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ESA selects Terran Orbital's Tyvak to build 6U Farinella cubesat for Apophis planetary defense mission

Tyvak International, a Terran Orbital subsidiary, has won an ESA contract to develop Farinella, a 6U cubesat that will fly on the agency's Planetary Defense Mission to monitor near‑Earth asteroid Apophis. The satellite will provide targeted reconnaissance and contribute to impact‑risk characterization.

Discovered 2026-03-13T03:13:44.665862-07:00 | 2026-03-13T03:13:44.665862-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

The contract tasks Tyvak/Terran Orbital to deliver a 6U Farinella cubesat for ESA’s Apophis Planetary Defense Mission, adding dedicated in‑orbit reconnaissance to the agency’s near‑Earth object monitoring capability.
The award expands Terran Orbital’s footprint in government and defense smallsat supply chains, building on its recent Lockheed Martin Tranche 3 satellite-bus work ([source:a99e60be-aa16-40d3-9c9e-05995cdf2752]).
The mission underscores ESA’s move to deploy smallsat demonstrators for operational defence/reconnaissance roles, complementing the agency’s wider push to fly defence‑oriented in‑orbit demonstrators ([source:3874a328-6d59-4f7c-aed4-7e643f9c81f2]).

Reported By

exterrajsc.com asdnews.com Via Satellite Satellite Evolution terranorbital.com