CIMR-LDRS 8m-EQM Assembly-Story, Episode 2/12

October 2025

Recapping the first episode of our 12-part series, the CIMR mission is multi-hundred million euro ESA mission to measure sea-ice concentration, sea-surface temperature, sea-surface salinity, and more.
Our focus in the groundbreaking mission, is the Large Deployable Reflector Subsystem (LDRS) – a combination of complex state-of-the-art technologies, built by the best minds across Europe.

In today’s episode we will zero in on the day-to-day progress. Starting with the image on the upper right, release nuts from Glenair (which are used in HDRMs (Hold Down Release Mechanisms) to either keep space equipment stowed or to deploy it, have been procured and integrated into the HPS-Deployable Arm Isostatic HDRM (see upper left image). This isostatic HDRM will at some point be assembled onto the full DAA (Deployed Arm Assembly) of which one Arm Segment (see lower right image) has been through Thermal Vacuum Cycling at AAC in Wiener Neustadt (AT).
The lower left picture shows the arrival of the DRA harness built by VH&S (DE) at LSS premises (DE). This harness will connect the same Arm segment to the LSS-DRA (Deployed Reflector Assembly).

Stay tuned for more insider info as we observe and learn together how an ESA mission is realized.
HPS/LSS, 10.10.2025

HPS Romania and OHB Germany Sign Major Subcontract on Delivery of Radiators for ESA´s Space Mission LISA

October 2025

Just a few months after the groundbreaking contract between the European Space Agency (ESA) and OHB for the LISA mission, another milestone has been reached: HPS Romania (HPS-RO) has signed a multimillion-euro contract with OHB Germany to deliver a critical component for one of ESA’s most ambitious science missions to date.

LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) stands as one of the ESA’s science cornerstone missions, aiming to explore the deep-space phenomena of gravitational waves. These tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time hold answers to some of the most fundamental questions about our universe, since LISA will be the first space-based observatory to detect and measure gravitational waves, offering insights into phenomena like black hole mergers and galactic formation. The mission requires three spacecraft flying in a triangular formation across 2.5 million kilometers, using laser interferometry to detect distortions in space-time with unprecedented precision.

As part of this mission, HPS Romania will supply essential thermal radiators that ensure the spacecraft’s high-performance instruments and electronics remain within optimal temperature ranges by emitting the satellite’s heat via large metal structural panels into open space. Without these radiators, the delicate measurements LISA must take across millions of kilometers in space would be compromised.

This comprehensive contract covers Phases B2 and C/D, spanning a total of several years. It includes the production of advanced, ultra-lightweight radiator systems—one of the most visible and significant hardware contributions ever made by an ESA New Member State industry to a flagship space mission.

“We are deeply proud that Romania, through HPS-RO, is stepping into a frontline role on a global mission of this scale,” said Astrid Draguleanu, COO of HPS Romania. “This contract is proof of what consistent support, national policy, and strategic industrial partnerships can achieve.”

The contract also reflects a remarkable success for ESA and national industrial policies, showcasing how New Member States like Romania (official ESA-member since 22.12.2011) can rise to deliver high-performance, flight-critical products for leading space missions. In just nine years since its founding, HPS Romania — founded in 2016 and backed by technology programs, ESA special initiatives, national investments, own investments and the support and investments of its parent company HPS Germany — has evolved into a key contributor to European space infrastructure.

Over the next two years, HPS Romania will develop mission-specific manufacturing processes to realize an extremely lightweight radiator design tailored for space. This phase will be followed by four years of serial production, supplying radiators for all three LISA satellites: The radiator systems are built using a “built-to-print” approach, delivering around 50 high-performance sandwich panels during Phase C/D. Each panel can measure up to 1.5 by 2.0 meters and contains hundreds of inserts, followed by specialized thermal painting.

This contract is part of HPS-RO’s core product line “Thermal Hardware”, which includes:

• Radiators
• Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI)
• Thermal Straps.

In addition, HPS-RO’s broader portfolio supports ESA and commercial missions with:

• Secondary Structures
• Ground Purge Equipment
• MGSE (Mechanical Ground Support Equipment).

For actual and potentially new customers, the LISA radiator contract is a strong statement of HPS Romania’s capabilities as cost-efficient supplier for high-end space equipment. For ESA and OHB, it confirms the strategic value of continued cooperation with a highly reliable and innovative partner. And for Romanian institutions and decision-makers, it’s a symbol of the nation’s growing role in cutting-edge space exploration.

CIMR-LDRS 8m-EQM Assembly-Story, Episode 1/12

September 2025

The goal is as ambitious as the means: technological non-dependence for Europe in space with a deployable reflector construction for high frequencies (Ka band) measuring eight meters in diameter on an equally deployable eight-meter-long arm, which rotates around its own axis eight times per minute in orbit. Extreme requirements: for example, an RMS (root mean square) value for surface accuracy that is to be considerably less than a few thenths mm over the entire 50 m2 reflector area, or a maximum permissible deviation of only 10 mm from the nominal value at the tip of the arm 8 m away, including vibrations, centrifugal force, and thermal distortions. Overall, the Large Deployable Reflector Subsystem (LDRS) consists of reflector, arm, deployment control electronics, harness, various hold-down and release mechanisms, and thermal hardware. This is the €120 million task of the LEA consortium (product name: Large European Antenna) of more than a dozen space companies, mainly SME, from eight countries led by HPS/LSS.

Now that the most difficult part, the coordination of the design and structural analysis between the large LDRS and the satellite, as well as achieving the “manufacturing readiness” of all components through countless process developments, has now been overcome, the “Engineering Qualification Models (EQM)” is now in the middle of production. We want to take you with us in a sequel story in 12 episodes.

As a reminder in relation to our LEA-team: Munich-based LSS GmbH is responsible for the Deployable Reflector Assembly (DRA). The unique Ka-band gold-plated MESH for the DRA is developed by HPtex GmbH, located in the German textile-triangle in Upper Franconia (DE). The unique Ka-band MESH for the reflector is produced by HPtex GmbH located in the textile-triangle Upper Franconia, the 9m x 9m gold-plated EQM-Mesh (see picture) has already been produced. INVENT GmbH, Brunswick (DE), is supplying the carbon fiber reinforced tubes (see picture) for the 8-meter “Deployable Arm Assembly (DAA)”, the first EQM-segment is already under inspection. NanoSPACE AG, Switzerland is developing and producing the highly accurate and stable motor-driven hinges for the arm. INEGI Portugal has already delivered the 0-g ground test support equipment for the DRA to LSS, the final tests for the 0-g DAA-GSE are in full swing before delivery (see picture). HPS S.R.L., Romania is currently finalizing under great time pressure one assembly and transport ground support equipment (MGSE) after the other (see picture). HPS GmbH, Munich, as direct contractor of the satellite Primes ThalesAleniaSpace, Rome (IT), has the LDRS subsystem responsibility, as well as that for the deployment arm DAA.

When CIMR embarks on its mission aboard a Vega C in 2029 to observe ice sheets and snow from dawn to dusk in a sun-synchronous orbit, this will be a step forward in terms of critical technologies, as LDRS are also products for a range of military applications that can contribute to increased independent defense capabilities, important especially in these days.

Sequel follows.

HPS/LSS, 16.09.2025

HPS brings space technology to the world’s most iconic rock festival

August 2025

Wacken 2025 – Countdown is On
HPS team heading to the Space Camp
On July 23rd, the HPS team departed for Wacken Open Air 2025. The next day, we began setting up at the Space Camp to be ready for the pre-opening on July 27. With our HERA antenna and the ADEO mockup, we brought cutting-edge space technology to one of the world’s most iconic music festivals.

We looked forward to an exciting week ahead – filled with inspiring conversations, valuable encounters, and the opportunity to meet other exhibitors in person.
Wacken 2025 – let the mission begin.

Wacken 2025 – Space has Landed
A powerful start for HPS at the Space Camp:
After the first full days at Wacken Open Air 2025, it became clear: our mission had launched with great success. At the Space Camp, hundreds of visitors stopped by our booth to explore space technologies up close. The interest was remarkable – from insightful questions and inspiring discussions to several spontaneous applications for jobs in space, even from career changers out of the automotive industry.

Highlights from the first days:

• Strong visitor interest in the HERA antenna and the ADEO deorbit sail, sparking many valuable conversations.
• A steady flow of guests at the HPS booth in the Space Camp area, eager to learn more about sustainable space technologies.
• Our team sharing their expertise and passion for space throughout the day.
• The unique atmosphere of Wacken, with world-class concerts in the evening providing a perfect balance to the technical program.

Even with challenging weather conditions, our team remained motivated and fully committed. We looked forward to the coming days at Wacken Open Air until August 3, continuing to combine the fascination of space with the energy of the metal festival.

Wacken 2025 – What a Ride it Was!
HPS rocks the Space Camp at the world’s most famous metal festival
After an unforgettable week at the world-famous Wacken Open Air Festival, it is time to look back on an incredible Space Camp mission. What began as a collaboration between music, science fiction, and real space technology turned into one of the highlights of the festival – for us as exhibitors and for thousands of fascinated visitors alike.

Our highlights from Wacken 2025:

• Astronaut Alexander Gerst and Astronaut Candidate Dr. Amelie Schoenenwald visited our booth, inspiring guests with their insights and charisma.
• Rabea Rogge delivered a powerful talk that sparked meaningful discussions.
• The Ariane rocket stood proudly next to the main stage – a spectacular symbol of Europe’s space ambitions.
• Our HPS booth in the Space Camp area drew countless visitors with curiosity and genuine excitement for space technologies such as ADEO.
• A true goosebumps moment: drones flying above the stage, projecting a satellite with antenna into the night sky.
• And of course: Guns N’ Roses and Machine Head live on the Holy Ground were musical highlights for the whole team.

Mud, Metal, and Motivation:
Despite Wacken’s legendary weather and muddy grounds, our team embraced the spirit with boots, energy, and enthusiasm. The atmosphere was not only fun for us – the passion and excitement clearly resonated with the guests, leaving many inspired by the unique connection between heavy metal culture and space innovation.

Thank You for the Ride, Space has arrived
This unforgettable week would not have been possible without the outstanding organization by our partners: A heartfelt thank you to BDLI and Fraunhofer AVIATION & SPACE for bringing the Space Camp vision to life and for providing such a professional framework.

We also thank all exhibiting colleagues of the space ecosystem and visitors who contributed to making Wacken 2025 a one-of-a-kind experience. Wacken 2025 will stay in our memories for a long time – and we are already looking forward to what comes next.

Redwire Belgium also relies on the gold standard of deorbit technology: the ADEO dragsail from HPS

July 2025

Twelve years ago, it was just an idea: quickly and inexpensively removing spent satellites from space traffic – quite simply with an automatic brake sail. Today, HPS, the global pioneer of development to ensure the sustainable use of space as a resource, is the international gold standard in deorbit technology with its ADEO dragsail product family for all classes of satellites on LEO orbits. From experimental university projects to global constellations: satellite manufacturers and operators from the EU and Asia, Australia and America rely on ADEO to reliably dispose of their spacecraft within the prescribed window of a maximum of five years after the end of operation.

The latest example: US-corporation Redwire´s branch in Belgium. The integrated aerospace and defense company focusses on autonomous systems and multi-domain operations leveraging digital engineering and AI automation. Redwire’s approximately 1,300 employees located throughout the United States and Europe are committed to delivering innovative space and airborne platforms transforming the future of multi-domain operations.
Redwire’s facility in Belgium has more than 40 years of spaceflight heritage developing spacecraft platforms and success delivering innovative technology for game-changing ESA programs.

The spacecraft specifically designed for this mission will operate on LEO. Its weight as a midsize satellite requires a deorbit module of the ADEO-2 class series, which is now with integrator Redwire. HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer: “We at HPS in Munich and Bucharest are delighted to be able to count this prestigious customer Redwire among our ADEO customers. The importance of Redwire´s role model function for others as a responsible space company cannot be overestimated.”

Experience space in person at Wacken Open Air 2025

July 2025

At the end of July, Wacken will be reaching for the stars: Wacken Open Air will be bringing numerous players from the German space and astronomy sectors to the field – including astronauts.

As part of a special collaboration, visitors can look forward to a space camp with an exciting and informative program on the topic of space. Partners include ArianeGroup, the Astronomical Society (represented by the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn; the House of Astronomy, Heidelberg; the Institute of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Potsdam), the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI), CRAF, the German Aerospace Society (DGLR), Fraunhofer AVIATION & SPACE, HPS, Hylmpulse, NEUROSPACE, OHB, and POLARIS Spaceplanes. A special highlight is the visit of astronaut Alexander Gerst and astronaut Rabea Rogge to Wacken Open Air.

