Europe to develop reusable unmanned spacecraft for production in orbit

Luxembourg-based Space Cargo Unlimited announced that it has signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space to develop a reusable unmanned spacecraft that will be used for production in orbit.

According to spacenews.com, the REV1 spacecraft will make its maiden flight in 2025. The implementation of the project in such a short time will be possible due to the unmanned scheme, which will greatly facilitate the design and construction.

Spacecraft the size of a car

The spacecraft "the size of a compact car" will be able to carry up to 1,000 kg of payload. This is far more than a manned aircraft of this size could afford, most of whose equipment would be aimed at protecting the health and lives of the pilots. Inside the REV1, however, there will be some pressure needed for production and experiments, including biomaterials.

Manufacturing processes and scientific experiments would take place after REV1 docks with an autonomous orbiter in low Earth orbit. The station is also being designed by Thales Alenia Space. Thanks to solar panels and electric rocket engines, the station will be able to stay in orbit for about 10 years, which is about 20 REV1 missions.

However, experiments and production can certainly be organized without connecting the spacecraft to the orbital station, especially since Space Cargo Unlimited promises to start such activities as early as the first phase of the contract with Thales Alenia Space.

Space Garage

Once production and testing are complete, REV1 will enter the atmosphere and land the fruits of its labor on Earth's surface.

Space Cargo Unlimited assures that they already have preliminary arrangements in place to conduct work in orbit on an industrial basis. The company promises to tell more about it closer to the first launch of the spacecraft.

According to spacenews.com, these could be contracts with pharmaceutical companies, space system developers and anyone interested in microgravity manufacturing and biology.

The "space garage" will be created in Turin to repair and restore spacecraft and prepare them for new launches. According to the source, loading and unloading of the spacecraft will probably take place there.