Redwire has selected Voyager Technologies as a subcontractor for the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Otter programme.
As part of this agreement, Voyager will provide its space-flight hardware suite, the Acceleration Measurement System (AMS), to Redwire, which is the prime contractor for the programme.
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In November last year, Redwire secured a $44m phase 2 contract to support the DARPA Otter very low earth orbit (VLEO) mission, which aims to demonstrate the world’s first air-breathing spacecraft and enhance next-generation orbital capabilities.
Otter’s operation in VLEO involves higher atmospheric resistance and gravitational influence, requiring frequent propulsion to maintain its orbit. Accurate control of these orbital adjustments, or delta-V, is necessary for a range of spacecraft activities including course corrections, various in-orbit operations, and planned deorbiting.
Voyager’s AMS is engineered to provide the precise delta-V and acceleration data needed for these manoeuvres.
The AMS draws on more than a decade of consistent, failure-free performance on missions such as the Space Acceleration Measurement System, Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System, and NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) constellation.
The MMS mission achieved several notable milestones, including the highest recorded GPS signal fix at an altitude of 43,500 miles and the closest spacing between multiple spacecraft, both of which were made possible through the precision of Voyager’s AMS technology.
Voyager space, defence & national security, president Matt Magaña said: “Missions like Otter demand precise, repeatable thrust control, and that’s exactly what our system delivers.
“This flight-proven hardware has performed flawlessly on several of NASA’s high-profile missions. We’re bringing that same level of precision to Redwire and DARPA, helping unlock a new class of manoeuvrable spacecraft in VLEO.”