Rockets, rovers, stars, and satellites: In addition to large-scale exhibits such as a replica of the European Ariane 6 launcher, a suborbital rocket from HyImpulse, a moon balloon from OHB, and a prototype of the MIRA 1 space plane from POLARIS Spaceplanes, there is much to discover at the Space Camp at Wacken Open Air. These include the HiveR moon rover from NEUROSPACE, a model of the Fraunhofer Earth observation satellite ERNST, and a mock-up of the ADEO deorbit sail for preventing space debris from HPS. Two-time ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and the first German woman in space, Rabea Rogge, will land on the stage at Wacken Open Air on July 30, 2025, and August 1, respectively.

W:O:A festival co-founder and organizer Thomas Jensen on the collaboration:

“With Space Camp, we are creating a place where innovation can be experienced and shaped first-hand. This collaboration with our partners opens up completely new possibilities – we are really looking forward to the joint mission – it’s going to be loud and legendary!”

Holger Hübner, W:O:A festival co-founder and organizer, adds:

“The cooperation around Space Camp is a milestone for everyone involved. It stands for innovation, inspiration, and a genuine spirit of optimism across all boundaries – a feeling that is also reflected in the music. It’s great to be part of this ambitious project and to set new standards together.”

But there’s even more in store for metalheads between July 27 and August 2, 2025. In the exhibition tent, visitors can learn about a wide range of topics such as astronomy, light pollution, and space technology. Here, they will find stands from the BDLI, the DGLR, Fraunhofer AVIATION & SPACE, HPS, the Astronomical Society, and OHB. Interactive elements invite metalheads to try their hand at moon rovers to drive themselves, interactive games for Earth observation, and water rockets, which are being implemented by six student research groups and the Department of Space Technology (RFT) at the Technical University of Berlin (made possible by the DGLR).

In the lecture tent, Space Camp offers a top-class program of exciting lectures compiled by experts from the industry. Participants can get a taste of astronomical topics, satellite missions, and current challenges such as sustainability in space: “Heavy Metals in Space – How Gold is Formed,” “Saving the Night – How Important Darkness is for Humans, the Environment, and Astronomy,” and much more. Those who want to get involved after gaining these exciting impressions can also learn more about a career in space travel at Space Camp. Daily highlights include an Ask the Scientist or Ask the Industry format, as well as an evening Space Pub Quiz.

______

About Wacken Open Air:
Wacken Open Air is the largest heavy metal festival in the world. Starting with 800 visitors in 1990, today 85,000 fans from all over the world make the pilgrimage to Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein every year, turning the community of 2,000 souls into the center of the festival scene for several days. The organizing company, WOA Festival GmbH, has a broad network at its disposal, including band management, the Wacken Foundation, tour booking, music publishing, travel & stay, merchandising distribution, and ticketing. In cooperation with partners, this results in creative solutions and ideas that revolutionize the festival experience, enable technical innovations, and produce extraordinary event concepts. Wacken Open Air 2025 will take place from July 30 to August 2, 2025.

Successful delivery of ADEO deorbit modules to ISISPACE (NL)

July 2025

HPS, one of the industrial pioneers worldwide in the development of sustainable use of space as a resource, is now the international gold standard in deorbit technology with its ADEO t dragsail product family for all satellite classes on LEO orbits. Satellite manufacturers and operators from the EU and Asia, Australia and America use an ADEO to reliably dispose of their spacecraft within the prescribed time window of a maximum of five years after the end of operation.

The most recent example: ISISPACE, Dutch satellite system integrator and space infrastructure provider, offers innovative turnkey solutions for space missions worldwide. Founded in Delft (NL) in 2006, the company specializes in the design, development, production, testing, launch and operation of small satellite platforms, both for individual missions and for constellations. The first ADEO for an ISISPACE satellite, an ADEO-Nx class module (only 745 gr., integrable into cubesat rails, TRL9-based, short delivery time), was delivered by the HPS project team at the end of June. Yesterday, July 1, 2025, the team personally handed over the CleanGreen Certificate on site in Delft to ISISPACE coinciding with the opening of the “Symposium on Space Sailing”
HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer hopes to celebrate the “possible start of a great collaboration with one of the most prominent and successful small satellite specialists in Europe”.

ISISPACE’s vertically integrated approach has been proven in more than 50 missions carried out in a wide range of solutions and applications, including Earth observation, IOD/IOV and many others. ISISPACE is headquartered in the Netherlands and employs around 120 people from more than 30 countries.

ADEO shines at the “International Symposium on Space Sailing” 2025!

July 2025

This week, at the “7th ISSS” in Delft (NL), HPS is proud to represent Europe’s leading deorbit solution: ADEO – the dragsail for a sustainable orbit.

With the presentation by our project manager Dorottya Milankovich on Day 1, June 30th, we’re showcasing:

• ADEO’s in-orbit flight heritage: now TRL9 after full deorbit of ION SCV-003 (2022–2024)
• Scalable dragsail modules available from 1.7 m² to 25 m² for satellite masses from 1 to 1500 kg
• New development ongoing on non-reflective ATOX-resistant sails, preserving dark skies and material performance
• Flight model of ADEO-L now ready for delivery to Redwire!
• ADEO derivates for small space debris in-situ measurement
• ADEO also applicable for Solar Sailing Missions.

HPS CEO on site: “We are proud to be part of this very specialised space sailing family, ranging from solar sail developers to dragsail suppliers, from radiation scientists to sailing simulation experts.”

In total 82 participants from all over the world listened on site and via online, from USA to Philippines, from NASA to TU Delft.

This Symposium proved:
ADEO is not just a product – HPS is one of the world market leaders for deorbit dragsail modules.

Let’s sail toward a cleaner orbit!

#ADEO #Dragsail #ZeroDebris #CleanSpace #SpaceDebris #ISSS2025 #SpaceSustainability #HPS #SpaceTech #Delft #TUDelft #LEO #SpaceSailing #ESA #SatelliteDeorbiting #Deployables #SolarSailing

Inspection of the HPtex-Mesh for ESA’s Next-Gen Earth Observation Satellite Successfully Completed

June 2025

After months of precision manufacturing at HPtex GmbH, a specialist in space-grade textiles based in Upper Franconia, Germany, a major milestone was reached on June 24, 2025, for the European space mission CIMR (Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer). A large-scale inspection of the mission’s deployable antenna mesh took place in the newly commissioned cleanroom assembly hall at HPS headquarters in southern Munich.

At the heart of the event: the newly developed Universal Space Mesh USM TUCH 32 – an ultra-fine metallic mesh tailored specifically for CIMR’s demanding Ka-band requirements. Available in two variants (20 µm and 25 µm wire diameters), this mesh features E32 needle fineness (32 needles per inch), an exceptionally low mass of approximately 40 g/m², and dimensions of 10.2 x 9.5 meters – making it one of the largest high-performance space meshes of its kind worldwide. The individual mesh stripes were sewn by HPtex with its reengineered sewing machine in a now fully automated and touchless sewing process. Thanks to the large knitting width (over 4 m) of the in-house high-performance knitting machines only two seams have been necessary to assembly this large mesh.
The mesh itself is woven using high-purity wire from LUMA WIRE TEC in Sweden, a long-standing partner of HPS and HPtex.
The inspection was attended by a top-tier delegation, including representatives from:

• ESA (end customer),
• Thales Alenia Space – Italy (TAS-IT) (direct customer of HPS),
• LSS (subcontractor and partner for the 8-meter Deployable Reflector Assembly DRA),
• HPtex (CEO and key staff at the machines),
• and HPS (prime for the Large Deployable Reflector Subsystem, responsible for the Deployable Arm Assembly DAA and for mesh testing and characterization).

This milestone marks the culmination of four years of dedicated development under the CIMR program, building on six prior years of preparatory research and prototyping. Over the course of the project, hundreds of mechanical tension tests were conducted—primarily using HPS’s proprietary testing setup, which has been steadily refined over the years. In parallel, hundreds of RF tests were carried out, culminating at ESA/ESTEC, using their cutting-edge, high-precision RF characterization facility, to fine-tune the mesh’s electromagnetic properties. Cyril Mangenot, former RF specialist at ESA/ESTEC and one of the earliest supporters of a European LDRS solution on the agency side, supported the mesh development for HPS with all his experience.

The next step: mating the mesh with the Engineering Qualification Model (EQM) of the cable network provided by LSS. CIMR is currently in Phase C/D, with the Critical Design Review (CDR) scheduled for the first half of 2026.
This achievement exemplifies the strength of European collaboration in space technology. From materials science to RF performance, every aspect of this “dream team” effort—including ESA, TAS-IT, HPS, HPtex, LSS, and others—has contributed to an outstanding result.

HPtex is now the central European source for supplying high-performance space meshes to customers across the globe – from the Americas to Asia – and demonstrates once again that world-class aerospace innovation is alive and thriving in Bavaria.

Ernst K. Pfeiffer: Summary of the Zero Debris Symposium and Workshop

June 2025

Great: the Zero-Debris Symposium and Workshop on the Zero-Debris Booklet brought a full house to ESA’s European Space Operation Center from June 10 to 12. The program covered all relevant aspects of the topic with slots for exchanging experiences on developments over the last 12 months, panel discussions such as “Zero Debris Progress & Challenges” and presentations such as the one by HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer on “How we work with the Zero Debris Booklet”. HPS High Performance Space Structure Systems GmbH is one of the central suppliers in this “clean space” sector – but not only that: it is also one of the driving industrial forces when it comes to making space travel sustainable. To this end, the company has been investing heavily in corresponding technologies for over ten years and today covers the demand for towing sail modules (ADEO), is working on deployable membranes for the in-situ measurement of small debris (SAILOR) and has recently developed non-reflective films (ProFilm) for “dark skies”. At the end of the event, Pfeiffer summarized his summary in the following positions:

• The Zero Debris Charter and the 5-year deorbit rule introduced by ESA for all its new missions is important for strategic planning in companies and motivates further investment in corresponding technology developments.
• The mindset of satellite manufacturers and operators with regard to deorbit approaches has changed fundamentally over the past 18 months, with more and more satellite manufacturers turning to hybrid and redundant solutions.
• In the early phases of national and ESA missions, a specific trade-off between different deorbit technologies should be performed; the recommended trade-off criteria should be part of the Zero Debris Booklet.
• To promote the goals of the Zero Debris Community in Europe and worldwide, simple KPI graphs should visualize the – hopefully positive – development of the debris situation, such as the average deorbit time, the number of satellites lost due to anomalies (according to NASA, it is currently more than 40% of small sats!) and the number of collision maneuvres.
• An anchor customer for suppliers of zero-debris equipment or vouchers for satellite builders for on-board zero-debris technology should be part of the CMin25 program (e.g. 10 MioEUR/year, in packages of 100k)
• A redefinition of “end-of-life”, “end-of-mission”, “end-of-business” needs to be made now if deorbit time to complete demise is to be part of the mission today; the definition needs to be crystal clear in potential future courts.
• It is time to study the effects of the exhaust gases produced by thousands of propellant-based deorbit maneuvers that could affect high-resolution optical Earth observation missions (including military ones) in 5-10 years.
• A step-by-step approach with a gradual implementation of small zero-debris targets is better than endless discussions about perfect regulations and technologies with the requirement to satisfy all stakeholders at the same time.

Pfeiffer particularly emphasized the positive spirit of optimism of all participants, which was carried and spread by the space giants such as TAS and OHB, the midcaps such as GMV or FEV etamax, as well as NewSpace companies such as D-Orbit, RIVADA, VYOMA, Astroscale, Clearspace, investors, lawyers, institutes, EIC and national space agencies. Special thanks went to the organizers from ESA’s Space Safety Department, in particular Quentin Verspieren, Sacha Bressollette and Calum Turner.

HPS prominently present at ESA’s Zero Debris Week

June 2025

From 10 to 12 June 2025, everything at ESA’s European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt will be dominated by the highly ambitious “Zero Debris Program” of Europe’s space agency. The days are divided into two large action chapters: from June 10-11 at noon, the Zero Debris Future Symposium will focus in particular on high-level discussions of non-technical aspects, such as the future direction of the Zero Debris Initiative and its community, as well as commercial and political challenges in connection with orbital debris. Day two, June 11-12 at noon, will be dedicated to another working session on the Zero Debris Technical Booklet. Among other things, the technical leaders who will oversee the next edition of the booklet will be elected on this occasion. The participating organizations will also discuss how they have used the booklet so far, how the work on the booklet should be regulated and organized, and how the technologies listed in the booklet can be implemented.

