The Farinella satellite of the ESA Ramses mission passes the CDR with the support of CIRA

In January 2026, the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the 6U CubeSat Farinella, developed by Tyvak International for the European Space Agency (ESA) Ramses mission, was successfully completed. The CIRA Space Qualification Center played a key role, contributing by drafting the Qualification Test Plan for the STIM and PFM models of the satellite, an essential part of the environmental test plan for the Ramses mission.

The satellite's name honors the renowned Italian planetary scientist Paolo Farinella. This project further strengthens Tyvak International’s role in planetary defense missions, following their previous work with the Milani CubeSat, which was fully qualified at CIRA for the ESA Hera mission.

The Ramses (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) mission is an ESA mission, also supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and in collaboration with JAXA, which involves a close encounter with the asteroid Apophis (approximately 375 meters in diameter). The main goal is to closely study the asteroid's characteristics before its close pass by Earth (about 32,000 km away from our orbit, or 1/10 of the Earth-Moon distance) on April 13, 2029. The probe will already be in position before the flyby, ready to release Farinella near the asteroid to observe how Earth's gravity will affect its structure and orbit.

With the successful completion of the CDR, the next phase begins: integration and qualification testing at CIRA, ahead of the planned launch in 2028, with the goal of being ready for Apophis's close pass by Earth in 2029.

Another important step towards planetary safety!