• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • News
  • Featured
  • More News ⌄
    • SatNews
    • SatMagazine
    • MilSatMagazine
  • Events ⌄
    • SmallSat Symposium
    • Satellite Innovation
  • Contacts
  • SUBSCRIPTION

SmallSat News

You are here: Home / News / Nikon Rockets Into Satellite Parts By Buying Boeing-Backed Startup

Nikon Rockets Into Satellite Parts By Buying Boeing-Backed Startup

April 5, 2021 by editorial

The Small Satellite Orbital Deployer on the International Space Station is shown in this NASA photo. The market for small satellites is expected to grow.

Japanese camera maker Nikon has bought a majority stake in U.S. startup Morf3D, an aerospace supplier whose customers include Boeing, in a deal estimated at nearly 10 billion yen ($91 million), Nikkei has learned.

The acquisition, which took place on Friday and will be announced Tuesday, gives Nikon a foothold in the supply chain for small satellites, a growing field of the aerospace industry.

Driving the move is the shrinking market for one of Japan’s leading camera brands.

California-based Morf3D was founded in 2015 and mainly makes parts for satellites using 3D printing. The company has received funding from Boeing’s venture capital arm and also does business with other American and European aerospace companies.

Nikon gains representation on Morf3D’s board of directors and will send engineers to the startup to solidify their operational ties.

Satellite components must be both strong and lightweight, with as few bolted or other joints as possible.

Nikon has strength in optical processing machines, a kind of 3D printing technology used to build up metal components from a powder-like material. The company will apply this technology to making aerospace components for sale through Morf3D’s sales channels.

The small-satellite market is expected to grow to $7.1 billion in 2025 from $2.8 billion in 2020, according to Indian research firm MarketsandMarkets.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to launch a network of 12,000 satellites to provide global high-speed internet access, while Amazon looks to put into orbit over 3,000 communication satellites.

Suyoshi Tamehiro, Nikkei staff writer, Nikkei Asia

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019

© 2019–2021 SatNews

x
Sign Up Now!

Enjoy a free weekly newsletter with recent headlines from the global SmallSat industry.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing! You will now receive weekly SmallSat News updates.
We love our advertisers.
And you will too!

Please disable Ad Blocker to continue... We promise to keep it unobtrusive.
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.