Virginia defense contractor buys Orion Space Solutions

LOUISVILLE — Orion Space Solutions LLC, a Louisville aerospace company that rebranded last year from Atmospheric & Space Technology Research Associates LLC (ASTRA), has been acquired by Arcfield, a Chantilly, Virginia-based defense contractor that is owned by private equity firm Veritas Capital. 

The Boulder County company’s “key capabilities include the design, integration, and assembly of SmallSats and CubeSats, as well as the development of sensors, computational models and data products for the space and ground network domains,” Arcfield said in a news release.

Those capabilities enhance “Arcfield’s space exploration and hypersonic detection and tracking capabilities for agencies in the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence community by bringing expertise in sensor and payload design, SmallSat and CubeSat spacecraft integration and manufacturing, and space mission operations and data analysis to the company,” the release said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

“For nearly two decades, Orion has been developing space-based solutions for national security and intelligence mission challenges, built on a foundation of science,” Orion CEO Geoff Crowley said in the release. “As a leader in systems engineering and integration and space and mission launch assurance, Arcfield is highly complementary to Orion, and the combination will help us expand our core capabilities and develop new, cutting-edge space-based technologies for our customers.”An Arcfield executive told the Denver Business Journal that the company plans to keep Orion’s Louisville team in place and could hire additional Colorado workers.

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