Astrobotic

A space robotics company making space accessible to the world, Astrobotic was founded in 2007 at Carnegie Mellon and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. They develop advanced navigation, operation, and computing systems for spacecraft, and their fleet of lunar landers and rovers deliver payloads to the Moon for companies, governments, universities, non-profits, and individuals.

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Quotes from History

We want to make it accessible to our region, to our next generation and make it possible for people to start to recognize that space is not owned by some old guys living and working in an ivory tower somewhere that I can never touch... Space is done here; space is done down the street.
John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic

Astrobotic Special Event (2022):

Building a Space Industry in the Steel City

Several years ago, John Thornton, chief executive of Astrobotic, presented his company’s plans to build lunar landers at a “pitch day” in the company’s hometown of Pittsburgh, an event where startups describe their businesses and look for investors and customers. It didn’t go well. “The judges laughed the entire time during my pitch,” recalled Thornton. “They just couldn’t imagine there’s a space company in Pittsburgh.”

Now, his company is completing its first lunar lander, Peregrine, slated to launch as soon as late this year. The NASA contracts for both that lander and a second, larger one, Griffin, have allowed the company to grow from 18 employees three years ago to nearly 10 times that today.

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Updated: May 25, 2022

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