Partnership to Advance Extreme-Environment Modular Pallet and Lunar Surface Mobility Systems

Astroport Space Technologies, Inc. (“Astroport”), a premier provider of autonomous lunar construction solutions and in-situ materials manufacturing technologies, today announced that it has received a Phase II-E award from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR/STTR) program to accelerate development of its lunar surface infrastructure and extreme-environment civil engineering technologies. The award’s matching-funds requirement has been met through a strategic equity investment from Knight Aerospace (“Knight”), a global leader in specialized airborne modular systems and cargo palletization.

The joint effort unites Knight Aerospace’s advanced manufacturing and modular pallet integration capabilities with Astroport’s lunar site preparation architectures — including landing pads, secure haul roads, and protective infrastructure — to design, fabricate, and qualify payload integration pallets, deployment fixtures, and vacuum-rated containment systems built to withstand lunar surface gravity, extreme temperature swings, and hyper-abrasive dust.

Strategic Alignment and Shared Capabilities

Knight Aerospace, an established global leader in palletized, roll-on/roll-off systems and specialized modular air transport solutions, brings extensive manufacturing rigor, ISO/AS9100-certified engineering, and expertise in rapid-deployment containment systems. By acquiring an equity interest in Astroport, Knight Aerospace expands its operational footprint into the space domain, aligning its advanced packaging, transport, and modular container technologies with Astroport’s autonomous lunar surface development capabilities.

Together, the companies will build the logistics and construction architecture of the cislunar economy while delivering tangible dual-use dividends across multiple domains:

• San Antonio & Texas (Space Supply Chain Economy): Expanding advanced manufacturing infrastructure and creating high-skill aerospace jobs that anchor space industrial capacity in Texas.

• The Nation (Defense, Cislunar Primacy & Workforce): Securing American primacy in cislunar logistics, point-to-point responsive rocket cargo, and sovereign space infrastructure, while building the Artemis workforce pipeline through Astroport’s non-profit space education arm, the NASA-partnered WEX Foundation.

• Earth (Dual-Use Rocket Cargo Logistics Capability, Disaster & Defense Response): Translating intermodal modular enclosures for rapid response disaster relief and extreme-environment defense operations, into containerized packaging for lunar transportation of high value assets needed for Moon Base construction.

“NASA’s Phase II-E award validates the technology our team has built, and this partnership is about executing the operational blueprint for humanity's permanent presence beyond Earth,” said Sam Ximenes, Founder and CEO of Astroport Space Technologies. “Knight Aerospace brings unparalleled expertise in intermodal modular systems and aviation-grade manufacturing, embedding an established defense and aerospace manufacturing partner directly into our lunar surface supply chain. Together, capitalizing on the proximity of our respective facilities at Port San Antonio, we are creating a seamless technology transfer in the logistics chain from factory floor to lunar surface. Port San Antonio is already a major MRO, depot, and transportation logistics hub, and together we are extending that expertise to the Moon, defining what the future of MRO, depot, and logistics will look like beyond Earth.”

“As humanity transitions from lunar exploration to permanent surface operations, specialized payload integration and containment hardware become mission-critical,” said Bianca Rhodes, President and CEO of Knight Aerospace. “Astroport is solving the foundational challenges of off-planet infrastructure, and matching NASA’s Phase II-E award with our own capital reflects our commitment to scaling this capability together.

“Equally vital is our shared commitment to STEM workforce development. Astroport’s non-profit arm, the WEX Foundation, is working with NASA to prepare our youth for space careers, inspiring young minds and equipping them with real-world STEM skills. We are proud to invest in a company developing cutting-edge space technology that actively cultivates the workforce to build it – a powerful formula for industry capacity and growth.”

About Knight Aerospace

Knight Aerospace is an AS9100/ISO 9001-certified global leader in the design, engineering, and manufacture of specialized, interchangeable, roll-on/roll-off palletized modules, air medical transport suites, and air cargo containment systems. Headquartered at Port San Antonio, Texas, Knight delivers intermodal, custom modular logistics solutions for military, government, and commercial operators worldwide.

knightaerospace.com

About Astroport Space Technologies, Inc.

Astroport is a space civil engineering and materials manufacturing company based at Port San Antonio, Texas. Astroport develops patented autonomous robotic technologies that transform planetary soil (regolith) into durable feedstock for autonomous construction of landing pads, haul roads, blast and radiation shields, and habitats for NASA and commercial space missions. Its non-profit arm, the WEX Foundation, is a NASA education partner preparing the nation’s Artemis Generation for global leadership in space exploration.

astroportspace.com

wexfoundation.org

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