The First Commercial Space Greenhouse is Ready for Orbit

Aug 17, 2022

Inaugural commercial space greenhouse could be in orbit as early as 2023.

Redwire Corporation recently announced its plan to develop the sole commercially owned and managed spaceflight-qualified plant growth platform in space able to grow plants from seed to maturity, according to a release.

The platform is set to launch in space no earlier than the spring of 2023. Redwire Greenhouse will act as the first commercially owned greenhouse positioned on the International Space Station (ISS).

Dewey Scientific, a commercial agricultural technology company, is Redwire’s first presumed customer for the inaugural flight. The platform will provide valuable insights for crop scientists and enhance the capability to grow full crops in space, believes Redwire.

“Redwire Greenhouse will expand opportunities for scientific discovery to improve crop production on Earth and enable critical research for crop production in space to benefit future long-duration human spaceflight,” said Dave Reed, Florida Launch Site Operations director and Greenhouse project manager at Redwire. “Growing full crops in space will be critical to future space exploration missions as plants provide food, oxygen and water reclamation. Increasing the throughput of crop production research in space, through commercially developed capabilities, will be important to deliver critical insights for NASA’s Artemis missions and beyond.”

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Video: Residue Management

Residue Management conservation practice manages the amount, orientation, and distribution of crop and other plant residue on the soil surface year-round while limiting soil-disturbing activities used to grow and harvest crops in systems where the field surface is tilled prior to planting. This video explores how Ryan McKenzie implemented this conservation practice on his farm in Samson, Alabama.

Practice benefits:

• Increases organic matter

• Improves air quality

• Decreases energy costs

• Reduces erosion

• Improves soil health

The Conservation at Work video series was created to increase producer awareness of common conservation practices and was filmed at various locations throughout the country. Because conservation plans are specific to the unique resource needs on each farm and also soil type, weather conditions, etc., these videos were designed to serve as a general guide to the benefits of soil and water conservation and landowners should contact their local USDA office for individual consultation.