Contract Awarded for Axiom Station Solar Arrays
Redwire Selected to Provide the Power Systems for First Module
Roll-out solar arrays for the Axiom Station Payload Power Thermal Module (AxPPTM), the first module for the company’s commercial space station, will be provided by Redwire Corporation.
“This contract with Redwire on the roll-out solar array (ROSA) wings is a critical step toward developing our first Axiom Station module.”
Tejpaul Bhatia, Axiom Space
Axiom Space plans to attach its AxPPTM to the International Space Station as the first module in its assembly sequence followed by Habitat 1 (AxH1), an airlock, Habitat 2 (AxH2), and finally the Research and Manufacturing Facility (AxRMF). After the launch and berthing of AxPPTM to the International Space Station, the module will separate and rendezvous with AxH1 on orbit resulting in Axiom Station’s independent operational capability. This approach enables the two-module station to become a free-flyer as early as 2028 and an independent four-module station by 2030, ensuring a continuous U.S. human presence in LEO after the International Space Station retires. The Axiom Station development plan aligns with U.S. objectives and preserves critical capabilities currently utilized on the International Space Station. AxPPTM is anticipated to launch toward the end of 2027.
“As a market leader for space power solutions, Redwire is proud to be selected as a strategic supplier to deliver ROSAs for Axiom Space’s first space station module,” said Mike Gold, Redwire President of Civil and International Space. “As NASA and industry take the next steps to build out commercial space stations to maintain U.S. leadership in low-Earth orbit (LEO), Redwire continues to be the partner of choice enabling critical capabilities to ensure on-orbit success.”
Progress continues on the AxPPTM primary structure built by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, having completed its final weld in July. Axiom Station modules will be integrated and assembled at Axiom Space’s Assembly and Integration facility in Houston, marking the first human-rated spacecraft ever built in Space City.
“This contract with Redwire on the roll-out solar array (ROSA) wings is a critical step toward developing our first Axiom Station module,” said Tejpaul Bhatia, CEO of Axiom Space. “Redwire’s decades of spaceflight heritage developing advanced spacecraft technology will ultimately enable Axiom Station’s global customers to conduct research, innovate, discover, and scale for the benefit of humanity.”
Redwire’s ROSA technology has a 100% success rate of on-orbit performance and is being used on a wide range of civil and commercial missions including the International Space Station, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, the Maxar-built Power and Propulsion Element for the Artemis Lunar Gateway, and Thales Alenia Space’s Space Inspire satellites.