It’s called Power Suite Curie and it’s the new frontier of Made in Italy space engineering. Designed by Argotec, a Turin-based company specializing in satellites and subsystems, this technology has been designed to ensure reliability and energy efficiency for vehicles that will travel in deep space. The international debut took place during the Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, between 10 and 13 August, where Argotec illustrated in detail the potential of the system through a technical paper.

Curie is a new generation PCDU (Power Conditioning and Distribution Unit), a true electric heart capable of powering satellites even at distances greater than 24 million kilometers from Earth, in very high radiation environments. The project is the result of a collaboration with ESA and introduces key features such as miniaturisation, modularity, long operational life and unprecedented durability. The first application will be the HENON mission, scheduled for the end of 2026, during which the system will ensure constant energy to the satellite directed towards the Sun and the Distant Retrograde Orbit. The goal will be to collect data on space weather and promptly report critical phenomena.

HENON is a technology demonstrator developed under ESA’s General Support Technology Programme, with the support of the Italian Space Agency through the ALCOR programme and with the participation of the United Kingdom and Finland. The mission is conceived as a test bed for future constellations dedicated to deep space, paving the way for more competitive and high-performance solutions.

Argotec, already a protagonist with missions such as LICIACube and ArgoMoon, holds the record for the most distant Italian object ever launched into space, at 14 million kilometers. With Curie and HENON, the company aims to exceed this milestone, further strengthening the role of Italy and Turin in space research and innovation.

David Avino, CEO of Argotec, said: “Curie represents a paradigm shift for the Italian and international space industry. This technology will enable next-generation robotic exploration missions, taking scientific research beyond current boundaries. Deep Space is our history, what has made us who we are today, and a challenge we face together with ESA and ASI.”