Redwire’s Belgian subsidiary Redwire Space NV has secured a study contract from the European Space Agency to design a spacecraft that could be sent to Mars as part of the space agency’s LightShip program.
Redwire said the contract supports one of four parallel industry studies ESA has organized to evaluate viable small satellite platforms for future Mars missions. LightShip, a planned ESA Mars electric propulsive tug for interplanetary transfer service, will ferry the platforms to orbit around the Red Planet.
Hammerhead Smallsat Design
Redwire Space will design the spacecraft for LightShip based on its Hammerhead smallsat platform and avionics systems, which featured in ESA’s recent Hera mission.
Erik Masure, president of Redwire Space Europe, said his team will seek to develop compact, cost-efficient platforms through the project, “pushing the boundaries of smallsat innovation.”
“Together, we are setting the stage for the next generation of space exploration,” the executive added.
ESA-Redwire Partnership
ESA has been collaborating with the company’s European unit in Belgium in various programs for 40 years. Redwire Space is the prime contractor for the Proba missions for smallsat technology demonstrations and Skimsat, a similar project focused on low Earth orbit spacecraft. In February, ESA awarded Redwire Space a contract to support the development of a spacecraft for the ARRAKIHS mission to study dark matter in the universe.
Besides Redwire, the other three consortia ESA selected for LightShip will be led by Argotec, Deimos Space and Politecnico di Milano with SITAEL.