Innovative Space Technology for Sustainable Satellite Disposal and Mitigation of Space Debris in the Spotlight
Unusual Event at SpaceTech Expo Bremen: HPS Hardware Handover at the OHB Stand
November 2025
Handover of ADEO Space Drag Sails to OHB at SpaceTech Expo Bremen
Unusual Event at SpaceTech Expo Bremen: HPS Hardware Handover at the OHB Stand
On 19.11.2025 at 15:30, an extraordinary event for a trade fair of this kind took place at the SpaceTech Expo stand of the German space company OHB in Bremen: For the first time, genuine ADEO hardware was ceremoniously and personally handed over between HPS (CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer and CFO Peter Rauhut) and OHB (CEO Chiara Pedersoli and Member of Management Board Gianaldo Mantovani) for integration into a new satellite constellation – marking a strong, tangible sign of innovation and sustainability in the space sector.
HPS GmbH Supplies Drag Sails for Safe Satellite Deorbiting
The Munich-based high-tech company HPS GmbH (headquartered in Munich, with a subsidiary in Bucharest) delivered four ordered ADEO-N(ano) class drag sails to its client, the renowned space company OHB, in Bremen. The ADEO modules are essential for the accelerated deorbiting of satellites at the end of their service life, ensuring compliance with the legal requirement of a maximum five-year deorbit period.
Technological Responsibility and Collaboration for Sustainable Space Activities
HPS is the developer and manufacturer of the ADEO product family of drag sails, designed for satellites of all sizes and weight classes in LEO and MEO orbits. Both companies – HPS and OHB – are also among the first signatories of the ESA Zero Debris Charter and are jointly as well as individually committed to its consistent implementation. By integrating ADEO into its LEO-PNT satellites, OHB underscores its top-level support for sustainable space activities, as well as for close collaboration between large system integrators and SMEs, which is of great and ever-increasing importance, especially in the context of European defence initiatives.
Significance of the Partnership and the Project
For HPS, collaboration with OHB is of particular relevance. For example, HPS supplied the downlink antenna for the OHB satellite of the HERA mission. The current delivery concerns a space programme of immense reach: the LEO-PNT satellite constellation is part of the ESA programme for the next generation of highly precise navigation and positioning technology in space. In general, ESA is committed with great dedication to consistently implementing its five-year deorbit requirements in its missions.
SpaceTech Expo Bremen as a Stage for Innovation and Sustainability
With its numerous space technology models and information stands from around one thousand exhibitors, the SpaceTech Expo in Bremen provided a unique backdrop for the handover of the ADEO modules, which are scheduled to launch into space in 2026. The timing of the fair and the already planned handover coincided by chance, so both companies spontaneously decided to celebrate this event as an extraordinary moment.
Dr. Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO of HPS GmbH, emphasised: “There is no better way to draw attention to pioneering technologies for the avoidance of space debris with a strong presence at by far the most important space fair in Europe – where all relevant institutions and companies of the industry are gathered. The ADEO modules of the N-version delivered here, are among the most in-demand ADEO-class of drag sails currently available.”
