Robotic Asteroid Mining Company Honeybee Robotics to be Acquired by Blue Origin

Aerospace company Blue Origin announced its intention to acquire a robotic asteroid mining startup, Honeybee Robotics, which has operations in Longmont, Colorado and Altadena, California. Honeybee Robotics will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Origin, headquartered in Kent, Washington.

The deal between Honeybee’s parent organization, Ensign-Bickford Industries, and Blue Origin is expected to close in mid-February. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Since 1983, Honeybee Robotics has delivered more than 1,000 advanced projects to government and industrial customers in the spacecraft, planetary exploration, defense robotics, medical devices, mining, oil and gas, and utility infrastructure sectors. Its reliable robotic systems operate throughout space, from commercial launch vehicles and satellites to doing innovative 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 is complementary to Blue Origin’s system capability’s goal of making space flight routine, and vision of opening space resources to benefit Earth.

Honeybee’s current business will continue to operate “business as usual” with no notable 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, efficiencies, and innovations as they work together to develop space to benefit Earth.