering launch support services and equipment to aid in launch operations, collaborating with firms like Relativity, Firefly Aerospace, and Virgin Orbit. Voyager also acquired Pioneer Astronautics, a research and development firm specializing in propulsion, fuels, rapid prototyping, and related areas, in 2020, and Altius Space Machines in 2019. Altius is a developing company focused on technologies for maintaining and repairing satellites while they are in orbit.

The acquisition of Nanoracks is likely its most prominent to date, given the company’s participation in over 1,000 ISS projects, encompassing research conducted on the station, the deployment of small satellites from the platform, and other missions in orbit and beyond. Nanoracks developed a commercial platform for space testing external to the ISS, and is scheduled to test a technology on a SpaceX mission in the coming year that could potentially transform used upper stages of rockets into commercial, small space stations in orbit.

Voyager Space Holdings is actively acquiring new space businesses, creating a comprehensive portfolio capable of delivering clients more complete and integrated solutions than any of these companies could individually. While the financial specifics of these deals remain undisclosed, they increasingly demonstrate a viable route for smaller companies specializing in specific areas of the growing commercial space industry to achieve successful outcomes.