Irish company Innalabs has designed and manufactured the ARIETIS-NS gyroscope navigation system for the European Space Agency’s HERA SpaceX launch that is due to lift off on October 7 (US time) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral.
ARIETIS-NS is an ITAR-free, space-qualified, rad-tolerant 3-axis gyroscope designed to withstand the harsh environments of space. It will be integral to guiding the satellite towards the Didymos asteroid system.
This will mark the second mission to the Didymos asteroid system, with the objective of the HERA mission being to monitor the after-effects of altering the trajectory of asteroids through kinetic impact, following on from the successful DART mission from NASA, which launched in 2021.
These missions aim to test and prepare for planetary defence against incoming asteroids by altering their trajectory, should the day come when Earth needs to do so to defend itself.
Key benefits of this gyroscope include:
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Low-SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power) design, suitable for small satellite platforms as well as multi-ton satellites;
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Operates with extremely low noise, ensuring interference-free operation in telecom, Earth observation, and science applications;
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Demonstrates high reliability, making it suitable for continuous use in LEO and GEO missions; and
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Designed for serial production, making it ideal for large constellations.
“Innalabs has navigation sensors and systems that have accrued over five million hours in space,” said Innalabs CEO John O’Leary. “Our involvement with almost all major space primes, who now rely on our inertial sensor technology on missions worth billions, is a testament to their trust in our products. I want to thank all concerned as this is a great success story for the Irish space strategy and our improving ECO system to join the global Space boom.”
The launch will be broadcast live on European Space Agency’s website.
