Sodern, a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, is a French company specializing in space instrumentation, optics, and neutron analyzers. They are the world leader in star trackers, which enable satellites to orient themselves in space, equipping over 60 customers and 350+ satellites. Sodern also designs cameras for various missions, including navigation, Earth observation, and space surveillance, partnering with major space agencies like NASA and ESA.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Redwire and its heritage companies did not previously build high-end star trackers at the level of Hydra, which led to 18 months of discussions with Sodern on a manufacturing partnership.
Redwire and Sodern signed the teaming agreement during World Satellite Business Week in Paris.
Sodern shipped 200 of an anticipated 1,800 Auriga star trackers to OneWeb.
Sodern is building optical navigation systems for the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, which is planned for launch in 2022.
OneWeb has an order for 1,800 star trackers from Sodern, representing two star trackers per each of the 900 small satellites OneWeb is building with Airbus Defence and Space.
Sodern built the three seismic sensors onboard NASA’s InSight lander that reached the red planet 2018-11-26.
Sodern plans to increase its headcount by 10 percent from a base of 450 employees to reach the planned production level.