Airbus selects second composites supplier Bercella for Aurora satellite

Bercella Srl (Parma, Italy) has been selected by Airbus Netherlands B.V. (Leiden) to supply the panel and yoke substrates for the Sparkwing solar arrays that Airbus is providing for the MDA Space Aurora supply chain, a software-defined satellite product line enabling constellations to extend communication networks.

Under the MDA Aurora contract, Airbus will supply more than 200 Sparkwing solar arrays. The long-term agreement will builds on Bercella’s success in developing high-quality, space-grade composites structure, with high-volume production capacity, coming from its 30 years of experience across a range of applications.

“Being selected by Airbus is recognition of the ability of the Italian aerospace industry to compete at the highest global levels,” says Massimo Bercella, CEO of Bercella. “We are proud to contribute, with our high-performance substrates, to the creation of the first constellation of this scale produced in Europe.” Bercella says it is dedicating a factory exclusively to this production.

Tom Houwen, head of procurement at Airbus in the Netherlands, says that selecting multiple suppliers for Aurora was a strategic measure to ensure Airbus has the right capacity to handle the scale of this project. Airborne was announced as another supplier earlier this month.