Axiom Station will provide a permanent commercial platform in low-Earth orbit (LEO) where nations around the world can conduct microgravity research, develop and eventually manufacture commercial products to return to Earth and access space uninterrupted through human spaceflight missions.
Redwire is also building the Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) wings for Axiom Space’s first space station module.
“We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to provide Axiom Space with additional ROSAs,” said Mike Gold, president of Redwire Space.
“The unparalleled track record of ROSA supporting the International Space Station (ISS) in low-Earth orbit makes it the ideal system to provide the robust power needed to support Axiom Space’s global customers and pioneering commercial space station, Axiom Station.
“At Redwire, we’re committed to leveraging our proven, heritage systems such as ROSA – with its 100 per cent success rate in a wide variety of space environments from LEO to GEO and beyond – to be a part of Axiom Space’s mission to revolutionise both space and life on Earth via microgravity research, development and manufacturing.”
Axiom Station’s first module is currently undergoing final assembly at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, after which the module will be transferred to Houston for integration and testing and ultimately transferred to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.
Axiom Space is planning to launch the first module in 2028. The second module is preparing to undergo final assembly at Thales Alenia Space and is planned to launch less than a year after the first, where it can loiter on orbit until ready to dock with the first module. Together, these two modules will form a four crew-capable, operational free-flying space station.
“Redwire’s Roll-Out Solar Array hardware is a crucial component necessary for Axiom Space to build a sustainable commercial presence in LEO,” said Dr Jonathan Cirtain, CEO and president of Axiom Space.
“The company’s innovative technology will power our space station and its systems, maintaining and expanding access to LEO for more nations and extending the breakthroughs in science and technology-driven solutions that microgravity provides to benefit everyone, everywhere on Earth.”
Redwire’s power systems have supported some of the world’s most high-impact space missions, from sustaining astronauts aboard the ISS to demonstrating planetary defence with NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test. Building on this proven track record of success, the company’s ROSA and ELSA products are powering a new generation of commercial and national security missions, supporting plans for exploration of the moon and Mars and paving the way for orbital data centres. With more than 65 solar array wings delivered or in development, Redwire is building the power behind humanity’s ambitions in space.
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