Redwire Integrates ADEO-L – Current Status of the Satellite Project in Kruibeke, Belgium

Current Status of the Satellite Project in Kruibeke, Belgium

November 2025

Back in July this year, it was announced that Redwire Belgium has also adopted HPS’s ADEO drag sail technology for satellite deorbiting. HPS is a global pioneer in developing sustainable space resource utilisation, and with its ADEO drag sail product family for all satellite classes in LEO orbits, it has established the international gold standard in deorbiting technology.
For Redwire’s current satellite project, HPS delivered the ADEO-L version – constructed under the ESA-GSTP-project umbrella of ADEO2 – of the drag sail in the summer. The Redwire spacecraft, developed specifically for an IOD/IOV mission in LEO for the European Commission, has medium-sized dimensions and therefore requires the ADEO-L deorbit module, featuring a surface area of 25 m².
The ADEO2 deorbit module was successfully integrated onto the satellite at the Redwire Satellite Processing Facility in Kruibeke, Belgium, on 3rd and 4th November 2025.
The next step will be comprehensive system tests of the fully integrated satellite—including environmental tests such as vibration, acoustic, and thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing—scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. The launch is planned to take place later in 2026 aboard a European launch vehicle, which is yet to be selected. Deployment of the drag sail for rapid and efficient deorbiting at the end of the mission is planned for about 1.5 years after launch.

As an integrated aerospace and defence company, Redwire focuses on autonomous systems and cross-domain operations utilising digital technology and AI automation. Redwire’s approximately 1,300 employees in the United States and Europe are developing innovative space and airborne platforms that are shaping the future of multidomain operations. The Belgian facility of Redwire can look back on more than 40 years of experience in spaceflight, during which it has developed spacecraft platforms and delivered innovative technologies for groundbreaking ESA programmes.