The space infrastructure technology company Redwire Corporation has been chosen by the space logistics enterprise Sierra Space to transform one of its Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) modules into a biotech platform in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Launching in 2026, the demonstration mission of LIFE in LEO will be equipped with Redwire ADvanced Space Experiment Processors (ADSEP) and its PIL-BOXs (Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – Bio-crystal Optimization Xperiment) to demonstrate the pharmaceutical production business case for larger future stations, like Orbital Reef.
Sierra Space and @RedwireSpace have formed a strategic partnership in the collaboration of commercial pharmaceutical and biotech R&D and manufacturing in LEO, that will be integrated into Sierra Space's LIFE habitat platform.
— Sierra Space (@SierraSpaceCo) August 21, 2023
Press Release: https://t.co/L0vPcZ5oHS pic.twitter.com/psDN1n6LPn
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Sierra Space LIFE, a multipurpose inflatable habitat and much more
The Large Integrated Flexible Environment, or LIFE for short, is an inflatable habitat that can reach orbit on commercial rockets, where it inflates into a larger structure. The standard module has a diameter of 27 feet and 300 cubic meters of pressurized volume. Sierra Space aims to use LIFE both in a stand-alone version and as a module to build scalable environments, like space stations or Lunar/Martian habitats.
LIFE ground prototypes have already been built, taking into account NASA requirements on meteoroid impacts and thermal capability. Four stress tests happened in 2022, while a full-scale test is planned for the fall of 2023.
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Redwire ADSEP and PIL-BOX, automatic science in space
The ADSEP device is a fully automated laboratory for various science experiments. It is made of three independent thermal zones, each capable of hosting a swappable cassette, containing the experiment to be run. The pharmaceutical research cassette is called PIL-BOX (Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – Bio-crystal Optimization Xperiment) and has been developed by Redwire in collaboration with Ely-Lilly.
“The ADSEP is like the Nintendo, and the PIL-BOX is the cartridge you put in it.”
Mike Gold, Redwire’s chief growth officer
In January 2023, an ADSEP was installed on the ISS and is expected to run experiments hosted in three different PIL-BOX cassettes.
The hardware for the LIFE mission is under development, the deliveries will start in the last months of 2023.
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