Business · Companies · 3 hrs ago
Redwire wins $20 million DARPA contract for low-orbit spacecraft test
Redwire won a $20 million DARPA contract to test propulsion technology for spacecraft flying very close to Earth.
The work is part of DARPA’s Otter program, which aims to develop satellites that can operate at altitudes of 90 to 250 kilometres.
At these heights, air resistance can shorten a spacecraft’s mission, so the program is developing air-breathing electric propulsion to help address the challenge.
The contract will fund a precursor flight using a smaller SabreSat before a full demonstration.
The test is planned for late 2027 and is expected to last less than a day, marking the technology’s first on-orbit test.
The test will provide data to reduce risk for the full Otter mission, whose date DARPA has not announced.
Redwire is also a prime contractor on the European Space Agency’s Skimsat mission, which aims to demonstrate very-low-orbit capabilities, with a first flight targeted no earlier than 2027.
Redwire won a $20 million contract from DARPA’s Otter program to test air-breathing electric propulsion for very-low-Earth-orbit spacecraft.
The contract will fund a precursor flight using a scaled-down version of Redwire’s SabreSat spacecraft.
The mission is planned for launch in late 2027 and is expected to fly in very-low Earth orbit for less than a day.
The test will gather on-orbit data before DARPA’s full Otter demonstration, for which no date has been announced.
Redwire previously received a $44 million Phase 2 award under the Otter program in November 2025.
- Who
- Redwire and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
- What
- Redwire won a $20 million contract for a precursor spacecraft mission to test air-breathing electric propulsion on orbit.
- When
- Announced on November 4, 2026. The precursor mission is targeting a launch in late 2027.
- Where
- Very-low Earth orbit, between 90 km and 250 km in altitude.
- Why
- To test the propulsion system in orbit, gather data that cannot be fully recreated on the ground, and reduce risk for the full Otter mission.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Redwire won a $44 million Phase 2 award under DARPA’s Otter program.
Redwire announced it had won a $20 million DARPA contract for a precursor mission.
The subscale SabreSat mission is targeting a launch to test the propulsion system in orbit.
- Contract value
- $20 million
- Program
- DARPA’s Otter program
- Spacecraft
- Scaled-down version of Redwire’s SabreSat
- Flight duration
- Less than a day in very-low Earth orbit
- Target launch
- Late 2027
What people are saying
This flight test allows us to gather data that cannot be fully recreated on the ground, learn faster, and reduce risk for the full Otter mission
These innovations are building a new class of maneuverable, energy-efficient spacecraft capable of supporting persistent operations in critical orbital regimes, ultimately equipping national security space missions with distinctive operational advantages—from rapid orbital agility to enhanced tactical responsiveness