Redwire selected to develop deployable systems for NASA's Solar Cruiser Mission • Spaceleaks

Redwire subsidiary Roccor has been awarded a subcontract to support NASA’s Solar Cruiser technology demonstration mission funded through NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Roccor was selected by NASA to develop the deployable structure for a nearly 18,000 square foot (1,600 m2) solar sail that will allow solar scientists to view the sun from different perspectives—and stay in orbit longer—than before.

The Solar Cruiser mission will demonstrate the ability to use solar radiation as a propulsion system. The sail, when fully deployed, will measure at nearly 120 feet long and 120 feet wide and the sailcraft will weigh approximately 100kg. Roccor will supply a lightweight deployable sail for the mission that incorporates technology with flight heritage from NASA’s recent NanoSail-D sail (10 m2) and the upcoming Near-Earth Asteroid Scout sail (86 m2) that will launch on the Artemis 1 mission in late 2021. The so-called TRAC technology was originally developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and exclusively licensed by Roccor in 2017.

The Solar Cruiser mission is set to launch as a rideshare aboard NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission in 2025.

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