What happened
Specialty electric vehicle (EV) maker Canoo (GOEV 2.59%) is vaulting into space.
Well, not exactly, but news of the company's first delivery of its crew transportation vehicles (CTVs) to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) got investors excited about the company on Wednesday. Its share price leaped more than 6% higher as a result, crushing the 0.7% gain of the S&P 500 index on what was generally a fine day for stocks.
So what
NASA has taken delivery of three Canoo CTVs, which are multi-passenger EVs designed specifically to shuttle space mission crews to the launch pad. The most prominent members of such crews are, of course, the ones occupying the spacecraft, and the vehicles are outfitted to accommodate fully suited astronauts destined for their craft.
The CTVs will be utilized to bring astronauts to the launch pad for NASA's upcoming Artemis missions, its first excursions to the moon in decades. The agency intends to build a long-term presence on the moon for research and exploration purposes.
The first crewed mission, Artemis II, will see four astronauts orbit the moon and return to Earth. That flight should last for around 10 days, NASA said.
Now what
In its press release trumpeting the NASA arrangement, Canoo quoted CEO Tony Aquila as saying, "It's a very proud day for Canoo and all of our partners who worked so hard to ensure we perform our part to transport the astronauts for the first nine miles of every launch."
While the provision of three vehicles isn't going to have a big impact on Canoo's operations or finances, it's encouraging that the company has a (seemingly) healthy partnership with an important government agency. This gives it legitimacy, not to mention a potentially long-term customer with a large budget.
