Fortastra Taps Hadrian for Satellite Production at Automated Factories

A spacecraft developer just made the case for buying manufacturing capacity instead of building it. Fortastra, which designs autonomous orbital systems, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hadrian to produce satellite components inside Hadrian's existing automated factories. The deal covers metal and polymer 3D printing, binder jetting, CNC machining, and other processes, all evaluated against Fortastra's specific bus requirements.

What the partnership actually covers

The scope is broader than just printing parts. Hadrian engineers will join Fortastra's design reviews and milestone checks, weighing in on manufacturability and risk as programs advance. Fortastra will reciprocate by sharing standards expertise: MIL-STD, ECSS, SMC, and NASA qualification requirements that Hadrian must meet to certify processes for orbital use.

Mike Smayda, Fortastra's CEO, framed the deal around speed. "This partnership brings world-class manufacturing expertise directly into our engineering process, positioning us to pursue funded prototype efforts that validate advanced manufacturing's impact on satellite development for national security missions."

Why buy instead of build

Standing up an automated factory is expensive and slow. Hadrian already runs factories in Hawthorne and Torrance, California, with a 270,000-square-foot Arizona facility under construction. The company raised roughly $500 million to date, including a $260 million Series C in mid-2025.

Fortastra's choice mirrors a pattern across aerospace and defense. Divergent Technologies built its business supplying Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Triumph Group without those customers ever standing up their own factories. Saab used Divergent to produce a five-meter fuselage from 26 additively manufactured parts, assembled robotically without dedicated tooling.

For a young company, the math is straightforward. Partnering trades some manufacturing control for delivery speed that internal build-out cannot match on a startup timeline.

The bigger picture

Hadrian launched its additive division in early 2026 specifically to move 3D printing from prototyping into serial production for defense customers. The Fortastra deal is one of the first public tests of whether that bet pays off.

Satellite manufacturing still relies heavily on low-rate, labor-intensive processes. If Hadrian's software-driven factories can deliver qualified parts at volume, the partnership could become a reference point for other small aerospace firms facing the same build-versus-buy decision.