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Flight Software for Instrument on ESA’s Ramses Mission

Rapidity Space to Develop Flight Software for Instrument on ESA’s Ramses Mission

Uppsala 27 October 2025 – Rapidity Space is collaborating with the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) to develop the flight software for the Ramses Plasma Spectrometer (RPS), an instrument onboard ESA’s proposed Ramses mission (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety), led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, Germany, with a critical contribution from IRF. RPS is the first-ever instrument designed to investigate the plasma environment of an asteroid. The Ramses mission is part of ESA’s Space Safety programme, designed to rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis, which will pass exceptionally close to Earth, just 32,000 km, on Friday, April 13, 2029.

This rare event offers an unprecedented opportunity to study the asteroid’s interaction with the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere at close range. The mission is currently under preparation, pending confirmation at ESA’s Council Meeting at Ministerial Level (CM25) in November 2025.

Rapidity Space is responsible for delivering the embedded flight software that will manage telecommand handling, telemetry generation, operational logic, and real-time control of the instrument’s electronics.

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“We’re proud to contribute to this groundbreaking mission. Ramses combines scientific discovery and planetary defense and our software will ensure the instrument operates with the robustness required for this unique deep space encounter.” says Mattias Örth, CEO of Rapidity Space

“In space terms, 32,000 kilometers is practically a near-collision, it’s incredibly close. This encounter gives us a once-in-a-millennium opportunity to observe how an asteroid is affected by Earth’s magnetosphere and gravity. Ramses is an incredibly exciting mission, but it’s also very demanding, technically and programmatically, but we simply must succeed to build up our planetary defence capabilties. IRF is looking forward to working with Rapidity Space, its dynamism and expertise are exactly what’s needed for this challenging project.” says Professor Stas Barabash, deputy Director General at IRF.

This collaboration highlights Sweden’s growing role in critical ESA planetary missions and demonstrates Rapidity Space’s capabilities in delivering advanced, mission-critical onboard software systems.

About Rapidity Space

Rapidity Space is an Engineering Services company with deep expertise in space technology. We specialize in creating tailored solutions that address the unique challenges faced by our clients within fields like Software Engineering, FPGA development, Project Management and Export Compliance. Being more than just a service provider – Rapidity Space is your trusted partner in achieving your unique mission objectives and driving your business success. From initial concept to final delivery, we work alongside you to ensure mission success and operational excellence.

For more information, please visit www.rapidity-space.com

About Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF)

The Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) is a governmental research institute under the auspice of Ministry of Education. IRF conducts basic research and postgraduate education in space physics, planetary science, space technology, and atmospheric physics.IRF has more than 60 years of experience in developing instruments for space sceince missions for ESA, NASA, JAXA; ISRO, CNSA, and Turkish space agency and participates in many major international collaborative projects using
satellites and ground-based facilities. IRF’s research areas provide the knowledge necessary to understand space, the solar system, and the global processes on Earth that affect people in their daily lives. IRF applies fundamental science to advance applied fields such as space weather, space debris, and planetary defence.

For more information, visit: www.irf.se

Image credit: ESA

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