Solidflow will deliver key technology for SWIFT, a €3 million project led by Portuguese start-up SPACEO and funded by ESA. The project focuses on the development and in-orbit demonstration of an inflatable device designed to speed up the deorbiting of satellites at the end of their life cycle.
Solidflow will provide the gas generator that inflates the sail. The company is developing a compact, non-pressurized CO₂ Cool Gas Generator specifically for SWIFT. Once activated, the generator will inflate a drag sail to help small satellites descend and disintegrate in the atmosphere much faster than passive deorbiting allows.
“Cold gas generators like ours are reliable, compact, and safe. They stay inert throughout the satellite’s lifetime and only activate when the deorbiting manoeuvre is initiated,” says Berry Sanders, Managing Director at Solidflow.
Part of the NL Space Campus Ecosystem
Solidflow is a member of the Noordwijk Space Business Incubation Network and works closely with other companies and start-ups in the region. The company, which grew from a start-up into a scale-up with over 10 employees, frequently collaborates with fellow incubatees and provides access to its facilities for testing and development.
SWIFT will be launched and tested in low Earth orbit by 2028. The project is part of ESA’s ARTES programme and supports the agency’s ambition to reduce space debris.
“Our technology is enabling safer and faster removal of inactive satellites, while also contributing to Europe’s wider sustainability efforts in space,” Sanders adds.
About Solidflow
Solidflow develops and produces Cool Gas Generators for use in space, defence, and safety applications. All systems are developed, assembled, and tested in the Netherlands. Applications range from space propulsion and inflatable structures to emergency actuation and medical oxygen supplies.
More info: https://solidflow.nl
