Orbital Sciences is to acquire the spacecraft development and manufacturing business of General Dynamics subsidiary GD Advanced Information Systems.

They will also buy a 135,000ft² space systems manufacturing, integration and test facility that will provide additional satellite manufacturing capacity to accommodate the firm’s anticipated growth.

The acquisition will strengthen Orbital’s capabilities to design and manufacture Earth science, weather and climate monitoring, and space-based astronomy satellite systems.

The advanced medium-class GD spacecraft platforms will add to Orbital’s existing small-satellite product line and enable it to serve civil government agencies such as Nasa, the NOAA and the US Defense Department.

Orbital chairman and CEO David W Thompson said that there was a strategic fit between Orbital’s current satellite business and the GD spacecraft unit in terms of the markets, customers and the types of satellite platforms.

The transaction is expected to be finalised within the next month.