London, 25 October 2023 – Redwire corporation, an American aerospace manufacturer and space infrastructure technology company, announced that it has been awarded a contract with OHB Italia. Redwire will provide the onboard computer for the European Space Agency’s Comet Interceptor mission- Implementation Phase. ESA’s Comet Interceptor will be the first spacecraft to visit a long-period, dynamically new comet or interstellar object.
Redwire’s Belgian subsidiary, Redwire Space NV, will develop the onboard computer for the mission. It will be designed to monitor and control the spacecraft and will transmit crucial data to operators on the ground. It is part of Redwire’s third generation Advanced Data and Power Management System.
“We are proud to partner with OHB Italy and ESA to enable the first-of-its-kind Comet Interceptor mission with critical technology to deepen our understanding of the solar system,” said Erik Masure, President of Redwire Space Europe. “Redwire Space Europe’s breadth of advanced, flight-proven satellite technology is continuing to enable Europe’s most ambitious space missions.”
Redwire is supporting a variety of ESA activities including: the Cheops mission to study exoplanets; Proba-3, the first precision formation flying satellite demonstration; Euclid, which will create the largest, most accurate 3D map of the universe ever produced; the International Berthing and Docking Mechanism for the lunar Gateway; the Altius ozone observation mission; and the Hera mission to study the Didymos binary asteroid system targeted by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission.