The Zero Debris Technical Booklet published on January 15, 2025 lists technologies that ESA believes will contribute to achieving the goal of zero debris by 2030. The booklet is essentially a technical zero debris “to-do list”. The aim is to minimize the release of new debris and reduce its impact on people, infrastructure and the Earth’s environment.

Developed by a team of engineers, operators, lawyers, scientists and policy experts from a wide range of institutions in the Zero Debris community, the booklet identifies six key technology objectives that are essential to achieving Zero Debris goals:

• Preventing the release of new debris at any scale, from small particles to missile parts.
• Preventing the creation of debris from collisions or breakups.
• Improve monitoring and coordination of space traffic.
• Immediate evacuation of satellites from important low-Earth and geostationary orbits at the end of their mission.
• Preventing damage to the ground after re-entries.

ESA itself is focusing its efforts on the development of debris-resistant materials and technologies, the design of satellites that can be easily removed from orbit and do not burn up on re-entry into the atmosphere, and finally the development of standardized interfaces for efficient removal in the event of a malfunction.
Beyond the satellite itself, the focus is also on new systems to remove all components of the launch vehicle from orbit. Another source of debris are small particles released by certain types of fuel and pyrotechnics in orbit during deployment. Alternatives are to be developed for this. The distribution of space debris around the Earth highlights the importance of collision avoidance measures. Once the satellites are in operation, much can be gained by optimizing collision avoidance processes and space traffic management. A key element is improving tracking capabilities for smaller, currently untrackable debris objects to refine risk assessment.

Operational practices can also be optimized, supported by new technologies to improve communication infrastructure and spacecraft health monitoring. At the end of a mission, the deorbit and re-entry process (for LEO and MEO satellites) and the impact on the environment need to be considered. Active debris removal services are required in orbit, as well as reducing the environmental impact of debris re-entry on the ocean and atmosphere, which will begin with further research.

Participation in ESA’s Zero Debris Initiative is a top priority for HPS – and accordingly, HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer will take part in the central program items on both days in Darmstadt. HPS’s commitment goes far beyond academic aspects, as the company has already made a remarkable contribution to avoiding space debris with its ADEO Deorbit Module product family by rapidly removing disused satellites from orbit; in addition, it is already on the threshold of Phase B with initial developments for a detector for previously undetectable particles from 0.1 to 10 mm in size called SAILOR.

The HPS boss doesn’t mince his words when it comes to emphasizing the importance of the ESA initiative: “The Zero-Debris Initiative is a start, but we are still a long way to our goal. We still have to reach an important milestone, and that is directly in the minds of the target groups: In parts of the space community, the debris issue is still seen as merely a green nice-to-have topic. This is absolutely wrong: it is an issue of great commercial interest and value, because if the littering of orbits continues at this rate, economically viable activities in space will soon be history – and that so before they have really taken off.”

HPS puts ADEO know-how at the service of ESA´s Hungarian Prime C3S

May 2025

It seems to be a basic law of nature: Wherever and however humans are active, they end up producing large quantities of waste. To suppress the problem, many terrestrial areas, the oceans and, in recent decades, outer space itself have become dumping grounds. However, the latter in particular is now threatening to take radical revenge, as flying debris from previous space missions is increasingly becoming a threat to all other activities, especially in the most frequented orbits between 200 and 1200 kilometers.

While large debris such as burnt-out rocket stages are the easiest to detect and can be avoided by new guests in orbit, it is the small projectiles, flying with 5-10 km/s orbital speed, which have often shrunk below millimeter size as a result of previous fragmentations, that pose the greatest threats. Even one millimeter-sized debris impact can render a satellite inoperable. Emerging their threat further, their flux increases significantly as their size decreases, with the consequence that the much more frequent impacts of debris of this size can pose a far greater risk to space operations than the more dramatic catastrophic incidents.

However, only larger debris can be observed and tracked from the ground – but not in the critical range of 0.1 to 50 mm. Therefore, measurements in situ, i.e. directly in orbit, are urgently needed to make it possible to describe the Earth’s flying garbage dump with sufficient reliability in the first place. After critically weighing up the alternatives, ESA has turned its attention to a possible large-area detector based on the successful ADEO deorbit sails from HPS. If the sail membranes are now equipped with acoustic sensors and cameras on board, it will be possible to measure the dust flow in the required size range. The name of the project: SAILOR – Sail Array for Impact Logging in Orbit.

The spacecraft consists of two large detector surfaces 100 cm apart. The two sails have an exposed surface area of 25 m2; in the ADEO program, they are the main actors of the large dragsail versions under the name ADEO-L. The membranes are around 10 μm thick and are held in position by extendable cross booms. The booms are stowed together with the sail membranes during launch and deployed in orbit. The deployment module in which booms and sails are integrated, consists of a deploying mechanism with a motor that pushes the boom arms outwards. A system of multiple cameras is mounted to a separate boom to document the holes created on the inner surface of both sail membranes. Acoustic sensors are attached to the sails to detect an impact in real time. The interaction of SAILOR’s technical equipment will ultimately allow the density, speed and trajectory of the small debris to be determined.

The ambitious ESA project SAILOR is currently in the transition from Phase A to Phase B1, which will also include the construction of breadboard models of the spacecraft and its electronics as well as the associated test programs. It also involves these steps:

• Production of test samples of the proposed membrane equipped with the acoustic sensors
• Tests of sail folding for stowage
• Testing of the boom and sail deployment mechanisms
• A high-speed (hypervelocity) impact test program to test the sails and sensors
• Testing a camera system to image holes in the sail
• Preliminary design of the spacecraft including suppliers for all critical components and subsystems. PDR is currently planned to be achieved until 2028.

Overall, the specifications of the project in this phase should lead to a positive decision at the ESA Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen in November 2025 on the continuation of a three-year mission at an altitude of 850 km to be launched in 2031/2032. The industrial team proposes a small precursor CubeSat mission, called OPTIMIST after this type of sailboat, to test the sensor technology using an approx. 10 m2 membrane as early as 2027/2028 as risk mitigation for the full-scale mission.

The industrial structure behind SAILOR also stands for this. This is because C3S, a leading Hungarian aerospace company, is acting as prime contractor for an ESA project of this kind for the first time, drawing on the expertise of ADEO inventor HPS GmbH as a subcontractor for the deployable membrane subsystem. C3S is also planning work shares for HPS in Romania. HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer: “The great enthusiasm with which we have taken on our role in this project rests on three pillars: firstly, it is existentially important for the space industry as a whole; secondly, it is an opportunity for us as HPS to impressively demonstrate the versatility of the ADEO technology from our company; and thirdly, we consider it eminently important in Europe that the industrial talents of Hungary and Romania are finally brought to light in an appropriate way, and that in a joint mission. We at HPS are delighted to be working under the project management of C3S.”

CIMR-LDRS: The lighthouse project for non-dependence in European space travel enters the production phase of the qualification model (EQM) as planned

April 2025

Long before an unspeakable bloodbath sealed the end of peaceful life in Eastern Europe in 2022, the demand for technological “non-dependence” had already conquered a top position among the strategic priorities in German and European space travel. The focus was particularly on large reflector antennas that could be deployed in space, suitable for missions of all kinds.

The history of this German technology for Europe began more than a decade ago with SCALABE, a technology development funded by ESA, and SMERALDA (SME’s Radar and Large Deployable Antenna), a study funded by the German Space Agency with significant participation by antenna specialist HPS GmbH. Through further technical chapters of successful concretization of the goal with significant support from ESA and the EU, the Munich-based company finally led a consortium of mostly medium-sized partners from eight countries to the spectacular win of the 115 million euro contract from Prime`sThalesAlenia Space (TAS) for “CIMR LDRS” (Large Deployable Reflector Subsystem) in 2020: the world’s largest rotating deployable reflector antenna construction for the EU’s Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) lighthouse project for observing land, ice and oceans, particularly the Arctic, from space under the management of the European Space Agency (ESA). The LDR subsystem consists of a reflector, arm, deconvolution electronics, cabling, various hold-down mechanisms and thermal hardware.

After a long design phase and intensive iteration with the direct customer TAS in Rome and the end customer ESA, the go-ahead was given in phase C/D with the completion of the first so-called “Manufacturing Readiness Review” for the construction and testing of a qualification model (Engineering Qualification Model, EQM). In these days of spring 2025, HPS has now finally entered the intensive phase of manufacturing the EQM.

Challenges on the way to new shores
The technical challenges were and are immense, as the goal is nothing less than a deployable reflector construct for high frequencies (Ka-band) with a diameter of eight meters on an equally deployable eight-meter-long arm that rotates around its own axis eight times per minute in orbit. This results in extreme requirements such as an RMS (Root Mean Square) value for the surface accuracy, which must be much smaller than 1/10 mm over the entire 50 m² reflector surface, or a maximum permissible deviation of the 8 m distant arm tip of just 10 mm from the nominal value, including vibrations, centrifugal force and thermal deformations.

The challenges of managing the various aspects of the project were and are no less demanding. The program management of the CIMR team from ESA and TAS has played a prominent role from the outset, while HPS GmbH, known for its heritage in institutional, military and commercial antenna construction – in addition to its own development work at arm and subsystem level – is responsible for managing the consortium of around a dozen SMEs, including such outstanding innovation drivers as Munich-based LSS GmbH for the deployable reflector assembly (DRA), based on a highly successful, long-standing development partnership. The lightweight carbon struts for the DRA come from the former Portuguese HPS subsidiary and now FHP, INVENT GmbH contributes the carbon fiber-reinforced tubes for the 8-meter deployable support arm (DAA), NanoSpace Switzerland develops and produces the high-precision yet stable, motor-driven joints of the arm, HPS Romania and INEGI Portugal the constructions for ground tests and transports (“MGSE”). In addition, HPS is responsible for providing the central element for the deployable reflector: the measurably best Ka-band MESH from HPtex that is available to buy in a 9m x 9m size – and, as a “made in Germany” product, transforms European non-dependence from vision to reality. Until then, a MESH in such dimensions had only been available in American production. Originally planned as an essential element of the German-European supply chain for CIMR, the joint venture HPTex GmbH (JV of Iprotex GmbH & Co. KG and HPS GmbH), founded in 2020, now sells its mesh products worldwide, especially in Asian and continental American countries. The EQM mesh for CIMR recently came out of HPtex production.

The most important components (DAA and DRA) will be ready by the end of the year, and the series of tests will begin early in 2026.

“If you want to be ahead, you shouldn’t be afraid of the unknown” (Ernst K. Pfeiffer)
When CIMR sets off on its mission in 2029 on board a Vega C in a sun-synchronous orbit to observe ice sheets and snow, among other things, from dawn to dusk, Europe will not only benefit from the knowledge gained from the project, but also from the certainty of having mastered the step towards technological LDRS independence. LDRS are also products for a range of military applications that can contribute to an increased defense capability, especially in these years. HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer sees this as a milestone that goes far beyond the immediate success of the project: “This space project is clear proof that the mentality of all those involved in the project – both industry and institutions – is completely different to the risk aversion that the public normally attributes to Germany in particular, and to some extent also to ESA. Not being afraid of the unknown is the first key to success. Way up front is where it´s getting dark. Especially in space. But not only there.”

Pushing the limits of what’s possible in CubeSat technology – for science, for Earth, for the future

April 2025

We are thrilled to announce that HPS GmbH has been awarded a new Technology Activity by the European Space Agency (ESA)! The contract signature has been taken place on 08.04.2025.

In this groundbreaking GSTP-project, we will develop a cutting-edge CubeSat deployable ArrayAntenna in collaboration with our esteemed partners at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (IIS, Germany). This innovative technology, known as MANT (Miniaturized Deployable Antenna for Small and Nanosatellites), will reach TRL6 by the end of the project, marking a significant advancement for the capabilities of small and nanosatellites focussed to civil Earth Observation applications, which always would enable also “Dual Use”. The project is fully funded with a budget of 750,000 euros and will run for two years.
We are excited to contribute to the next generation of satellite technology, advancing small satellite communication with more efficient, compact, and powerful solutions. Stay tuned for updates such as for detailed geometries (in stowed configuration: less than 1U), frequencies and interfaces, as we never stop working towards transforming space technology!

Next Milestone: Requirements Review by end of May.

Cubesat-UDAN: CDR successfully completed – a major milestone for Europe’s disruptive antenna technology

April 2025

NewSpace relies primarily on small satellites. However, their efficiency is primarily based on antenna performance: the smaller the satellite, the lower the antenna performance and the more expensive it is to technically compensate for this on the ground. The solution from HPS Munich and its Romanian subsidiary in Bucharest: an antenna that can be deployed outside the satellite in the form of a 50 cm high conical quadruple helix and 90 cm diameter ground plane with the additional advantage that it can be scaled to even lower or higher frequencies than the planned bandwidth of between 410 and 460 Mhz but always keeping a gain above 10 dBi. Stowed together for the launch phase, the antenna package is only 10x10x15 cm in size.

