Acquisition—Moog Makes A Broad Reach…And Keeps It

[SatNews] This complimentary acquisition enables a better line-up of welcome products and services.

Moog Inc. has acquired Golden, Colorado, based Broad Reach Engineering Company for approximately $48 million to add spacecraft avionics and communications products and services to Moog’s line-up of precision control systems for satellites and launch vehicles.

“This acquisition gives us a capability from mission design through mission execution for commercial and military aerospace customers worldwide,” said Jay Hennig, president of Moog’s Space and Defense Group. “Broad Reach has extensive spaceflight heritage and an entrepreneurial spirit that impresses us.”

Broad Reach’s partnership with JPL to develop a new generation of GPS along with its strategic work with organizations such as Boeing, Lockheed, NASA and Orbital Sciences Corporation are just some of the projects and alliances that attracted Moog. Broad Reach Engineering’s products include spacecraft core avionics, a radiation-hardened microprocessor (i.e., BRE440 PowerPC™), spacecraft bus software, GPS, payload avionics, and ground support hardware and software. Broad Reach has supplied avionics for the AFRL’s XSS-11 mission, NASA’s LRO and LADEE lunar missions and gimbal drivers on the International Space Station.

“Broad Reach’s and Moog’s avionics products are different, but obviously complementary and proven,” said Chris McCormick, CEO of Broad Reach Engineering. “But it’s the spaceflight heritage between our respective companies’ ears that can help us capitalize on market trends like the move toward small, reliable spacecraft.”

Broad Reach Engineering employs approximately 60 people at locations in Golden, Colorado, San Jose, California and Tempe, Arizona. These employees—a mix of engineers, support personnel and manufacturing workers—will begin working for Moog effective immediately.

McCormick will join Moog as group vice president of the Space and Defense Group’s Space Sector replacing industry veteran Doug Morash who is retiring.

“Doug has been the face of our space business for more than 30 years,” added Hennig. “You can’t replace someone like Doug. But you can ensure the level of excellence continues by tapping into Chris’ expertise and entrepreneurship.”

Prior to the acquisition, Moog joined Broad Reach Engineering as an investor in PlanetIQ, a start-up company that plans to launch a constellation of micro satellites to gather real-time data about the Earth and its atmosphere.

Before McCormick founded Broad Reach Engineering in 1997, he worked at Spectrum Astro and as a contractor for DARPA’s Advance Space Technology Program offices.