Deep Space Industries (DSI) was an American privately held company founded in 2013 that operated in the space technology and space exploration sectors with the long-term vision of enabling space resource utilization. DSI focused on developing spacecraft and technologies for asteroid mining, including the Xplorer and Prospector spacecraft series and the Comet water-based propulsion system. Though the company's initial focus was asteroid mining, it later shifted towards small satellite technology. DSI was acquired by Bradford Space in January 1, 2019, which continues to develop some of its technologies.
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Bradford Space acquired Deep Space Industries in 2019 and gained the Comet propulsion technology through that acquisition.
Bradford Space acquired Deep Space Industries in 2019.
Since acquiring Deep Space Industries, Bradford Space has focused on organic growth and combining acquired capabilities to develop a maneuverable spacecraft bus.
By early 2019, Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources, the two major startups in the space resources industry, had been acquired by other companies with no interest in space resources.
Deep Space Industries developed the Comet propulsion system before Bradford Space acquired Deep Space Industries in January.
The 2018-12-03 SpaceX Falcon 9 launch also carried four satellites using Deep Space Industries’ Comet thrusters.
Planetary Resources was acquired by ConsenSys a little more than two months before Bradford Space acquired Deep Space Industries.
Deep Space Industries was founded in 2012 by a group of entrepreneurs and space advocates to develop technologies for prospecting and extracting space resources such as water ice from asteroids.
Bradford Space, a U.S.-owned company with facilities in the Netherlands and Sweden, acquired Deep Space Industries and announced the acquisition on 2019-01-01 with the deal closed and terms undisclosed.
Deep Space Industries has a contract to provide 20 Comet thrusters to LeoStella, the joint venture of Spaceflight Industries and Thales Alenia Space, for the BlackSky imaging-satellite constellation, under a deal disclosed on 2018-04-03.
Deep Space Industries raised a Series A round of more than $3,500,000 from a group of private investors on 2018-04-17.
Deep Space Industries unveiled asteroid mining plans in early 2013.
Rick Tumlinson helped establish Deep Space Industries in 2012.
Deep Space Industries is incorporating its Comet and Meteor propulsion systems into its own Xplorer smallsat bus, which is specifically designed for missions beyond Earth orbit.