ESA was convinced and awarded the development contract in 2018 within its ARTES program to the German specialist for deployable antennas, HPS GmbH in Munich and its Romanian subsidiary HPS S.R.L., Bucharest. In the meantime, the German Space Agency at DLR has provided further ARTES funding to maximize efficient development.

We are delighted that the next major milestone has also been passed with flying colors: the punctual completion of the CDR phase in March 2025. This will now be followed by the production of the engineering model in the second and third quarters and then the test campaign; the contract ends in the fourth quarter of 2025. HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer comments “With this project completion, HPS will raise UDAN’s maturity level to TRL 6 and then finally to TRL 9 with a planned in-orbit demonstration (IOD). This means nothing less than clear the way for the latest generation of antenna technology on the commercial NewSpace market!”

A full success: the “Space Day” at HPS

March 2025

On March 28, 2025, HPS in Munich opened its doors to space enthusiasts and those who might want to become one – and it was a great success! We welcomed numerous guests who took part in our guided tours, presentations, Q&A sessions and workshops with great interest. We were particularly pleased about the visit of Ministerial Director Dr. Markus Wittmann and MRin Anne Köster from the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, who came to get a personal impression of our work in Bavaria (Munich and Münchberg in Upper Franconia).

The entire day was characterized by innovation, thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for space travel. Our guests were given exclusive insights into our products, expertise, processes, test laboratories and clean rooms. Our experts gave exciting introductions to the world of e.g. satellite communication, earth observation and manned space flight and their space technologies. Our CEO, Dr.-Ing. Ernst K. Pfeiffer, gave a presentation on “Why space travel?” in the early afternoon and in the evening, also providing insights into the latest news in global space travel.
The crowds were large and the curiosity of our visitors was overwhelming – every guided tour and every lecture was followed with great interest.

The consistently positive feedback was particularly pleasing: many participants praised the opportunity to experience space travel up close and learn more about HPS technologies. This great response reinforces our goal of sharing not only our fascination for space but also its necessity for Germany and Europe.

With this success, we are very optimistic about the future and hope that after a few years there will be another nationwide “Space Day” to spread the enthusiasm for space travel together with you!

Many thanks to everyone who took part and made this day possible! See you soon!

State-of-the-art antenna serving one of the most ambitious missions ever

March 2025

“We are opening up a treasure trove of information for scientists,” said Esa Science Director Carole Mundell. Clotilde Laigle from the “Euclid” consortium described the newly won probe of EUCLID as a “gold mine of data”.

HPS, leading provider of advanced antenna- and reflector-technologies, applauds the European Space Agency ESA to this remarkable progress in the project EUCLID (European Space Agency’s Cosmic Vision: Euclid) which aims to unravel the mysteries of the dark universe and gain insights into the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

EUCLID´s Antenna Reflector Assembly (ARA)” developed by HPS under TAS-contract represents a significant advancement in space communication technology. Its innovative design and advanced features make it an ideal choice for the mission, enabling high-speed data transmission and reception from the spacecraft to Earth and back.

“We are thrilled to contribute significantly to the Euclid mission,” says Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO of HPS. “Our cutting-edge technology facilitates seamless communication between the spacecraft and ground stations and allows scientists to unlock and reveal to us on Earth all those mysteries of the dark universe.”

Picture by ESA

HPS with ADEO product family: top position in NASA’s technology report extended

March 2025

A year ago, the deorbit module from HPS took its place at the top of the podium of the most important technology achievements according to NASA. This was because ADEO already had everything that the American space agency considered crucial for success at the time: top values up to TRL9, scalability and proven flight heritage. Exactly one year later: ADEO, now supplemented in the technology report by the presentation of the bestsellers ADEO-Cube and ADEO-Pico, maintains its position both against numerous Dragsail competitors and against other passive deorbit technologies.

HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer comments: “With ADEO, we are surfing at the top of the wave worldwide that we have created ourselves with this technology over many years of R&D – often with significant co-financing by ESA and DLR plus considerable company resources. And we are actually delighted with every attempt by other companies to establish deorbit sails on the market: The bigger they make the wave, the higher our product family sails on its crest.”

ADEO – Space Heritage

January  2025

ADEO (Atmospheric Deorbit Sail Module) is the name for an entire product family of drag sails for satellites from the German space company HPS, Munich. They accelerate the disposal of satellites from space to a period of less than five years and thus fulfill the prerequisite for the satellite to receive approval for launch into space in the first place.

The sail is scalable and available in many variants from series production. ADEO-N is tailored to small satellite missions of 20-250 kg, while the ADEO-M and ADEO-L series are designed for larger missions of 100-700 kg and 500-1500 kg respectively. The ADEO-N series corresponds to a sail size of 5±2 m2, while ADEO-M covers areas of 15 ± 5 m2 and ADEO-L 25 m2 and more. However, smaller versions have also been available for a year, especially for cubesats, e.g. an ADEO-P for 1U-6U satellites (1-20 kg) and an ADEO-C for larger cubesats (5-50 kg). A total of five versions are currently available to order, all of which reliably dispose of satellites from LEO – including those from higher MEO orbits when combined with satellite’s onboard propulsion – within the required time frame. A corresponding configurator for selecting the perfectly suitable ADEO module is available for individual mission calculation (ADEO Online Configurator).

Now there is a short film about the production and testing of the product family, as well as ADEO’s heritage story:

Based on over ten years of development, HPS has successfully completed a series of missions up to “full burn” and has thus firmly established itself at the top of deorbit technologies at qualification level TRL 9.
2018: ADEO-N1 (“NABEO”) was launched on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket kick stage back in 2018, with Peter Beck himself (CEO RocketLab) even personally handling the sail. On this flight, the sail was unfurled just 90 minutes after the launch. Visual ground observations confirmed the successfully deployed sail and its performance.

2021: In June 2021, ADEO-N2 (“Show me your Wings”) was launched into space by the spacecraft carrier ION-003 of the Italian launch service provider D-Orbit, as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-2 mission. The successful deployment of the sail in December 2022 was recorded by the ION carrier’s on-board camera. The integrity of the sail after one year in orbit was confirmed, again by means of the onboard camera. On December 8, 2024, HPS received confirmation that ADEO-N2 had completed its mission with deployment of the dragsail at 506 km orbit altitude in a record time of just two years after the 210 kg satellite’s “end-of-business” with fireworks of success at 120 km orbit altitude, beating international rules and regulations by three full years.

Even NASA ranks the ADEO module from HPS as the number one automatic passive deorbit technology in view of the qualification and Flight Heritage.

ADEO is now a bestseller not only with European institutions and companies, but also in the fully commercial markets of the USA and Canada.

Highest qualification levels, proven reliability and flight heritage combined with scalability, availability and attractive pricing make the ADEO product family a highly visible beacon in the global field of deorbit systems for all satellites that must comply with the new 5-year deorbit requirement to obtain launch authorization.

Click here for the latest clip about ADEO

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Video: © HPS GmbH, Munich, Germany, www.hps-gmbh.com
Production: Daniela Creutz, www.bluecirceproductions.com
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Two HPS contributions on board the Transporter 12 mission on January 14, 2025

January 2025

Even HPS has never done this before: two of the company’s products are on their way to a sun-synchronous orbit on a Falcon 9 mission. This has been made possible by the rideshare- version of the SpaceX rocket named “Transporter 12”.

On the one hand, the contributions from HPS relate to the highly innovative BANT-1 reflector antenna for Reflex Aerospace’s premiere satellite – see also the HPS news item “HPS congratulates Reflex Aerospace” from today, January 14.

On the other hand, a contribution from HPS itself is the premiere. For the first time, HPS Germany and HPS Romania have jointly prepared a flight hardware with the MLI insulation of the central radiator in such a way that the thermo-optical properties of the satellite are maintained even under the most adverse conditions in space.

The satellite is Sky Bee-1 and part of a thermal infrared constellation HiVE that provides highly accurate yet cost-effective daily temperature data of the world’s land surfaces with a resolution of 30 meters for the benefit of agriculture, urban and industrial environments. The HPS teams of both European countries warmly congratulate their client OHB on the launch success. The first flight model SkyBee-1 is being developed under the InCubed Programme, co-funded by the European Space Agency.

Space premiere also for the innovative BANT-1 reflector antenna from HPS

January 2025

On January 14, 2025, “SIGI”, the first satellite from the NextSpace company Reflex Aerospace, Berlin/Munich, was launched on board a Falcon 9 – Rideshare Mission Transporter-12. “NextSpace” is the term legally reserved for exclusive use by Reflex to describe the new speed in the development, production and provision of space technology, coupled with innovative versatility as a leitmotif for the performance of the product.

To a large extent, this also applied to an essential element of the satellite not manufactured by Reflex: the core broadband reflector antenna developed by HPS from the medium-sized space technology company HPS GmbH (Munich, Germany) with a cavity-backed spiral antenna as an axial feed for a wide bandwidth and considerable gain – and all that from order to delivery in just 12 months.

HPS congratulates Reflex Aerospace on the first launch of one of its products and looks forward to working with them on further NextSpace challenges in space.

Pictures by SpaceX

Antenna specialist HPS conquers new territory in RF applications with verification of innovative 3D production

Even formerly very sceptical augurs of space travel now agree that the ability to largely automate the series production of lightweight components while minimizing raw materials and ensuring maximum reliability will have a significant impact on the future development of applicable technologies.

However, the central prerequisite for the implementation of such visions is still a very classic step-by-step verification, in this case of two materials selected by the HPS engineers using the new ESA standard ECSS-Q-ST-70-80C.

Given the future potential of such technology, the European and German space agencies have a primary interest in the success of the research at HPS and provided GSTP funding for the 3DPAN2 project: “3D-Printed Antenna 2” is a follow-up project to 3DPAN, which was completed five years ago and initially demonstrated the feasibility in principle of 3D-printed RF components.

The product objective was an extremely lightweight X-band antenna with a diameter of ~30cm for the data downlink of earth observation satellites. It was finally manufactured from the aluminum alloy SCALMALLOY at the sub-contractor APWORKS GmbH in Ottobrunn. In addition, a filigree feed support bracket made of titanium was manufactured for fold-out antennas by the long-standing HPS trusted partner, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS, Dresden, as a subcontractor.
Meanwhile, the respective designs and FE analyses, as well as their iterative optimization, were carried out by HPS in Munich itself.

The final tests delivered positive results that exceeded all expectations. This applied in particular to the RF performance of the X-band antenna in the Compensated Compact Range (Munich University of Applied Science MUAS). Resistance to vibration (sine + random) was also successfully demonstrated for both demonstrators at SGS GmbH, Geretsried: here too, everything went without complications, i.e. above all without damage or deformation. Even a final TVAC test (10 cycles between +120°C and – 120°C) showed no cracks or deformations on the demonstrators.

Olaf Stolz, the responsible project manager at HPS, summed up the project as follows: “The objectives of the verification processes were achieved without any restrictions: the additively manufactured demonstrators were 20% and 25% lighter than corresponding conventionally manufactured components – a well-known enormous advantage in space travel. There were no restrictions on qualification for space applications. We would like to thank our cooperation partners, especially Dr. Samira Gruber (Fraunhofer IWS) and Mr. Nicklas Schwab (APWORKS) for the extremely good and successful cooperation in the project, as well as ESA, in particular Ms. Isabel Olaya Leon, Technical Officer of the 3DPAN2 project.

HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer is delighted: “It is fantastic that we are already implementing 3D printed components with the technology results of the ESA GSTP program in current flight projects. A goal that we set 8 years ago and that is essential for the future market has now been achieved.”

Dezember 2024

UDAN – The new generation of communication antennas for small satellites
Disruptive development by HPS for the new space sector

HPS, the Munich-based specialist for innovative antenna technology, has entered the realization phase of a fully functional engineering model (EM) with its in-house development “UDAN”. With the HPS design of a deployable conical quadruple helix, UDAN meets the requirements for the smallest possible space requirement during satellite launch as well as an antenna performance that was previously not possible on small satellites.

See deployment video from UDAN breadboard.

The pack size is only 10x10x15 cm (1.5 U), yet UDAN achieves 10 dBi minimum on usable bandwidth between 400 Mhz and 460 Mhz. When deployed, UDAN measures 50 centimeters in height with a diameter of 90 centimeters. Further scaling across the frequency ranges from 100 to 1000 Mhz is planned in order to diversify the service requirements of the communication satellites.

