Zero Gravity to test fertiliser on International Space Station

Zero Gravity Solutions will take its BAM-FX fertiliser to the International Space Station in order to test whether the product could help grow plant-life in outer space. The company also plans to list in the US once it has completed rasing capital in a $7 million funding round.

Zero Gravity Solutions board chairman Harvey Kaye said his company’s flagship product, BAM-FX, will be delivered to the International Space Station via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Dragon rocket. It is scheduled for launch on 21 March next year. The project will establish the nutritional effects of the product on broccoli in a microgravity environment. Kaye, speaking at the Livingston Nanotechnology Conference in New York, said his long-term goal is to see BAM-FX used to support food sources for astronauts on long-term space missions.

Kaye declined to share specifics on the structure of the research to be undertaken on the International Space Station, saying he did not wish to divulge information on a space mission with multiple stakeholders. Kaye said more information on the work would be available after the conclusion of the 30-day study.

In addition to securing approval for the project with the collaboration of space-tech companies, Intrinsyx and Nanoracks, Kaye told Agri Investor that his company has raised an additional $1 million since announcing the close of a $3 million initial tranche in an anticipated $7 million funding round. Kaye said the company will take action toward gaining a listing on a senior US stock exchange as soon as the funding round is complete.

“As soon as we close this transaction, we are immediately going to do an S-1 registration. We want to create a liquidity event for investors,” he said. “We look to have a 10 or 15 million share float by June of next year if not sooner, and we expect to list on the Nasdaq national market.”

As reported last week by Agri Investor, Zero Gravity Solutions recently reshuffled its board in order to conform to standards for Nasdaq-listed corporations. The company currently has roughly 120,000 shares listed publicly on the US pink sheets market. However, the majority of its funding comes through venture capital and private equity investors.

The upcoming trial will be the seventh trip to the International Space Station by Zero Gravity Solutions. However, it will be the first time the company has relied on privately sponsored spaceflight to access the station. Kaye said the emergence of commercial spaceflight is opening tremendous potential for new products developed through research done in zero and microgravity environments.

“We’re using new technology that has only recently become available to us because prior to this, we couldn’t get up into space. If there was one shuttle program every three years, that was not good enough to do real research.”