Contract signed for the Italian CubeSat supporting ESA’s mission to asteroid Apophis
Turin, Italy — 11 February 2026 — Tyvak International has signed a contract to develop Farinella, the first 6U CubeSat for the European Space Agency’s RAMSES mission, reinforcing its role as a key industrial partner in Europe’s space safety programme.
The mission is supported by the Italian Space Agency and named in honour of Italian scientist Paolo Farinella. Following the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) in January 2026, Tyvak International will now enter the implementation phase, leading to satellite delivery and launch, currently scheduled for 2028.
The Farinella CubeSat marks a new milestone for Tyvak International and confirms the continuation of its deep-space activities following Milani, the CubeSat previously developed for ESA’s Hera mission.
RAMSES is a cornerstone of the European Space Agency’s planetary defence efforts. The mission will study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis during its close flyby of Earth on 13 April 2029, when it will pass closer than the altitude of geostationary orbit. This rare event offers a unique scientific opportunity to analyze the effects of Earth’s gravitational interaction on an asteroid’s structure and dynamics.
Although Apophis no longer poses an impact risk, its proximity to Earth makes it an exceptional natural laboratory. Data collected during the encounter will support improved modeling of asteroid behavior and contribute to refining planetary defence strategies.
Farinella will operate aboard the RAMSES spacecraft developed by OHB Italia and will be one of two onboard CubeSats dedicated to subsurface investigation using a low-frequency radar. The CubeSat will also carry Horus, an optical instrument that serves as both a scientific imager and a navigation camera, as well as Vista, a dust detector previously flown on Milani.
The mission aims to collect a wide range of complementary scientific data and make them available to the international scientific community, thereby advancing knowledge of small celestial bodies and strengthening Europe’s planetary defence capabilities.
Once again, Tyvak International is leading a European consortium of companies and universities on behalf of ESA, underscoring the Agency’s confidence in the company’s engineering expertise and operational capabilities. The project builds directly on experience from the Milani mission and further establishes Tyvak International as a specialist in high-complexity small satellites for deep-space applications.
“Following Milani, the RAMSES mission represents another opportunity for Tyvak International to elevate CubeSats to a new level of scientific complexity,” said Fabio Nichele, Chief Executive Officer of Tyvak International. “It demonstrates their ability to play a key role in deep-space missions of high strategic value and highlights the strength of the Italian space industry in contributing to global scientific and planetary defence challenges.”
About Tyvak International
Founded in Turin in 2015, Tyvak International manufactures nano- and microsatellites weighing 10 to 300 kilograms. The company employs approximately 70 people and generates annual revenues exceeding €10 million.
Tyvak International is a subsidiary of Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin company. It has built and launched 18 satellites for commercial and institutional customers and has participated in major European programmes, including ESA’s Hera/Milani mission and advanced technology demonstrations with the Italian Space Agency.
These programmes include IPERDRONE, focused on proximity operations and in-orbit servicing technologies, and FUTURE, which aims to demonstrate autonomous navigation capabilities for missions beyond Earth orbit.
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