The development is being funded by ESA as part of the ARTES programme, while the German Space Agency at DLR is providing additional funds to maximize development efficiency.

This brings the completion of the CDR phase for February 2025, the production of the engineering model in Q2-3, followed by the test campaign and the closure of contract by Q4 in 2025. With the final completion of the project, UDAN will reach maturity level TRL 6, the in-orbit demonstration (IOD) which is planned to follow in Q2 2026 will then finally raise the HPS innovation to TRL 9 and thus reach out for the commercial market.

WILD RIDE mission ends with fireworks of success for deorbit sail ADEO-N2

Three days ago, on December 8, 2024, HPS received confirmation that ADEO-N2 completed its mission with launch in 2021 and end-of-business with deployment of the dragsail at 506 km orbit altitude in December 2022 in a record time of only two years with a firework of success, beating international rules and regulations by three full years. This is further proof of the success of the German ADEO model, which is manufactured in series production by the German world market leader HPS for all sizes of LEO satellites in five ADEO versions. ADEO fulfils the “5-year rule” already issued by several states and organizations for obtaining launch and operating permits for satellites, and with “Wild Ride” this has now even been verified in orbit by precisely tracking the deorbit curve until the satellite burns up completely at an orbital altitude of approx. 127 km (see image).

About the mission:
On June 30, 2021, D-Orbit, a leading company in the space logistics and orbital transportation industry from Italy, announced the successful launch of another ION Satellite Carrier (ION SCV 003), its proprietary orbital transport vehicle. It lifted off at 9:31 p.m. CEST on June 30, 2021 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida. That same day, 60 minutes after launch, the vehicle was successfully placed into a 500 km high Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
ION Satellite Carrier is a space transporter developed, manufactured and operated by D-Orbit. ION is capable of accommodating multiple satellites, transporting them into space, performing orbital maneuvers and precisely releasing them into dedicated orbital positions.
At the end of the so-called WILD RIDE mission, the ION SCV 003, weighing 210 kg at the time, entered the deorbit phase on December 15,2022 with the deployment of ADEO-N2 (effective sail size 3.6 m2, christened “Show me your Wings”) entered the deorbit phase and began testing the world’s first precise functional in-situ verification of a dragsail, with official “end of flight” on 08.12.2024 [source: NORAD], i.e. within exactly 2 years in a completely natural way and without exhaust gases from any propulsion system. Without sails, SCV-003’s deorbit would have taken twice to three times as long.

About ADEO:
ADEO-N is a 1U-sized deorbit sail module developed by the German space company HPS, in cooperation with several companies and institutions (e.g. DLR and Fraunhofer), co-funded by the ESA-GSTP program, the German national technology program, and the Bavarian technology program. In accordance with the new rules, ADEO ensures the removal of end-of-life satellites from LEO within a maximum of 5 years.

Dezember 2024

HPS Christmas Party 2024: Our Biggest Yet!

Last night, we celebrated the holidays together at our annual Christmas party – and this year was extra special!

For the first time, we hosted it on our new floor, making it the biggest Christmas party in HPS history!

The evening was filled with:

• Plenty of mulled wine and delicious food
• A variety of drinks to toast the season
• 12 inspiring mini-presentations (just 2-5 minutes each) by our Department Heads, CEO, CFO, CTO, Quality Management, HR, Procurement and Social Media, sharing insights and ideas.

It was a wonderful evening of connection, celebration, and looking ahead to an exciting future. Here’s to the amazing HPS team and the bright year ahead!

Producing antennas in series

For over 20 years, the Munich-based space technology company HPS has been known for breaking new ground wherever possible and establishing an increasingly solid bridge between ClassicSpace and CommercialSpace with innovations of all kinds. This applies to products such as deployable antennas of all sizes through to processes such as the series production of the deorbit sail module product family (ADEO).

With the implementation of a further process innovation, HPS is now also realizing new efficiency horizons in the antenna sector, because a commercial customer is in a hurry: more than 20 broadband antennas are needed, in a period of less than only 12 months, starting NOW. HPS is already known from a large number of successfully completed antenna orders – whether from the institutional or commercial sector – for the routine of quality production at a consistently high level that is valued by customers. But now, with the start of small series production, the company is heralding the introduction of a further development stage in the process of merging the quality features of conventional and new space technology into something new and even better. And despite all the high pressure, with the power that comes from calm.

November 2024

HPS and EXOLAUNCH: Making Space Clean Again

HPS is happy to join forces with the Germany-based Exolaunch and is fully engaged to support customers of Exolaunch by enabling this very special and successful NewSpace-launch service provider to grant priority access to the delivery schedule of flight-proven ADEO* deorbit sails which are currently in high demand.

EXOLAUNCH’s COO Jeanne Allarie and HPS’s CEO Ernst Pfeiffer signed an Agreement on Space Tech Expo 2024 in Bremen in a great joint spirit (see pictures) the ambitious endeavour of

• being a role model for a sustainable use of space and
• of raising awareness with all potential customers on an existing solution for deorbiting: ADEO-modules are easy, affordable and reliable to contributing significantly to Making Space Clean Again.

See for the respective EXOLAUNCH announcement

(* ADEO-modules are needed to allow a satellite deorbit after its “End-of-Business” within five years; satellites without this or any kind of deorbit accelerator do not get clearance for launch anymore.)

November 2024

German space agency chief Dr. Walther Pelzer and DLR delegation focus on visit to HPS Group

During the traditional DLR delegation round on the opening day of the Space Tech Expo in Bremen, the head of the German Space Agency at DLR, Dr. Walther Pelzer, focused his attention on SMEs in the German space industry. Special attention was paid to the innovation forge HPS. And it was represented in groups: with HPS Germany (Munich), HPS Romania (Bucharest) and the joint venture company HPtex (Münchberg, Germany).

With reference to pioneering antenna projects such as HERA and EUCLID, company boss Ernst K. Pfeiffer emphasized the leading position Germany has gained in special antennas for space missions. HPS is also positioning itself as a leader in the commercial sector with the successful ADEO braking sail project, which ensures compliance with the new 5-year rule for satellite deorbiting and thus keeps the satellites ready for launch.

In his role as spokesman for German space SMEs, Ernst Pfeiffer also took this opportunity to emphasize the enormous importance of the DLR and ESA’s capability-enhancing technology programmes for SMEs as the innovation backbone of the industry. According to Pfeiffer, the precise promotion of the technological capabilities of SMEs via dedicated competition areas reserved for SMEs is irreplaceable.

Live demonstrations, e.g. of a functional model of the ADEO brake sail or a scaled model of a deployable large antenna reflector, supplemented by product demonstrations from HPS-Romania (e.g. radiator) and from HPtex’s MESH production (e.g. Ka-band mesh sample for use in the Copernicus mission CIMR) rounded off the visit program.

November 2024

HPS at SpaceTech Expo Bremen: Full product portfolio of the entire group of companies at the presentation area of the Bavarian space companies (booth no. J53)

In record time, SpaceTech Expo in Bremen has developed into the largest and most important space trade fair in Europe. This year’s event has over 700 exhibitors. With its rapid growth, SpaceTech Expo in Bremen is itself the best example of the rapidly increasing importance not only of space capabilities in general, but also of the young NewSpace companies that are making powerful inroads into the commercial and institutional markets for space products and services.

However, a very special role is played by those companies whose portfolio serves both the New and Classic Space sectors, thus building a bridge between the two in-house. One of the most prominent examples is the HPS Group.

This innovator in European space-tech, with its headquarters in Munich, subsidiary HPS Romania in Bucharest and joint venture partnership HPTex in Münchberg near Bayreuth, is bringing all the product evidence for this positioning to Bremen.

For example, institutional customers looking for European solutions for large deployable reflector subsystems will find them at HPS, which will ideally play a constitutive role in upcoming iconic ESA earth observation missions such as “Cryorad” and “Hydroterra”.

The heart of these subsystems is also produced in-house: HPTex GmbH weaves reflective mesh surfaces of all sizes for deployable antennas. In addition, HPTex – with its own stand in Bremen now for the first time – even produces stainless steel mesh for training purposes for customers from all over the world.

Two representatives from Bucharest will also be present in Bremen; the main focus here will be on secondary structures, thermal hardware (MLI, thermal straps, radiators), MGSE and purge equipment. All products are scalable for large missions as well as for small satellites and cubesat missions.

However, literally “floating” above the overall portfolio of the HPS presence in Bremen is the star product of HPS, which is currently causing a worldwide sensation like no other, especially interesting for customers from the NewSpace scene: ADEO, the brake sail for the automatic controlled deorbiting of disused satellites of almost any size at the end of their mission. The reason for the ADEO hype is as simple as it is obvious: without technical equipment to guarantee a deorbit limited to a maximum of 5 years, satellites will no longer receive approval for launch on LEO. One technical option is the “manually controlled” descent. However, in addition to considerable personnel resources, it also consumes up to 60 percent of the fuel that should actually keep the satellite in orbit for as long as possible so that it can earn its money in the first place. The other option is to install a deployable brake sail on the satellite at the end of the mission, which then automatically brings its host “home”. The industrial world market leader for this technology on all continents is HPS from Munich; a live demonstration of the deployment of a PICO-class ADEO will take place at SpaceTech Expo at a date yet to be determined. This could be a highlight for all interested new customers. The flood of inquiries about prices and interfaces speaks volumes.

HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer himself will be on site for the entire duration of the trade fair alongside the management level of the group from Romania and Germany; he has a firm opinion on the event both as the company boss and as a spokesperson for SMEs in the industry, represented by the AKRK and the “Best of Space” association: “Europe’s non-dependence and sovereignty through its space industry is more important than ever before, especially after the presidential election in the USA. What we will see here in Bremen is the antithesis to the far too widespread phlegm of a bureaucratized industry and to the “we can’t do anything anyway” attitude that has been creeping in for some years now: fresh ideas, brashly and cheekily driven forward – that’s what space travel needs, including the “Made in Germany” seal. NewSpace and Classic Space are mutually dependent and stimulate each other, because even the most disruptive developments need to be anchored in the familiar and proven. This is also what we at the HPS Group stand for.”

November 2024

New laboratory for mesh research at HPS

The Munich-based space technology company HPS is a joint venture partner of Iprotex-GmbH; both are equally involved in the joint company HPTEX in Münchberg near Bayreuth. This is where the flexible reflector material “MESH” is tailor-made and of the highest consistent quality for applications such as small and large deployable space antennas.

The market for mesh is divided among a small number of players worldwide. To survive here, continuous development is an essential prerequisite. HPS has therefore recently set up its own mesh research laboratory at its Munich headquarters on Hofmannstrasse. The initial team of two specialists is currently being expanded to include a further engineering position. The initial equipment of the laboratory for the further development and optimization of HPTEX mesh has already cost HPS 50,000 euros; among other things, investments were made in a mesh tension jig (stretch test rig) including an HD camera system. In addition, for yet another 50k euros the whole basement-area of the HPS building has been improved to host capacities for assembly work on ADEO brakesails in serial production.

Customized service is a top priority at HPS, so the new laboratory also carries out contract research, e.g. in a project called VMESH, in which a mesh for the very high frequencies in the V-band is being developed. The laboratory’s ability to carry out multiple iterated processes to measure the stretchability of antenna meshes is also unique on the market.

In addition, HPS is Europe’s only supplier of large deployable antenna subsystems with its own mesh production. The company’s flagship project is the ESA Copernicus Mission CIMR. HPTEX also serves customers from all over the world, including Europe, the USA, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, with the support of the new laboratory at HPS. The mesh is manufactured at HPTEX itself.

October 2024

Clean Space Days der ESA im Oktober: ADEO aus dem Hause HPS im Fokus

In 2024, the ESA’s Clean Space Team once again invited participants to the continuation of the past Clean Space Days.
The four-day event will focus on progress in the areas of eco-design, zero debris and in-orbit maintenance.
The calendar of presentations in 2024 will highlight these topics, among others:

• Life cycle assessment for space activities
• Deorbit technologies
• Debris disposal
• Disturbance-free skies for astronomy
• IOS missions
• Circular economy for space travel

While some presentations tended to highlight ideas and technical concepts in statu nascendi, HPS manager Frank Hoffmann presented the ADEO product family, which is already successful on the European and, more recently, North American markets: Deorbit sail technology for automatic self-disposal of the satellite at the end of the mission.
The ADEO system offers a suitably customized solution for every class of spacecraft, whether as a “Pico” (1-20 kg), “Cube” (5-50 kg), “Nano” (20-250 kg), “Medium” (100-700 kg) or even “Large” (500-1500 kg). To ensure that satellite manufacturers are supplied without delay, all orders are handled by HPS directly from series production wherever possible.

