The European Space Agency (ESA) Satis mission is an ambitious 12UXL CubeSat mission concept designed in the frame of planetary defence activities. The overarching Satis mission objective is to characterize the physical properties of the near-Earth asteroid Apophis before, during, and after its Earth closest approach in April 2029.

To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed ESA mission, Redwire’s team in Belgium is leading a consortium of companies and universities that will help ESA decide if the mission moves forward. The main scientific objectives of Satis are to determine the inner structure of Apophis and estimate its regolith strength and cohesion, and to determine the long-term orbital trajectory of the asteroid.

While leading the Satis consortium, Redwire will also lead the design of the mission and its systems. The phase A of the study will end August 2024, followed by the preliminary requirements review and the start of phase B1, which will kick off the system design of the cubesat.

This is not the first planetary defense mission for Redwire. Redwire provided Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSAs) and digital sun sensors for NASA’s DART mission and the Data Handling Subsystem for ESA’s HERA mission, both studying binary asteroid Didymos. Redwire is also providing the on-board computer for ESA’s Comet Interceptor, which will be the first spacecraft to visit a long-period, dynamically new comet or interstellar object.

Learn more about Redwire’s work for the Comet Interceptor mission here.