Business of Space: Redwire to launch first pair of solar arrays to ISS (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Last year, space conglomerate Redwire rolled up a number of cosmic companies — including Jacksonville’s Made In Space — and moved its headquarters to the First Coast.
Now, the technology from one of those acquired companies is ready to be deployed.
A pair of roll-out solar arrays created by Redwire subsidiary Deployable Space Systems is set to launch with SpaceX’s commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station, which could launch as early as next week.
Deployable Space Systems has been working on solar array technology for more than a decade, successfully completing a demonstration project in 2017.
Through a partnership with Boeing, NASA’s prime contractor for space station operations, Redwire is responsible for the design, analysis, manufacture, test and delivery of six new solar arrays that will augment power to the ISS, according to a release from the company. The six new arrays will produce more than 120 kilowatts, improving the station’s power-generating capability by 20 to 30%.
The first pair of solar arrays will be installed during upcoming spacewalks after arriving at ISS. The remaining four solar arrays will arrive by 2023, according to the same release.
“This mission underscores the importance of station’s modularity to accommodate future upgrades and the critical role commercial infrastructure plays in enabling sustainable human spaceflight,” Redwire President Andrew Rush said in a statement.
The announcement comes about two months after the space infrastructure technology and services company said it would be merging with special purpose acquisition company Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: GNPK) to go public.