New Delhi: In November last year, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) awarded a contract to Redwire Corporation to develop the Otter
Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) mission, to demonstrate a spacecraft that uses air-breathing propulsion. Now Voyager Technologies has awarded a subcontract by Redwire to supply its high-precision Acceleration Measurement System (AMS) for Otter. Otter requires to frequently use its propulsion system to stay in orbit. At VLEO, spacecraft experience more atmospheric drag as well as gravitational pull. The ability to manoeuvre, or delta-V is critical to every action a spacecraft performs, from adjusting the orbit during operations, or deorbiting at the ends of missions.
The AMS system by Voyager provides the ultra-precise measurements of delta-V and acceleration. The AMS architecture is the result of over a decade of continuous, failure-free operations aboard a number of systems, including NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) constellation that has set multiple world records, including the highest altitude fix of a GPS signal 70,000 km above the surface of the Earth, and the closest separation ever in a multi-spacecraft formation, which was achieved through the exquisite precision offered by the AMS system.
Novel capabilities in VLEO
President of Space, Defense and National Security at Voyager Technologies, 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.” Otter is built using Redwire’s SabreSat Orbital Drone, a satellite platform designed for performance, endurance and cost-effectiveness in VLEO. The spacecraft will showcase innovative software and hardware systems designed to extend spacecraft life and enhance performance in challenging low-altitude orbital environments. The orbital regime represents a new frontier for defence, intelligence and communications missions.
