Space Explored by Seth Kurkowski | Nov 29 2023
In a rare move, SpaceX has acquired one of its vendors for $2.2 million after the parachute manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month. Named Pioneer Aerospace, the company built and sold parachute systems to both SpaceX, NASA, and the Department of Defense.
SpaceX acquires its own venderA reason why SpaceX has been able to move so fast is because since its inception, the company has pushed to build as much as it can in house. This leads to few outside suppliers and when there is one, you know that component is extremely important and SpaceX has yet to figure out how to do it better by itself.
It seems like parachutes were one of those items SpaceX had to go outside of the company to get for its Dragon spacecraft. Pioneer Aerospace, was that privilege vender to supply parachute systems for SpaceX’s Cargo and Crew Dragon 2 vehicles, according to the company’s website.
Pioneer also produced parachute for various NASA missions and serviced the defense and aviation markets too. However, it didn’t seem to be enough to sustain a business as it merged with Aviation Safety Resources, another parachute manufacturer, in 2022. The two then filed for bankruptcy on November 1.
More:
https://spaceexplored.com/2023/11/29/spacex-acquires-its-parachute-vender-out-of-bankruptcy-for-2-2-million/
