The Walloon company SPACEBEL once again stands out by signing an agreement for the European Space Agency’s RAMSES mission (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety). SPACEBEL will provide the onboard software for RAMSES.
On 13 April 2029, Apophis, a 375-metre-wide asteroid, will pass at a distance of approximately 32,000 km from Earth. For a few hours, this rocky object will be visible to the naked eye from Europe and Africa. Such a close approach, which occurs only once every millennium, offers a unique opportunity to study in real time how a near-Earth asteroid responds to a powerful gravitational force.
Thanks to RAMSES, scientists will obtain highly detailed information on the asteroid’s structure, composition, trajectory and rotation in response to external forces. This information is also essential to refine our planetary defence strategies in the event of a future threat from a near-Earth object.
Built and led by OHB-Italia S.p.A. in cooperation with the consortium team, the RAMSES spacecraft will carry several scientific instruments and deploy two CubeSats to study Apophis up close and maximise the mission’s scientific return.
The launch of RAMSES is scheduled for 2028, enabling the spacecraft to reach Apophis a few months before the flyby and to observe the asteroid before, during and after the encounter.
SPACEBEL & RAMSES
SPACEBEL is responsible for the design and development of RAMSES’ core software, building on the development of Hera and Comet Interceptor while maximising the reuse of core software components. This flight software, which runs on the onboard computer, ensures the real-time functions of the main spacecraft, including command and control of subsystems, equipment and onboard instruments, in particular the camera used for both observation and navigation. It manages operational instructions and onboard measurements and implements control algorithms and scientific data processing. It ensures bidirectional communications between the main spacecraft and its two CubeSats, as well as between the main spacecraft and Earth.
SPACEBEL also provides the Software Validation Facility (SVF), which enables full validation of the onboard software by modelling the various elements of the satellite, such as the onboard computer, platform equipment and payload instruments.
“Already closely involved in several essential software contributions to Hera, ESA’s first planetary defence mission, SPACEBEL is once again playing a key role in an ambitious space mission,” comments Eric Lardinois, CEO of SPACEBEL.
“This new project represents another major milestone for our company. With RAMSES, we reaffirm our commitment to excellence, innovation and responsibility in the space sector. Moreover, this extraordinary mission highlights our objective of contributing to planetary safety and sustainability and inspiring space exploration by designing solutions for the global space ecosystem,” he concludes.