Eighteen million euros for small satellite platforms and launch services
- The German Space Agency at DLR has commissioned the Berlin-based company Exolaunch to implement the launch services 'package' for the 12 winners of the Small Satellite and Small Satellite Payload competitions.
- The contract includes the procurement of flights on small launch vehicles, the coordination of the launch campaigns, the procurement of small satellites for the payloads from the competition and the provision of relevant technical guidelines and peripherals for satellite and payload manufacturers. In addition, Exolaunch will oversee qualification tests, compatibility analyses and manufacturing activities.
- European research institutions and companies were invited to submit proposals for small satellites or payloads to the German Space Agency at DLR in 2023. The winners will receive a zero-cost small satellite platform for their payloads as well as a zero-cost launch opportunity on a European microlauncher in 2025.
- Focus: Spaceflight, New Space, start-ups, SME funding
Small satellites are versatile and flexible – for telecommunications services, Earth observation and climate research, or for testing new technologies in space. They can be produced in larger quantities and therefore more cost-effectively and rapidly than conventional satellites, opening up a wide range of new opportunities for commercial services and scientific research. With this in mind, the German government has launched the Small Satellite Initiative. The German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) manages this programme and its competitions on behalf of and with funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz; BMWK).
"The competitions benefit start-ups and SMEs in particular and thus also put the important New Space focus of the space strategy into practice. We see the competitions as a catalyst and trailblazer for the commercialisation of space activities in Germany and Europe," says Walther Pelzer, DLR Executive Board Member and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR. "By commissioning Exolaunch GmbH, we are now taking the next important step towards launch."
The contract with Exolaunch GmbH is worth almost 18 million euros. The Berlin-based company has been responsible for more than 80 percent of German small satellite launches over the last 10 years and has already flown several DLR-supported missions. The current contract includes the procurement of flights on small launch vehicles, the coordination of the launch campaigns, the procurement of small satellites for the payloads from the competition and the provision of relevant technical guidelines and peripherals for satellite and payload manufacturers. In addition, Exolaunch will oversee qualification tests, compatibility analyses and manufacturing activities.
European research institutions and companies were able to submit proposals for small satellites or payloads to the German Space Agency at DLR in 2023. The winners will receive a zero-cost small satellite platform for their payloads as well as a zero-cost launch opportunity on a European microlauncher in 2025.
The winners of the Small Satellite and Small Satellite Payload competitions were announced on 23 November 2023 at the second national Small Satellite Conference in Berlin.
The following five German companies won the small satellite competition and will receive a launch opportunity on a European microlauncher.
OroraTech GmbH: This company is constructing eight microsatellites that will fly in formation to monitor forest fires every hour using infrared cameras.
Talos GmbH: This start-up company is producing five microsatellites for tracking wildlife and livestock as part of the ICARUS project.
Planetary Transportation Systems GmbH: This start-up company is producing three miniature satellites for classifying and processing Earth observation data in space using quantum technology.
Rapid Cubes GmbH: This company will use four microsatellites to test bi-directional data communications for Internet-of-Things applications in species and nature conservation.
Vyoma GmbH: This start-up company is launching a small satellite for the optical monitoring of space debris a few centimetres across.
The following seven companies won the small satellite payload competition and will receive a small satellite platform and a launch opportunity on a European microlauncher.
Marble Imaging GmbH: A multispectral camera that will be used to acquire high-resolution Earth observation data.
Berlin Space Consortium GmbH: Qualification of a small-satellite electric propulsion system for orbital manoeuvres and space debris mitigation.
High Performance Space Structure Systems GmbH: Demonstration of a development test in the form of a braking sail to cause a small satellite to re-enter after the end of its mission and thus prevent the formation of space debris.
InSpacePropulsion Technologies GmbH: The qualification of two chemical propulsion systems using green propellants for small satellites, to be used for rendezvous manoeuvres and to avoid space debris.
Airbus Defence and Space GmbH: Testing of an electric propulsion system for small satellites that uses alternative fuels – in this case iodine.
Quantum Galactics GmbH: Conducting a development trial of a cyber security test system to prevent the failure of a satellite due to hacker attacks.
Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (iABG): Development of an AI payload that ensures the reliability of AI models directly on the sensor or satellite.