Terran Orbital (NYSE:LLAP) subsidiary Tyvak International has completed the delivery of the Hera Milani satellite to the European Space Agency (ESA), it was announced on Tuesday.
A ceremony was held at Tyvak International’s premises in Torino, Italy to mark the milestone which was attended by Hera’s project manager for the ESA Ian Carnelli, the Italian Space Agency, the Milani development team, and several local and international dignitaries.
The company said that Hera Milani is a nanosatellite funded by Italy and developed by Tyvak International for the ESA designed to carry out visual inspection and dust detection of the Didymos asteroid following DART impact.
It will be launched aboard the ESA’s Hera mothercraft in 2024 and after travelling thousands of kilometers to reach the asteroid, will be the first nanosatellite to ever orbit an asteroid.
Terran Orbital (NYSE:LLAP) highlighted that Tyvak International is responsible for Milani’s design, build testing and mission operations. The team will support the next system level testing phase in ESTEC ahead of the launch planned for October 2024.
“This is a paramount achievement for Tyvak International,” Tyvak International VP Programs and Milani Program Manager Margherita Cardi said.
“Milani is now ready to be delivered to ESA and undergo the system tests with Hera, to ensure the validation of the interfaces and the end-to-end communication prior to the launch. The journey is not over, but we are a step closer to Didymos, and it was a real honor to host the ceremony allowing all those who contributed to this amazing project to celebrate together.”
Hera ESA project manager Carnelli added: “ESA’s first deep-space CubeSat was developed in record time by an incredible team. ESA is extremely impressed by the skills, motivation, and commitment of Tyvak International. We are eager to see the spacecraft in action and help us unveil the many mysteries around the Didymos asteroid system.”
A wholly owned subsidiary of Terran Orbital, Tyvak International is a leading European nano and microsatellite manufacturer based in Torino, Italy.
Terran Orbital is a leading manufacturer of satellites primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries.