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ESA awards €81.2m contract to OHB Italia to build RAMSES probe for Apophis; launch set for 2028

ESA has signed an €81.2m contract with OHB Italia to start construction, assembly and testing of the RAMSES (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) spacecraft to study asteroid Apophis. The deal begins spacecraft manufacture ahead of a planned 2028 launch.

Discovered 2026-02-10T22:13:27.812083-08:00 | 2026-02-10T22:13:27.812083-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • Moves RAMSES into the production phase and activates the supplier chain: avionics and onboard flight‑software work has already been subcontracted, signalling near‑term industrial activity and integration risk points (source:e0aa09a8-ce3d-4b22-8cad-051d729ccd0b).

  • The €81.2m award strengthens OHB Italia’s programme backlog and aligns with broader ESA funding and industrial plans that underpinned recent company guidance and increased order visibility, while committing a 2028 launch slot that feeds European launch planning (source:72f19177-d5bf-4e9e-8673-8309895be221) (source:52ff3cac-83ee-4669-a20d-9b9b53f05e3c).

Reported By

aerospatium.info Space Daily raumfahrer.net SpaceWatch Global asdnews.com European Spaceflight
Sources Tracked
7
First Seen
2026-02-10T22:13:27.812083-08:00
Latest Update
2026-02-17T07:50:07.936361-08:00
Coverage
Space

Sources

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