CesiumAstro, a space and defense communications systems and satellites company, has received $200 million in financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, or EXIM, in partnership with J.P. Morgan.
The transaction represents the largest financing completed under EXIM’s Make More in America program and among the most substantial government-supported transactions in domestic space manufacturing, CesiumAstro said Thursday.
“This investment marks a defining moment for CesiumAstro and for America’s space and defense industrial base,” said Shey Sabripour, founder and CEO of CesiumAstro. “As a non-traditional defense contractor, we’re scaling domestic production at unprecedented speed, creating high-quality American jobs and proving that commercial innovation can deliver at national scale.”
How will CesiumAstro Use the Funding?
The financing will be used to purchase a 270,000-square-foot facility in West Austin, Texas, to support full-rate domestic manufacturing of space and defense communications systems. The funding package consists of a $185 million debt facility authorized by EXIM and a $15 million revolving credit facility provided by J.P. Morgan. The company expects operations at the expanded site to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
Why Is CesiumAstro Expanding?
The expansion is expected to generate more than $500 million in investment over five years and bring design, manufacturing, assembly and testing into a single U.S. operation. It intends to add more than 500 high-skilled jobs in Texas and over 1,000 personnel worldwide.
“By supporting CesiumAstro’s expansion, EXIM is strengthening our nation’s industrial base, securing the technologies that underpin next generation communications, and ensuring these critical capabilities are built here in the United States,” said John Jovanovic, president and chairman of EXIM.
