The Exploration Company has awarded Redwire a contract to provide two International Berthing and Docking Mechanisms (IBDM) for its Nyx cargo spacecraft.
Developed by QinetiQ Space under a European Space Agency contract awarded in 2014, the International Berthing and Docking Mechanism was designed as a standardised interface to support docking and berthing for the next generation of crew and cargo spacecraft. In 2022, Redwire acquired QinetiQ Space for approximately €32 million, establishing its European subsidiary and assuming responsibility for the manufacture and commercialisation of the IBDM.
On 18 November, Redwire announced that it had been awarded an “eight-figure” contract by The Exploration Company to deliver two IBDMs. The International Docking System Standard-compliant docking systems will be utilised aboard the company’s upcoming Nyx Earth demonstration flight to the International Space Station (ISS), currently expected to take place in 2028.
“This agreement marks a significant step in supporting Europe’s fast-growing commercial space sector,” said Redwire Belgium general manager Marc Dielissen. “We are thrilled to contribute to one of the most exciting space programmes in Europe. IBDM allows for future docking operations in IDSS-compliant environments and positions our system to support missions that demand flexibility, safety, and precision.”
This is the second contract for IBDMs Redwire has secured in 2025, with Thales Alenia Space placing an order for four docking mechanisms for the ESA’s habitation module for the lunar Gateway space station.
Nyx Earth is expected to measure four metres in diameter and approximately seven metres in height. On its first mission to the ISS, the spacecraft is expected to deliver around 2,600 kilograms of pressurised cargo to the station. In a recent interview with European Spaceflight, The Exploration Company CEO Hélène Huby revealed that the company was in the process of manufacturing and testing engineering models of its Nyx Earth capsule. According to Huby, the company expects to begin producing flight hardware for the capsule’s inaugural flight early next year.
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> Redwire acquired QinetiQ Space for approximately €32 million, …
> Redwire announced that it had been awarded an “eight-figure” contract by The Exploration Company to deliver two IBDMs.
So at least €10.000.000, or >€5 million each.
Good deal for Redwire, but I do wonder what it says about Nyx that they subcontract this. The IDSS is an open standard, and ESA already spend €33 million on the IBDM implementation for DreamChaser. (So designs should also be publicly available?)
One benefit of the IBDM is that it seems to be androgynous, so two capsules could dock together. (NASA capsules only use the active side, and the station the passive)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Berthing_and_Docking_Mechanism
For comparison, Christian Davenport recently covered the SpaceX docking implementation in his book “Rocket Dreams”.
SpaceX did have weeks access to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. But surely ESA should offer similar testing opportunity?:
> The prototype was so rudimentary it looked like it had been built by a hobbyist in a garage with spare parts — because it essentially had been.
>.. a couple of SpaceX engineers in 2013 purchased mountain bike shocks from an online cycling shop. They bought the rest of the parts from McMaster-Carr, a sort of Home Depot for industrial tools and materials and dubbed their creation the “McDocker.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/09/15/spacex-dragon-musk-nasa-space-station/