Redwire has secured a $20 million contract from DARPA under the Otter program. The initiative focuses on developing air-breathing electric propulsion technology to enable satellites to operate at altitudes between 90 km and 250 km.
The new funding will support a precursor mission using a scaled-down version of the SabreSat spacecraft. This test flight is scheduled for late 2027 and will last less than one day to evaluate the propulsion system in orbit.
This award follows a previous $44 million Phase 2 contract granted to Redwire in November 2025. The company intends to use the data from the upcoming subscale mission to reduce risks for the full-scale demonstration.
Beyond the DARPA project, Redwire is serving as a prime contractor for the ESA Skimsat mission. This European initiative also aims to develop VLEO capabilities, with an initial flight targeted for no earlier than 2027.