Due to the fact that the requirement to carry a suitable disposal system such as ADEO is a prerequisite for launch authorization for practically all satellites from October 2024, longer delivery times are possible and can be largely avoided by ordering early.

The Clean Space Days will come to an end at the end of the week, but the saying “after the event is before the event” also applies to this successful European space event.

October 2024

HERA on its way: Europe writing the next chapter of space history with HPS antenna

On Monday, October 7, 2024, the mission that will put Europe ahead of science fiction was launched in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 with the HERA satellite. After around three years of flight into deep space, the satellite will begin in 2027 to precisely document the consequences of the impact of the American DART mission to deflect the trajectory of the asteroid Dimorphos.

A central element of the HERA satellite is the X-band system from the German antenna specialist HPS (Munich): a complete antenna with a diameter of 1.2 meters made of highly stable carbon fibres, high eigenfrequenz with good reflectivity and also extremely low weight. For HPS, with its experience from major antenna projects such as the Euclid (ESA, direct client TAS-SP) and Heinrich-Hertz (DLR, direct client TESAT/OHB) missions, the antenna is proven technological terrain. Nevertheless, as the only link for scientific data between the satellite and the earth, the HPS antenna plays an enormously important role for the entire mission.

With a total mass of just 7.5 kg, it is basically a scaled-up version of the model that HPS built for ESA’s Euclid observatory, which already operates 1.5 million km from Earth. However, Hera’s antenna will have to cover much greater distances than Euclid, as it will transmit and receive over a maximum of 400 million km. To accomplish this, HPS’s high gain antenna amplifies its signal by more than 4000 times to reach Earth, focused to just half a degree, so that the entire spacecraft moves to align with its home planet.

For the flight and mission, the high-gain antenna is mounted on the outside of the spacecraft. There, it is thermally insulated from the extreme temperatures in space with a Kapton germanium sunshield, while the radio waves continue to pass through. “As engineers, we are known for staying focused on the facts and cool as Mr. Spock when dealing with the challenges facing our technology; but when the time actually comes for Europe to write space history with our antenna, then we too can be very proud and emotional,” said Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO of HPS.

Also, HPS-CTO Paolo Zolla was moved when he witnessed the launch live at Vandenburg Spaceport, California: “The launch was thrilling since our arrival in Florida, when the police officer at the airport told us a big hurricane will come soon. On launch day, it was raining really hard and the wind was blowing super strong. We thought the launch might get canceled. But then, just a few minutes before it was time to go, the rain stopped and the wind calmed down. The launch director said, ‘We’re good to go!’
The Falcon 9’s liftoff was a dramatic sight. Its nine engines ignited, slowly lifting the rocket before it rapidly accelerated, leaving a trail of flame and smoke. The ground rumbled as the rocket soared into the sky. Watching it disappear over the clouds, with the HERA spacecraft and ‘our’ antenna aboard, left a lasting impression—a mix of pride and the feeling of being part of an extraordinary mission.”

Oktober 2024

HPS Prominently Present at the IAC in Milano

Participating in the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, has developed into a good tradition at HPS over many years. This year, the company will be represented by Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO, together with ADEO project manager Mrs. Dorittya Milankowitch from HPS Munich and Horatiu Gheorghe as IAC-contact point for HPS Bucharest with products like secondary structures, thermal hardware and purging equipment. The HPS-team will keep up full presence during all five days of this international event.

Special highlights will be the company presentations; they are going to take place on Friday, 18th, from 10.15 to 10.45 a.m., and also as part of the Company Slam at the booth of the German association BDLI on Tuesday from 13.15 to 13.45 p.m..

Focus of both presentations will be on the product family of the ADEO deorbit sailsystem for automatic disposal of satellites after their end of mission, serving the idea of clean space, sustainability and debris avoidance even from the beginning of the satellite´s journey.

Main products besides ADEO to be asked at our booth: reflector antennas, deployable antennas, large deployable reflector subsystems, mesh, thermal hardware, purging equipment. HPS will warmly welcome there all its customers from both worlds: classic and NewSpace. For a dedicated prearranged business meeting please send a message to Contact@hps-gmbh.com.

Oktober 2024

Innovative BANT-1 reflector antenna from HPS for Reflex: exemplary symbiosis of NewSpace and established space-SME

NewSpace – this means, among other things, speed in development, production and provision, paired with innovative versatility as a leitmotif for the performance of the product. A current example of this is the broadband reflector antenna developed for the new Reflex Aerospace satellite by space SME HPS GmbH (Munich, Germany) with a broadband spiral as an axial feed. The primary development goal was to achieve a large bandwidth and considerable gain while at the same time limiting the time from order to delivery to the customer to just 12 months. The antenna consists of a prime focus reflector with a diameter of 700 mm and an f/D ratio of 0.32, which is fed by a compact ultra-wideband cavity-backed spiral (CBS).

HPS thus succeeded in meeting all customer expectations in terms of performance, price, and timing while adhering to best practices and strict quality management; the project can serve as a striking example of an exemplary symbiosis between NewSpace and established space SMEs towards “NextSpace”.

The Reflex satellite will be launched on board a Falcon9 as part of a SpaceX rideshare 12 mission.

Picture:
Satellite “SIGI” by REFLEX AEROSPACE with integrated reflector Antenna “BANT”, supplied by HPS Munich, ready for transport to the launchpad in the U.S. (left: Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO HPS, right:Walter Ballheimer, CEO REFLEX AEROSPACE, visit as of September 30^th, 2024)

September 2024

ADEO Pico: The smallest dragsail gains a foothold in the largest market

Deorbit Technology from HPS

With the ink now drying under the contract for a PICO-class satellite deorbit device from the ADEO dragsail family of HPS, the Munich-based space technology company is now also setting foot on North American soil: After careful consideration of the alternatives, the Canadian company StarSpec Technologies decided in favor of the system for integration on their InspireSAT 12U ADCS MVP satellite, to be launched in 2026.

The ADEO-P was purchased at the beginning of July. The integration will be carried out by the experts in 2025. The satellite is planned to be launched in 2026 aboard a Falcon9 as part of the Transporter-17 SmallSat Rideshire mission from the Vandenburg Space Force Base in the USA. At the end of the mission, the dragsail will be deployed to a size of 1.4 m2 and automatically dispose of the satellite within the now obligatory period of less than five years. The satellite will burn up in the atmosphere without leaving any residue.

This initiative promotes StarSpec’s high precision space-qualified ADCS components, including sub-arcsecond precision star cameras, cogless reaction wheels, and ultra-high-bandwidth controllers, providing 100x the precision and imaging quality for LEO imaging satellite.

Jason Brown, Mechanical & Technology Lead, commented on the key factors leading to the selection of the ADEO-P for InspireSAT: “A primary mandate of InspireSAT is to provide high performance in-orbit capabilities in a way that does not compromise and strongly maintains the continued and future utility of LEO. We are delighted to have HPS, a proven high-tech specialist in the international space industry, at our side, allowing StarSpec Technologies to maintain its sustainable and orbit-conscious approach to space in a way that maintains focus on the successful demonstration of our transformative state-of-the-art ADCS. Thanks HPS!”

September 2024

HPS with prominent presentation of its whole corporate group at Industry Space Days

Major industry events cast their shadows ahead: The ESA Industry Space Days 2024 will once again take place at the headquarters of the Technology Center of Europe’s space agency ESA in Nordwijk, the Netherlands, from 18 to 19 September 2024. The ISD is organized by the SME Office in the ESA Directorate of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness to foster cooperation between different actors in the entire space sector.
Key elements of the event include:
➔ pre-scheduled 1-on-1 meetings to establish new contacts in an efficient and time-saving manner
➔ an exhibition with ESA and industry booths and the possibility to engage with future partners
➔ keynotes and panel discussions with contributions by ESA, industry, investors and institutional partners
➔ ESA presentations and workshops about business opportunities and future activities.

Once again this year, the European HPS Group will be among the most prominent participants in the event from the space sector of the medium-sized innovation industry. At stand number B25, the Bucharest based specialists from HPS Romania and HPTex GmbH from Münchberg near Bayreuth will be represented under the umbrella of the Munich headquartered HPS – High Performance Space Structure Systems GmbH.
The range of products presented is just as much a testament to the importance that HPS attaches to this industry event as the high-ranking line-up: CEO Dr. Ernst K. Pfeiffer will represent the entire group of companies, Managing Director Astrid Draguleanu will represent HPS Romania and Stefan Bedrich, Head of the Antennas and Structures Department at HPS Munich, will be responsible for large parts of the product portfolio.

At this year’s ISD event, the group of companies will place a particular emphasis on small antennas designed for small missions, alongside HPS’s expertise in deployable antennas.
HPS will also showcase the products of its subsidiary HPTex GmbH, which specializes in weaving reflective mesh suitable for deployable antennas of various sizes and can manufacture stainless steel mesh for the training needs of clients globally.
Meanwhile, at its Bucharest location the HPS Romania primarily produces metal antennas (including 3D printed), secondary structures, thermal hardware (MLI, thermal straps, radiators), MGSE and purge equipment.

All products are designed to be scalable, catering to both large missions and smaller satellites, including cubesat missions.
Nevertheless, the primary focus of HPS at the Industry Space Days 2024 is undeniably on its flagship product, ADEO. This innovative brake sail is generating extraordinary global interest, as it facilitates the automatic and orderly deorbiting of disused satellites of nearly any size, at the end of their missions. ADEO meets all current requirements, essential for obtaining launch authorization on a rocket.

Ernst K. Pfeiffer, who will also be taking part in discussions and meetings in Nordwijk in his other role as spokesperson for the German Space SMEs Association, is looking forward to the wealth of opportunities to focus on personal contact during the two days of the event. He will further expand his own network of customers, suppliers, partners and representatives such as employees from ESA and other institutions and he will promote the strength and power of SME in general and their contribution to the currently happening ESA Transformation.

“For us at HPS, the ESA Industry Space Days are always a very special event highlight. We are delighted to be part of it and would like to thank ESA and all those who plan and set up the event for their commitment.”

September 2024

Suggestions for ESA Transformation by CEO HPS – HLF 2024

Contribution by Ernst K. Pfeiffer: 7 Points Plan (CEO HPS GmbH and Speaker AKRK German SME). This paper has been created AFTER the HLF-event, taking the handwritten notes prepared BEFORE the event.

Noordwijk, ESA/ESTEC | 10. September 2024

September 2024

DLR’s national SatKom – a reflection of the steady development of HPS into the high-tech forge of the German space industry

It will take place again on September 3 and 4: The national conference “Satellite Communications Conference in Germany”. This is already the eighth event of its kind and reason enough to speak of a successfully established tradition.  

In Bonn, leading representatives from industry, research and public clients will discuss satellite communications as an incubator for the information society of tomorrow.

From its premiere in 2008 until today, Munich-based space technology company HPS has remained loyal to the event as an exhibitor and panelist. What began with a modest presentation on “mechanical components for telecommunication” has developed into a central technology showcase for the German medium-sized company, which is now a “gold sponsor” of the event. Among other things, HPS now produces entire antenna subsystems for the most demanding missions and applications. Iconic highlights of German space-tech such as Heinrich Hertz and EUCLID provide impressive proof of the excellence of customized reflector antennas and high-end reflectors on a daily basis.

With HERA, whose complete antenna comes from HPS, will be another contender for the history books of space in October. Reliability and technical excellence – these are the characteristics on which the company builds. This claim is also reflected in the main exhibits on the 12 square meters of the HPS stand in the breadth of a whole range of original hardware:

• The KEAN backpack/manpack antenna for civil and military purposes
• The EQM model of the H2Sat reflector
• Brackets made entirely from 3D printing for star sensors, antenna feeds and also for modules of the world’s leading braking sail ADEO for the legally compliant rapid disposal of decommissioned satellites in accordance with the latest international rules for their launch approval
• Reflective mesh for deployable antennas
• The 30-centimeter X-band antenna, also printed in 3D.

While the 12 square meters of the exhibition stand are thus reaching their limits, the presentation of HPS’s capacities for the concrete development of further future technologies is only just beginning here; the focus is on

• Small antennas from 3D printing
• Large deployable reflector subsystems for telecommunications – both for civilian and military users, especially the German Armed Forces – technically comparable to the CIMR antenna for the European Union, developed and built under HPS consortium management
• Dual-band antennas, e.g. for the X and KA bands for downlink
• Multifrequency receiving antennas
• Metal Mesh for the global market, developed under the ESA’s ARTES program, also suitable for higher frequencies and already in use by highly renowned reference customers in North America and Asia.

