RedWire is on a roll, ending the first quarter with nearly $32m in revenue and a backlog of $274m for the year, out of $547m in bids submitted.

“I wish RedWire,” Fayot says with a small smile in front of nearly 150 people, “success and many customers, but I'm not really worried.”

The atmosphere is amicable. A giant billboard of a satellite in space and televisions show films promoting the American new space company's technologies.

Lured to Luxembourg in 2018, during a visit to research center Nasa Ames by former economy minister Etienne Schneider, RedWire was an inflection point in the space technology race. It was probably with it that companies began to imagine producing infrastructure in space instead of taking it on board rockets.

40 people from 18 nationalities

The reason is quite simple: 90% of the costs of a launch are due to weight. The less material you take on board, the less you pay. Especially in the age of microsatellites, which launchers send into low orbit in tightly packed bunches.

“It's fantastic that you're here,” the minister enthused. “Fantastic for RedWire, but also for the Luxembourg ecosystem. You started in Paul Wurth's incubator, and here you are, with your multicultural flag flying, to continue your research and development.”

RedWire, which arrived with only Jarosław Jaworski (now the company's country manager), now employs 40 people of 18 nationalities--no Luxembourgers however--and is still recruiting.

Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman/Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman/Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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Nearly 150 people visited the new facilities of RedWire in Luxembourg, which has moved from Paul Wurth's incubator to the Cloche d'Or in order to focus on the development of its articulated arms that will be directly operational in space. (Photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne)

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The company's CEO, Peter Cannito was also present at the event. He had just arrived from California, but had time to meet with the Luxembourg Space Agency and the Defence Directorate. "When you add diversity to a group with a mission, you bring a lot of value to the individual development of your employees, the company and the country you are in! From my very intense day in Luxembourg, I will take many lessons with me."

"Because if a big part of the developments in space comes from the US, the US will not and cannot do it alone," Jaworski adds. "Luxembourg has its place in this concert."

Featured in the tour of the research lab was the articulated arm being prepared for the On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 2 (or OSAM-2) mission. It will demonstrate how a spacecraft can use additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, to create and assemble components in space. US Ambassador Thomas Barrett, arrived after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, but was able to join the tour.

Archinaut One to be launched next year

Also known as Archinaut One, the device is capable of creating a substitute solar panel in space. It has been the subject of an investment of more than $70m by Nasa and is due to be launched late next year, after passing its design test in early April.

"You could never bring enough hardware and you could never anticipate exactly what you'll need, especially when you get to the Moon and then to Mars," said Cannito. The implication is that you will need to produce in space.

"We are mainly working on two types of technology in Luxembourg: an articulated arm to capture waste from space, or even satellites, and to put them into another orbit if necessary," the company's country manager added. "And an articulated arm to do assembly in space."

RedWire is surfing on two major trends in new space. Moreover, it is now well established in Luxembourg, which it presents as its ideal gateway to the European market.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.