Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Acquires Honeybee Robotics
Blue Origin, a suborbital spaceflight company founded by Jeff Bezos, is acquiring Honeybee Robotics for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close in mid-February 2022, after which Honeybee Robotics will become a subsidiary of Blue Origin.
Founded in 1983, Honeybee Robotics is an engineering research and development company that has completed more than 1,000 projects for government and industrial clients in spacecraft, planetary exploration, defense robotics, medical devices, mining, oil and gas, and utility infrastructure.
Its innovative, reliable and truly pioneering robotic systems operate in space: on commercial launch vehicles and satellites, and perform groundbreaking work on the Moon, Mars and Titan. Honeybee's extensive experience in planetary robotics and mechanisms, drills, motors, actuators, drive electronics and specialized space mechanisms complements Blue Origin's systems capabilities.
The company is best known for developing robotic systems for the space industry, including actuators, drills and sample collection systems for several Mars missions.
Honeybee and Blue Origin had already collaborated before the deal. In December 2021, NASA announced that Honeybee Robotics was developing a system to test the behavior of viscous bubbles in lunar gravity. This could help researchers understand methods of molten regolith electrolysis that could be used to extract oxygen from lunar soil. The technology is planned to fly on Blue Origin's suborbital New Shepard rocket system.
Honeybee Robotics' major facilities are located in Longmont, Colorado, and Altadena, California. Blue Origin, which has grown out of a series of successful spaceflights, is based in Kent, Washington.
Blue Origin said Honeybee's capabilities and experience complement the company's goals of making spaceflight routine and opening space resources for the benefit of Earth.
“We are delighted to welcome Honeybee Robotics to our team. We know Honeybee's leadership. We value the company's brand, talent, unique experience and product lines. And we know that together we will make bold things possible”
Honeybee's business will continue to operate as usual, with no noticeable changes to its brand, leaders, customer commitments, products, services or processes. Over time, the combined capabilities of Honeybee and Blue Origin will create new opportunities, efficiency and innovation as they work together to develop space for the benefit of Earth.
“We have built Honeybee's capabilities and brand for almost 40 years. Joining Blue Origin is a big step forward for us. We thank the entire EBI family for their support over the past four and a half years. With Blue Origin, we look forward to further expanding our ability to tackle the most interesting challenges in next-generation space transportation, space mobility, space destinations, and planetary science and exploration”
In 2017, Honeybee Robotics was acquired by Ensign-Bickford Industries, a 181-year-old private corporation headquartered in Simsbury, Connecticut.
Honeybee Robotics builds advanced robotic systems for the world's most demanding environments and applications. It is an engineering research and development company that creates unique solutions for its clients' challenges on Earth and in space.
Its robotic solutions are designed to improve user interaction and expand capabilities beyond what is currently possible. Honeybee Robotics makes next-generation applications a reality through creative co-design, where the best minds are combined with the best technologies.
As a research and development services provider, Honeybee Robotics is deeply committed to delivering results for its clients and partners, from early-stage feasibility studies through prototyping, manufacturing and product validation. Since 1983, Honeybee Robotics has completed more than 1,000 advanced projects for NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the scientific community, industry and other organizations.
Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos with the goal of enabling a future in which millions of people live and work in space for the benefit of Earth. The company believes that to preserve Earth, humanity must expand, explore, find new energy and material resources, and move industries that burden Earth into space.
Blue Origin is working on this today by developing partially and fully reusable launch vehicles that are safe, affordable and meet the needs of all civil, commercial and defense customers. Blue Origin's efforts to carry astronauts to space on New Shepard, produce reusable liquid rocket engines, build the reusable orbital launch vehicle New Glenn, and return Americans to the lunar surface will add new chapters to the history of spaceflight and bring the world closer to realizing this fundamental vision.