 At the booth, HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer, HPS department head Stefan Bedrich and project engineer Christopher Tapp will be available to contacts from large companies, the German Armed Forces and commercial customers from the NewSpace sector with functional demonstrations of the KEAN manpack antenna and of the ADEO brake sail for accelerated deorbit of decommissioned satellites, which deploys automatically at the end of the mission. In addition, Stefan Bedrich will report on the “Heinrich Hertz North Beam Antenna” and “End-to-end tests with the KEAN deployable backpack antenna” in the lecture program.

August 2024

HPS CEO: “Wishing my namesake a happy return home”

As a rule, the purpose of a satellite, be it scientific or commercial, is the focus of interest. However, there are also a few exceptions that confirm this rule. One of these is the recently launched flight of an inconspicuous 18-kilo box with a Falcon 9 from SpaceX to a low target orbit at an altitude of 510 kilometers. The name: ERNST – abbreviation for “Experimental Space Application of Nano-Satellite Technology”. Its mission: to use infrared detectors from space to detect where in the world civilian or military rockets are being launched as they fly over the earth based on the hot radiation of combustion gases – and which target they are probably aiming for. This type of technology has long been standard in the USA in the technical instruments for the nation’s fourth branch of the armed forces after the army, air force and navy, the “Space Forces”; in Europe, research in this area is still in its infancy by comparison, which is why the ERNST mission represents an important milestone for Germany.

This application-related research purpose of ERNST is still at a highly experimental early stage, but the renowned Fraunhofer Institute in Freiburg is relying on tried and tested principles to avoid space debris: a braking system with a deployable sail for accelerated return at the end of the approximately three-year mission is also on board. This is a version customized by the Fraunhofer Institute for theERNST mini-satellite. HPS collaborated with Fraunhofer on the sail almost ten years ago as part of a master’s thesis and provided support. HPS is now a pioneer of the technology and currently the world’s only commercial supplier of flight-tested automatic brake sails of the so-called ADEO family, with a total of 5 different product versions for all size classes of LEO satellites. ADEO braking sails are currently becoming standard equipment, because from fall 2024 at the latest, no satellite will be transported into space by the de facto monopoly provider SpaceX without such on-board technology for accelerated return under the new FCC regulations after the end of the mission.

“After a certain period of familiarization with the new legal situation, the run on ADEO brake sails is now in full swing. Customers in North America have also built up a great deal of trust in ADEO and HPS; the fact that HPS with ADEO occupies the lone top position in the NASA technology report on deorbit technologies is certainly helpful here. In this respect, we are naturally extremely pleased that, in addition to our commercial system on the market, we are now also securing further points for product trust and popularity through our collaboration with one of the world’s most famous German research institutes. That’s why, for once, I don’t see the operational research mission as the highlight here, but rather its end, and I wish my namesake a happy journey home,” comments Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO of HPS.

© Fraunhofer EMI

© Fraunhofer EMI

August 2024

On the way to the moon: HPS secures participation in the humanity project I-Hab with a German SME consortium

It is one of the most ambitious international space programs of our time: Artemis, the return to the moon to stay on this most distant outpost of mankind. At the ESA Ministerial Council Conference 2022, Germany subscribed to the European work package under the name GATEWAY with a contribution of twentyfive million euros and the expectation that SME consortia in particular would be given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.

The Munich-based space technology company HPS, which had already qualified for the contract to provide the Antenna Reflector Assembly (ARA) as a core element of the ESPRIT LUNAR-LINK, now presented its SME consortium. On August 8, 2024, HPS Germany with its SME consortium of proven cooperation partners signed the multimillion Phase C/D contract with the mission prime TAS-Italy and took on the task of developing and manufacturing the so-called “Internal Secondary Structures”, i.e. lightweight panels, hinges and brackets, following Phase B2, which began in 2021 – in a nutshell: to provide the central elements that hold the interior of the habitable I-Hab together while it orbits the Earth’s satellite as a “bus stop moon” and represents the supply hub for all activities around and on the moon.

With great emphasis and intensive commitment, prime contractor TAS has created in the past weeks the conditions for HPS to be able to schedule the kick-off for all project-consortium under its leadership for August 13, based on the written contract in the middle of the summer; this applies in particular to Astrofeinwerktechnik (Berlin), HPS-Romania (Bucharest), INVENT GmbH, Braunschweig, Space Structures GmbH (Berlin), SpaceTech GmbH (Immenstaad). The security of having the right partner in HPS and its consortium for Europe’s part in this extremely demanding humanity project can also be drawn by the Group Prime from the success of an HPS consortium in other highly complex tasks such as the deployable giant antenna for TAS Rome as part of Copernicus CIMR.

In addition to a series of small and large technology projects, in which the company involves other SMEs whenever possible, HPS has now also assumed the role of central “SME enabler” in the supreme discipline of space technology for astronautical survival infrastructure and supply.

HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer reacted to this renewed vote of confidence with great enthusiasm: “I can say for HPS and all our subcontractors involved without exaggeration: this is a milestone for German SME-industry in the history of international space travel and for all of us more than just a piece of technology. We are creating something here that will go down in the history books of nations; in addition to all the challenges for the engineer, participation is an honor that we are all determined to earn. In keeping with the image of the Olympic Games having took place: this job is the gold medal with value for eternity. Countless videos and live broadcasts of astronautical activities using our technical facilities over many years will keep the memory of this achievement alive for generations.”

Delivery of the qualification models is scheduled for mid-2025, with the flight-assemblies to be delivered to TAS a year later. The launch is scheduled for 2028. Prior to this, there will be intensive discussions in the autumn on all ongoing processes and the “Delta Work” action area, which have been postponed for the time being in favor of the earliest possible start of the work.

August 2024

ESA: 1 million for product innovation by HPS, AAC and DLR

ESA’s GSTP program is one of the European Space Agency’s most important instruments for promoting new technologies, particularly those generated by SMEs. The program also enjoys high priority in the overall ESA portfolio at the German space agency; the corresponding financial resources now also enable the launch of a new sub-program called “Product Initiative”. With the signing of the contract on August 7, 2024, ESA and HPS as the main contractor gave the go-ahead for the first technology project in this category.

It took just over six months from the idea to the signing of the contract; the funding amount is one million euros. The Munich-based space technology company HPS and its long-standing partner, Vienna-based Aerospace & Advanced Composites GmbH, are contributing 20 percent of their own funds, while the DLR Institute of Space Systems in Bremen is also on board on the research side. Over the next 24 months, highly innovative films (working name “ProFilm”) will be developed in various thicknesses and surface configurations and for large-area applications, which are characterized by two special features in particular:

• they are resistant to the chemically aggressive residual oxygen molecules (ATOX-resistant) and are therefore perfectly suited for use in particular in the highly frequented low earth orbit LEO area,
• Special derivatives are invisible or non-reflective.

In addition to use as thermal insulation for satellites, this also results in innovative applications as invisible brake sails as a further development of the HPS ADEO product range for deorbiting decommissioned satellites.

In this way, they serve four strategic goals of European space:

• Securing technological independence from other major spacefaring nations that have already made progress in this area
• Support European manufacturers of spacecraft and satellites, for whom maximum physical protection is an element of the competitiveness of their products
• Avoidance of astronomy-hostile light pollution in space through non-reflective surfaces on dragsails and thermal insulation such as MLIs and SLIs. There are also plans to use them for solar panels and radiators.

The ideas go as far as deployable structures that could make entire satellites invisible with ProFilm.

HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer is enthusiastic about the start of the project: “The innovation processes that have now been initiated will result in highly exciting products – the cooperation with our partners, DLR in the north and AAC GmbH in the south, alone is a guarantee of this. Above all, however, this premiere of ESA’s new GSTP sub-programme shows how quickly and effectively the European space agency can identify, accept and master technical challenges. This is exactly what European space travel needs, and this is exactly what innovation drivers from the ranks of SMEs need in particular.”

July 2024

HPS CEO as speaker from Europe at the International Day of the Moon in China

On Saturday, July 20, 2024, the fourth International Moon Day, proclaimed for July 20 of each year by the United Nations General Assembly with Resolution 76/76 on “international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space”, took place. The physical venue this time was China. Participants came from the United Nations / UNOOSA, the USA, India, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Europe/Germany, among others. Dr. Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO of HPS in Munich, had the honour of flying the flag for the latter at this high-level event, which was connected via video link.

He took the floor in Panel 2 on the topic “LUNAR HORIZONS: The Economic Implications of Lunar Exploration and Utilization”, together with Nasr Alsahaaf, Gongling Sun and Satoru Kurosu, moderated by Zhao Chenchen. The video is available here: YouTube. In his triple role as CEO, spokesperson for German SMEs and voice from Europe, Dr. Pfeiffer focused on these key messages: The challenges facing space – and here both SMEs and corporations, European countries such as Germany and Romania – as well as a highly ambitious ESA are as immense as the opportunities.

Radically divergent budget lines of the major continental players reinforce the requirements for models of cooperation, as do the different perspectives that politicians in particular adopt: some see mainly risks, while others see opportunities. Exploiting these opportunities largely depends on the availability of the two main factors: industrial infrastructure and people who can leverage synergies between scientific and commercial exploration. An additional boost to cohesion, despite all cultural and political differences, can come above all from global cooperation on projects such as the exploration and colonization of the moon.

It is equally clear, Pfeiffer told the international plenary session, that more peace between the peoples of the Earth will ultimately lead to more freedom of action and financial budgets in joint planetary exploration. According to Pfeiffer, UNOOSA must play a leading role in this. There are enough topics: space debris, mining rights, space traffic. According to Pfeiffer, the quality and ability to contribute of the many equipment suppliers from Germany will be able to play an important role in solving all problems.

July 2024

Family & Friends Team Event at HPS Munich

HPS celebrates “Family & Friends”: July 10, 2024 is a special date – we celebrated with the entire HPS workforce and their families and all those many friends of our company according to the motto: Shared joy is double the joy.

Because we at HPS have many reasons to be happy: Since July 1, 2024, our HPS family has grown to a new record level with a total of 93 employees (including 11 freelancers and students) at the Bucharest (HPS Romania), Münchberg (HPtex) and Munich (HPS HQ) locations, and in Munich we have just expanded with a new, large floor in Hofmannstrasse as well as a large assembly area in the basement.

The circle of our friends from joint projects and association activities is huge, many from the Munich area came to visit us today, we were overwhelmed by the large number of surprise guests. Success is best celebrated with “Family & Friends”!

July 2024

ADEO deorbit sail system from HPS

Space-related technologies should be clean and sustainable, because only then access to space will remain possible for future generations. This topic, which is currently a top priority of space policy, has led to a number of technical solutions which are now available on the market, with the ADEO deorbit system from HPS leading the way. Being recognized even by NASA, the ADEO dragsails ensure already before launch that satellites will not turn into space debris at the „end-of-business“. Instead, they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

The European Space Agency ESA, as well as its national counterpart DLR and the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, has consistently supported the twelve years of development of this product by HPS. The sharp increase in demand from customers, particularly in the CubeSat and SmallSat sector from Europe, but also from North America and even Asia, is driven by the simple fact that both ESA, for European launches, and the FCC, for American launches, now demand on-board systems to be able to deorbit a satellite in just 5 years instead of the previous 25 years. Also SpaceX confirms that no more satellites will be launched without complying to this requirement.

With the ADEO variants “Pico”, “Cube”, “Nano”, “Medium” and “Large”, HPS meets the market demand for all sizes of LEO satellites in orbits between 300 and 900 kilometers. All variants are already in production, with manufacturing at the HPS production sites in Munich (Germany) and Bucharest (Romania) which are closely working together. Nevertheless, HPS and the technical ADEO experts at ESA have identified a number of optimization and expansion opportunities in order to urgently increase the pace of the series production and in response to the increasing price pressure of the New Space scene. The company is now raising the required funds for the implementation of these opportunities in the short term, using co-financing of 1.2 million euros signed by ESA on June 28, 2024.

ESA-Director Dietmar Pilz for Technology, Engineering and Quality in a videocon on July 1st: „my best wishes for this important technology development.“

HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer: “As a company, we are very pleased about the trust and continuous support from the European Space Agency, and therefore indirectly also from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs. However, this is at least as much a reason for joy for all those who, thanks to its technology programs such as GSTP, would like to see Europe in a leading role in the development of components for space technology and -transport, especially in the commercially so important LEO and MEO supplier market.

