Redwire has selected Voyager Technologies to provide its Acceleration Measurement System for DARPA’s Otter spacecraft program.
Redwire has selected Voyager Technologies to provide its Acceleration Measurement System (AMS) for DARPA’s Otter spacecraft program.
Redwire is the prime contractor, while Voyager will supply the precision measurement hardware used to track acceleration and delta-V, the changes in velocity required for orbital maneuvers.
The system is intended to support spacecraft operations in very low Earth orbit (VLEO), where stronger atmospheric drag and gravitational forces require frequent propulsion adjustments to maintain altitude.
Voyager said the AMS system has already been used on previous NASA operations, including the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, a four-spacecraft program studying Earth’s magnetic environment.
‘Air-Breathing’ Satellites in Orbit
DARPA’s Otter program focuses on testing “air-breathing” electric propulsion technology for satellites operating in very low Earth orbit, defined as altitudes between 90 and 450 kilometers (56 and 280 miles).
Traditional satellites rely on a limited onboard fuel supply, but the Otter concept aims to extend mission endurance by collecting low-density atmospheric particles, ionizing them, and using that material as propellant.
Because VLEO conditions are difficult to replicate accurately on Earth, the program will culminate in a spaceflight demonstration lasting more than one year.
DARPA plans to use the mission as an “orbiting wind tunnel” to collect real-world operational data on the performance of air-breathing propulsion systems.
The program is expected to validate whether the technology can generate sufficient thrust in orbit and improve modeling tools for future VLEO satellite designs.
