HNu Photonics

HNu Photonics is an electro-opto-mechanical design and manufacturing company based in Kahului, on Maui, Hawaii, founded in 2006. Alongside defense photonics, specialized optics and renewable-energy work, it develops the Scorpio-V Bio-Chip Space-Lab (BCSL), a compact automated platform that lets academic and industry researchers run long-term cell-culturing experiments with live-cell imaging in microgravity without requiring a crew member to manually tend the cultures.

The company flew a Mobile SpaceLab demonstration of the platform to the International Space Station aboard Northrop Grumman's CRS-13 cargo mission in February 2020, with Dr. Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell as principal investigator, to validate its automated cell-culture and imaging capabilities in orbit. HNu has also received grants to study how microgravity affects neuronal cytoskeletal structure and intracellular trafficking, extending the platform's use into life-sciences research beyond the original validation flight.

As of 2024, the ISS National Laboratory listed HNu Photonics among companies with commercial ISS facilities in preparation, indicating planned follow-on hardware beyond the 2020 demonstration.

HNu Photonics operates its own CNC machining, optical fabrication and electronics development facilities in-house and serves industrial, research, military, aerospace and university customers. It remains a small, privately held company, with LinkedIn listing roughly 20 employees.