Aerospace manufacturer and space infrastructure technology company Redwire has built an onboard computer system for the European Space Agency’s Hera mission, Europe’s first planetary defense initiative.
The Hera mission is a follow-up to NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, which intentionally collided with Dimorphos, a moonlet orbiting the asteroid system known as Didymos. DART was the world’s first demonstration of asteroid deflection using kinetic impactor technology, seeking to mitigate the threat of a hazardous asteroid.
Hera will perform a detailed post-impact survey of Dimorphos to assess the effectiveness of DART’s kinetic impact. Redwire’s onboard computer, the third-generation Advanced Data and Power Management System, will serve as the brain of Hera’s main spacecraft, controlling all vital spacecraft operations, including power and navigation.
Redwire said the ADPMS-3 will also deploy and monitor the mission’s two companion cubesats, which will perform detailed surveys on the craters of Dimorphos and Didymos, the larger asteroid in the system, and record precise measurements.
Redwire’s wholly owned Belgian subsidiary, Redwire Space NV, developed the onboard computer through a contract with OHB Germany, the prime contractor for the Hera mission.
Erik Masure, president of Redwire Space Europe, said his company is honored to advance the global understanding of planetary defense and asteroids. “Redwire’s third-generation onboard computer, leveraging more than 25 years of flight heritage and avionics expertise, has become critical, enabling technology for today’s most ambitious missions,” the executive said in a statement.
The Hera mission is planned to launch in 2024 and rendezvous with the Didymos system in late 2026.
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