Redwire Secures $20M DARPA Contract for Subscale VLEO Demonstration

Redwire announced Wednesday it won a $20M contract under DARPA's Otter program to fund a precursor mission for very low Earth orbit spaceflight. The award advances work on air-breathing electric propulsion technology aimed at building a new Defense Department capability for satellites flying between 90 km and 250 km in altitude.

DARPA's focus on low-altitude spaceflight comes as tensions on-orbit reach new heights, with militaries worldwide investing heavily in their ability to maneuver in space. The Defense Department is focused on undercutting the competition. Flying in VLEO brings added complexity, including increased atmospheric drag, which can end low-flying missions early. With ABEP technology powering these satellites, DARPA and Redwire hope to open a new trajectory for spaceflight that benefits from increased proximity to the ground.

The new contract follows a $44M Phase 2 award Redwire won in November 2025, also under the Otter program. The $20M will fund a precursor mission on a scaled-down version of Redwire's SabreSat spacecraft before DARPA rolls out the full demonstration. The subscale mission, targeting a launch in late 2027, will fly for less than a day in VLEO to test the ABEP system on-orbit for the first time. DARPA has not released a date for the full-scale mission.

"This flight test allows us to gather data that cannot be fully recreated on the ground, learn faster, and reduce risk for the full Otter mission," said Spence Wise, Redwire's SVP of missions and platforms. "Redwire is not simply building one spacecraft. We are creating the platforms, models, and digital infrastructure needed to make VLEO operational at scale."

Redwire is also a prime contractor for ESA's Skimsat mission, which aims to bring VLEO capabilities to the continent and is targeting a first flight no earlier than 2027. The cross-Atlantic efforts are being developed in parallel, but not every subsystem is transferable given the regulatory environment. "We're creating efficiencies across the two programs where permitted, subject to applicable laws governing cross-border collaboration and export-control requirements," Wise said. "One area where we see opportunity is in applying our enterprise digital engineering tools across both efforts, within those boundaries."

According to Redwire, the technology is building a new class of maneuverable, energy-efficient spacecraft capable of supporting persistent operations in critical orbital regimes. Wise said the innovations would ultimately equip national security space missions with distinctive operational advantages, from rapid orbital agility to enhanced tactical responsiveness.

The subscale mission targets a launch in late 2027. DARPA has not yet released a date for the full-scale Otter demonstration.