Redwire developing European-built VLEO spacecraft platform dubbed Phantom

Redwire announced Phantom, a new European Very Low Earth Orbit, VLEO, spacecraft platform. Phantom is being developed at Redwire’s facility in Belgium and is designed to carry out a wide array of intelligence, Earth science, and communications missions. Phantom joins Redwire’s American-built VLEO spacecraft platform, SabreSat, that was recently unveiled. Redwire’s Phantom European VLEO Platform. Image: RedwirePhantom, like its American counterpart, is intended to fill many different roles in a reliable and cost-effective way. Leveraging over four decades of heritage in satellite design, development and in-orbit operations, Phantom has an aerodynamic design that reduces propellant requirements, and could allow the satellite to stay in VLEO for up to five years. The design also uses standardized off-the-shelf hardware to reduce manufacturing costs and, with a total anticipated spacecraft mass of less than 300 kg, is compatible with existing small satellite launchers