T+277: SabreSat, VLEO, and DARPA’s Otter Program (with Spence Wise, SVP of Missions and Platforms at Redwire)

Redwire announced today that it has been awarded a contract from DARPA to serve as the prime mission integrator for its Otter program. For the program, and for the industry beyond that, they’ll be developing SabreSat, an air-breathing spacecraft flying in VLEO. Spence Wise, Senior Vice President of Missions and Platforms at Redwire, joins me to discuss the program, VLEO generally, and to dive into the technical and operational details of SabreSat.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Josh from Impulse Space, Benjamin, Pat, Steve, Lee, Ryan, Pat from KC, Donald, Warren, Theo and Violet, Harrison, SmallSpark Space Systems, Matt, Bob, Joonas, Joel, Frank, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Stealth Julian, David, The Astrogators at SEE, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Fred, Russell, Kris, Better Every Day Studios, Tyler, Jan, and four anonymous—and 813 other supporters.TopicsSabreSat Orbital Drone - Redwire SpaceRedwire Awarded DARPA Prime Contract for SabreSat Spacecraft Very Low-Earth Orbit Demonstration | Redwire SpaceRedwire wins contract for VLEO demonstration - SpaceNewsThe ShowLike the show? Support the show!Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected] @WeHaveMECOFollow @[email protected] on MastodonListen to MECO HeadlinesListen to Off-NominalJoin the Off-Nominal DiscordSubscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhereSubscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off NewsletterArtwork photo by NASAWork with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works