The Milani nanosatellite, developed by Tyvak International, was officially handed over to European Space Agency (ESA) on March 14th for integration into the Hera spacecraft for a crucial deep space planetary defense mission. Milani is tasked with analyzing the impact results from NASA's Dart probe on the Dimorphos asteroid, which orbits the larger Didymos asteroid, an event that occurred in 2022. Hera's launch is scheduled for late 2024 from Florida, with the spacecraft expected to reach the asteroid in 2026.
In this frame, the Proto-Flight Model (PFM) of Milani successfully completed a qualification test campaign at the CIRA Space Qualification Laboratory. Passing the vibrational and thermal vacuum tests allows the satellite to be integrated into the Hera spacecraft for the electromagnetic compatibility test campaign and system validation tests prior to launch.
