Swarm Technologies, designer of small satellites to manage internet-of-things services, has been acquired by SpaceX. Swarm submitted filings to the Federal Communications Commission for seeking permission to transfer its satellites to SpaceX.
Swarm will persist to work as solely owned subsidiary of SpaceX. However, the financial details of the transaction were not revealed. The company claims that it has the most miniature commercially operational satellites in space, with a mass of 400 grams.
“Swarm’s services will benefit from the better capitalization and access to resources available to SpaceX, as well as the synergies associated with acquisition by a provider of satellite design, manufacture, and launch services,” Swarm said in the filing.
SpaceX latest purchase of Swarm is in a series of moves as it works to extend its lead in the space race. In early 2020, SpaceX also launched 60 Starlink satellites on its Falcon 9 rocket, bringing the total number of satellites launched by the company to 835.
In an announcement, SpaceX said that it landed a $178 million contract from NASA for a mission to Jupiter. The mission is named Europa Clipper, which is scheduled for October 2024.
