Bremen, Germany, 20 November 2024 – Joint Press Release: Revolv Space is thrilled to announce that integration and testing of their space-qualified Solar Array Drive Assembly (SADA) on DPhi Space's Clustergate-1 hosted payload platform is now complete, marking the final milestone as the company prepares for flight in the first half of 2025. This in-orbit demonstration (IOD) mission will be SARA’s first test in space, providing it with essential flight heritage and validating its performance in space. SARA is the first autonomous and fail-safe Solar Array Drive Assembly for small satellites, guaranteeing up to 500W of power transfer per unit transferred through a cost-effective and customizable flexible PCB technology. SARA can deliver the benefits of sun-tracking solar wings with the reliability of fixed solar panels, thanks to SnapBack, a passive mechanism that returns the solar arrays to a reference position in case of anomaly on the satellite bus. In addition, thanks to Revolv Space’s integrated sun-tracking suite, SARA can be completely autonomous in tracking the sun and actuating the solar arrays.
“Partnering with DPhi Space and utilizing their Clustergate platform allows us to get to orbit as fast as possible.”
Marco Sala, CEO & Co-founder at Revolv Space
Clustergate, DPhi Space’s shared platform for hosted payloads, offers a cost-efficient solution for deploying payloads into orbit. Leveraging Clustergate’s robust capabilities, this mission will showcase SARA’s effectiveness by deploying and autonomously orienting a solar array in space conditions to maximize power generation in all orbits. The SARA flight unit (in its MONO version) has been integrated into Clustergate and passed the environmental testing campaign ahead of the integration of Clustergate on the hosting satellite platform. Revolv Space and DPhi Space will leverage the reliability of D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier, with fourteen successful consecutive launches up to date. “We went from contract signature to a fully integrated and tested flight unit in less than four months, thanks to SARA’s technological maturity and excellent documentation, coupled with Clustergate’s user-friendly interfaces and a seamless integration process by DPhi Space. This mission not only validates SARA’s design and performance, but also strengthens our commitment to advancing satellite technology through strategic collaborations with leading companies like D-Orbit and emerging startups like DPhi Space”, concludes Sala.
Our collaboration with Revolv Space is a great example of how Clustergate helps flight prove novel developments and make them ready to be commercialized. We can’t wait to receive the first telemetry of SARA from space and raise it to TRL 9.”
Aziz Belkhiria, CEO of DPhi Space
The upcoming IOD mission will focus on testing SARA’s performance and experimenting with several features, including deployment through Revolv Space’s HOLLY deployment hinge, manual and autonomous actuation, and a fail-safe operational mode through SnapBack. This mission strengthens Revolv Space’s dedication to delivering high-performance, dependable power systems that meet the evolving needs of the space industry. Revolv Space has secured an alternative IOD mission with another European partner to gather additional flight heritage in LEO, while the company is working on the qualification of a larger SADA for bigger satellite platforms.
Revolv Space unlocks the full potential of small satellites by designing, manufacturing, and testing next-generation mechanisms and power systems that ensure uninterrupted payload availability and maximize the monetization of space assets. Revolv Space offers a family of affordable, high-performance Solar Array Drive Assemblies (SADAs) designed specifically for small satellites, supporting power ranges from 100W to 5kW. With innovative redundancy systems and advanced sun-tracking technology, Revolv Space’s SADAs optimize solar array exposure, doubling power generation and vastly boosting smallsat platform capabilities and mission returns. Operating from Torino (Italy) and Noordwijk (The Netherlands), Revolv Space delivers agile, fail-safe solutions that consistently meet ambitious client deadlines and budget constraints. As a trusted partner in the small satellite sector, Revolv Space addresses the urgent need for cost-effective solutions with short lead times — driven by technical expertise, relentless focus on customer satisfaction, and commitment to innovation.
DPhi Space, based in Switzerland, is on a mission to reduce the cost and complexity of access to space by flying shared satellite platforms that aggregate multiple payloads on the same bus. With the introduction of its hosted payload platform, Clustergate, DPhi lowers the barrier to space for cubesat-sized payloads by hosting them and connecting them to powerful computers, simplifying the integration process and enhancing their processing capabilities in orbit.
