Redwire Space is doubling down on its growing interest in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellites by introducing a second spacecraft platform from its European subsidiary. In its May 9 earnings call, Redwire announced a VLEO satellite platform called Phantom, developed by the company’s European business unit in Belgium. Phantom is being developed for the European Space Agency’s Skimsat mission, for which Redwire is partnering with Thales Alenia Space, and is currently being rolled out to European and international customers.

Phantom joins SabreSat, a VLEO satellite that Redwire announced in its previous earnings report in March and is under development by the company in the United States. These two designs use different technologies.

“SabreSat and Phantom do not have a common technological foundation. These are two different platforms with different underlying technologies and performance parameters,” Redwire CEO Peter Cannito said on the call. “Different approaches reduce risk and allow us to meet a broader range of customer needs .”

The Phantom bus is designed to fly in orbits below 300 kilometers, where atmospheric drag plays a much larger role and requires greater aerodynamic design and thrust to maintain orbit. According to company documents, the Phantom can accept payloads of up to 50 kilograms with a total spacecraft mass of up to 300 kilograms. The spacecraft uses electric propulsion to maintain its orbit on missions lasting up to five years.

U.S. government agencies have seen interest in SabreSat and are interested in a platform that can operate in lower orbit and offer better image resolution and better stability, company officials said at the GEOINT Symposium this week. The company won a research contract for SabreSat from an unnamed customer, Cannito said on the call.

“This is a very exciting indication that the market recognizes the potential of SabreSat as a critical opportunity,” he said. “We are very encouraged by the reception SabreSat has received following our announcement and we continue to pursue significant opportunities for this potentially groundbreaking VLEO spacecraft.”

He called both SabreSat and Phantom “a leap forward opportunity” for the company to capitalize on growing interest in VLEO systems. “We are now well ahead of the overall development of the spacecraft industry at VLEO.”

These platforms are also part of the company’s strategy to upgrade its value chain from supplier to prime contractor, which it announced earlier this year. “We are betting more than we have in the past,” he said.

Redwire was among nine companies awarded NASA research contracts announced May 1 to develop the concept of commercial missions to Mars for applications such as imaging and communications. Redwire’s $200,000 study aims to modify a commercial Earth-imaging spacecraft for use on Mars, and Cannito said it would be based on the European-developed Proba spacecraft rather than the SabreSat or Phantom.

Redwire reported that its revenue in the first quarter of 2024 was $87.8 million, up 52% ​​from the same quarter in 2023. The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at $4.3 million, the same as in the first quarter. last year.

During the call, Cannito noted that the company has achieved five consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA, revenue growth and positive cash from operations for five consecutive quarters. While the company reported a net loss of $8.1 million for the quarter, Jonathan Baliff, Redwire’s chief financial officer, said the overall results showed “continued positive momentum” as the company moves toward profitability.