ESA’s priorities here are not only clear, but are also being consistently implemented. One milestone was the recent signing of the Zero Debris Charter in Berlin. The upcoming optimization of series production and the enhancement of our ADEO product portfolio, while maintaining the same level of quality and reliability, will effectively help to face the upcoming peaks in global orders, including those received very late, and thus still enable the launch of these satellites. We shareholders see our own funds, in the 7-digit range over the years, on the one hand as an investment in a strong future for HPS, and on the other hand as our moral obligation to make a contribution to the sustainable use of space.”

June 2024

ESA Leads the Way: Rapid Implementation of the Zero Debris Charter

Sustainability in space travel has also been an issue for the European Space Agency ESA for years. However, only a few months passed between the decision to adopt a Zero Debris Charter and its implementation.

Keynote speaker ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher also saw this as a sign that the time is finally ripe for concrete steps instead of pure symbolism, especially as ESA itself has provided significant impetus for the development of the two main technologies on the way to “Zero Debris”: firstly, ways of removing scrap from space, but above all, equipping satellites with deorbit technology from the outset so that no more waste is produced after the end of the mission.

ADEO Drag Sail: The Key to Sustainable Spaceflight

The ADEO brake sail, which is now available as an entire product family for all sizes of LEO satellites from HPS series production, stands for this. In addition to grants and support from ESA, DLR and Bavaria, HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer also invested a lot of the company’s own money in the project, always firmly convinced that the hour of ADEO would come sooner or later – and if a little later, then all the more powerfully.

It was exactly the same when, in mid-2023, the ESA set the new rule of a deorbit maximum of 5 years for ESA-funded missions instead of the previous 25 years, and, accordingly, LEO satellites without ADEO (or similar) will no longer be launched at all from October 2024, as SpaceX, for example, makes clear in its conditions of carriage in accordance with FCC regulations.

Historic Moment: 12 Nations Sign the Zero Debris Charter

The Charter was signed in Brussels on May 22 by 12 countries, including Germany. Since then, over 100 organizations, companies and entrepreneurs have been waiting for their cue to sign.

The ILA 2024 marks a very important stage on this path towards the sustainability of European space travel and sets an example for companies on other continents.

May 2024

Update on ADEO´s Performance

After 487 days of approachflight towards Earth, ADEO-N2 on the ION SCV 3 test satellite continues to sail on a record course without even a scratch: the current position has been reached in a threefold shorter time of the ADEO deorbit compared to the classic missions, whose data are subject to the prediction algorithms.

Expected touchdown at the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere: April 2025.
This is reported by the two mission managers, D-Orbit, Rome (satellite) and HPS, Munich (brake sail).

April 2024

Key Note by HPS-CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer; ESA-ECSL Zero Debris Future Symposium, ESOC, Darmstadt, 04.04.2024.

ESA Zero Debris Future Symposium, Darmstadt
Opportunities from Implementing a Zero Debris Vision for Europe

Dear Director Densing,
dear Holger, dear Quentin,
dear colleagues from agencies, industry, research and development.

1. INTRODUCTION

It is always difficult to sell it to the general public as an “opportunity” when new regulations come into force. New rules always have something to do with restrictions, with control, with costs on all sides.

Well, let me talk about DIRECT and INDIRECT opportunities in relation to a “Zero Debris Vision”, even if I will sometimes use critical words.

2. DIRECT and INDIRECT Opportunities.

Yes, there are a number of companies for whom the
“Zero Debris Approach” could be a very promising DIRECT opportunity. The list of business areas is not extremely long, but extremely interesting:

First of all, there are a number of different deorbit-technologies.

In recent years, ESA has unfortunately only mentioned to the public the ACTIVE removal of EXISTING large junk. However, it will still take many years before 1,000 items per year can be removed commercially.

But there are already some deorbit-kits for satellites that MITIGATE debris before being created: chemical engines (MBDA, De-Orbit), electric propulsion (Morpheus), tether systems (Sener), or deployable drag sails (e.g. from my company HPS), already with TRL9. The winner-technologies will be those a) that will work, even if the satellite fails, b) that do not shorten the mission time, and c) that are emission-free.

Other business opportunities include debris measurement, debris software models, accurate position determination, collision prediction service, automatic collision avoidance systems, deorbit prediction software, or demise calculation software. All this is creating great opportunities for SMEs, the supplier industry and for service models. In the future there will also be a market for certifiers (a kind of “TÜV” for launch permission), for insurance companies, lawyers and much more.

Now to the INDIRECT opportunities, they are very simple: If we do nothing, there will soon be a collision-domino in LEO, a catastrophe. That’s it. No more space business, we all can close our companies, “Game Over”.

Anyone who hasn’t recognized this can no longer be helped. In this respect, the “Zero Debris Charter” is an extremely important sign to European space players. It will also motivate many countries to introduce appropriate measures.

Surprisingly, but understandably, the newer, small space states that want to do missions by themselves, are at the forefront. A recent article wrote: “Experts at the United Arab Emirates Space Agency are urging global decision-makers to put space debris mitigation at the top of their agenda.”

3. How do direct opportunities become a reality for Europe?

In the short term, opportunities become only reality, if European regulations become binding, when sanctions and fines are threatened. Why should a satellite builder spend extra money on deorbit-technology, if he doesn’t have to?
Catalysts in cars were also only installed, when regulations were set in place.

Of course, regulations must not put European providers at a disadvantage on the global market. And first regulations must be easy to understand and easy for the industry to implement.

Tell a politician: “The casualty risk from re-entering objects should remain lower than 1 in 10,000”…
When I was in February in Vienna at the United Nations Workshop on “Longterm Sustainability of Outer Space Activities”, I promoted on the podium in front of many states the simple “5-years deorbit rule”…; all UN-delegates easily understood it.

Or tell today a motivated satellite start-up: “The probability of space debris generation through collisions and break-ups should remain below 1 in 1.000 per object during the entire orbital lifetime”.
How is he supposed to prove that? And who checks that?

Other non-European countries have also recognized the opportunities. In mid-February there was a “Space Debris Workshop” in Saudi Arabia, where countries from all over the world exchanged ideas about the opportunities.

Opportunities in a global market require massive investment and speed, and some countries will provide it. If we are not attentive here in Europe, the world will overtake us.
Or do we want great European ideas/companies to be bought up by non-European companies?

For doing the very big things, small companies will have little chance.
20 years ago, there were hundreds of online delivery services, now there is basically only Amazon.
20 years ago, there were hundreds of online dating sites…now there’s basically only Tinder left in the world’s connection.

Seriously, when it comes to “sustainable space”, it is primarily the responsibility of states and agencies to introduce it into their missions and, at the same time, to accept respective increased mission costs.

It is a political task not to become dependent on technologies and services, when new regulations are introduced. If you also strive for leadership, appropriate financing and support of the big and small companies are necessary;
we in Europe cannot only rely on venture capital alone, especially when it comes to the issue of zero debris.
(And, on this occasion, leadership doesn’t work with a 30 hours-week or retirement at 60.)

The salvation doesn’t come only with the start-ups either. We in Europe need a healthy mix of established companies and start-ups, depending on the task. We’re still talking about space missions, with technology at the limits of feasibility. You need experienced specialists to achieve success. Global collaborations are helpful for large tasks.
(All the best for you, ASTROSCALE, a cooperation in 3 continents.)

That leads me to the next point, some

4. MEDIUM-TERM TECHNOLOGY PRIORITIES

Three examples from my point of view:

1) If I had real money
(and if I also wanted to see large parts of the world dependent on me),
I would build a GIGANTIC system of debris monitoring, with the largest AI-based database. I would sell this data, with an additional warning system as an option….
It exists already? Yes, I know, but only for larger junk, larger than 10 cm.

In the next 3 to 5 years the small particles, even smaller than 1 cm, will become the greatest unknown danger. They will multiply in a domino system, come in swarms and endanger entire constellations.

I would have a fleet of LEO observation satellites (with their own deorbit kit, of course) operating with different sensors, measuring directly in orbit impacts 24/7 and letting the AI do the rest.
There are already a few ESA-approaches to this in the Space Safety Program, but unfortunately only with underfunded studies; still.

2) Autonomous anti-collision-subsystems for autonomous flying.
A global market for small modules, buyable to everyone.
Will Europe be ahead here? Technologically and price-wise?

3) What is missing is a comprehensive software to predict, whether a satellite will burn completely or not. Because anyone who cannot prove this, especially for satellites >200 kg, must (according to the Zero Debris Charter) perform a controlled (and therefore expensive) re-entry over the seas.
Satellite builders prefer to buy certified software.
However, this software must be affordable, otherwise only large companies can afford it and that cannot be the goal of a Zero Debris initiative. 

5. But what should be done NOW, IN THE SHORT TERM?

1) The 25 years deorbit rule dates back to the Middle Age, but is still firmly anchored in most minds. I strongly recommend that the rule:
“Deorbit within 5 years after end-of-business”
will be introduced immediately for all ESA missions into LEO and that this will be communicated publicly from the highest level, e.g. right after signature of the Zero Debris Charter.

2) Neither ARIANE 6 nor VEGA may carry any more satellites into LEO, that do not follow this rule.
Elon Musk is showing the world: from October onwards, there will no longer be permission for environmental sinners to fly on FALCON 9.

3) Each satellite should have retroreflectors on board to enable accurate tracking from the ground.

4) Financial vouchers should be awarded by ESA to companies and universities that install zero debris technologies on their satellites.

5) Director Densing, if European countries are serious about environmental awareness and “Clean Green Space”, the Space Safety program at CMIN 2025 must be significantly increased.

 6. FINISH

So, I think that’s enough powder for a lively panel discussion.

For now, thank you very much for your attention.

February 2024

HPS with ADEO in top position in NASA’s technology report

Since its inception, the U.S. space agency NASA has been the primary driver of progress in aerospace technology. NASA’s Scientific and Technical Information (STI) program plays a key role in ensuring that NASA maintains this important role. Its Technical Reports Server contains one of the largest collections of aerospace science STI in the world, including “Technical Publications” on critical research and achievements of lasting value.

Focus on deorbit technologies

The aim of the latest publication, published in February 2024, on groundbreaking technologies, particularly in the field of small satellites, is, among other things, to present the world’s leading deorbit technologies, which can be used to technically implement the new regulation on the disposal of LEO satellites, which has been sharply limited from 25 to 5 years in both the USA and Europe. In its evaluation criteria for technologies, NASA is primarily guided by the TRL standard of the respective products and also pays great attention to the scalability achieved.

ADEO has it all: top values up to TRL-9, scalability and flight successes

According to NASA, the deployable brake sail system ADEO from HPS occupies the leading position on the global market in the category of passive deorbit systems. This is because ADEO not only offers technological maturity up to the peak value of TRL-9, but also a successful flight heritage and is also prepared for equipping various small satellite formats thanks to the HPS series production of an entire product family. This broad protection of HPS’s leading position with ADEO has been widely recognized by NASA – despite the fact that it is a competitor with several projects in this field:

“The Drag Augmentation Deorbiting System (ADEO) is a drag sail developed by the German company High Performance Space Structure Systems (HPS). The sail is scalable and HPS has already launched a number of missions with different configurations up to TRL 9. The ADEO-N series is tailored for small satellite missions of 20-250 kg, while the ADEO-M and ADEO-L series are designed for larger missions of 100-700 kg and 500-1500 kg respectively. The ADEO-N series corresponds to a sail size of 5±2 m2, while ADEO-M covers areas of 15 ± 5 m2. There are also smaller versions, especially for picosatellites (ADEO-P) and CubeSats (ADEO-C), and the possibility to configure the sail size according to customer requirements. Various missions have already tested the ADEO-N product family. The NABEO-1 was launched on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket kick stage in 2018. The sail was deployed just 90 minutes after launch. There was a problem measuring whether the drag sail was initially deployed, but visual ground observations confirmed successful deployment and performance. At the end of December 2022, the ADEO-N2 sail was launched into space by the ION-2 spacecraft carrier of the Italian launch service provider D-Orbit. The successful deployment was recorded by the ION carrier’s on-board camera.”

ADEO – Deorbit technology as a prerequisite for launch authorization

With this presentation in one of the most important technology documentations of the US space agency NASA, HPS with ADEO becomes a highly visible beacon in the worldwide field of passive deorbit systems for all satellites that have to comply with the new 5-year deorbit requirement in order to be approved for launch by American or European launchers

January 2024

KEAN II passes the acid test at the University of the German Armed Forces and in the field

KEAN, the integrated deployable lightweight manpack complete antenna from HPS and its development partners, has taken a decisive step forward in the KEAN II (Second Generation) version: it passed the tough link test at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich in December 2023 and the handling test in the field. This brings the goal of the joint HPS project much closer: the development of a complete system for bidirectional satellite communication based on preliminary developments already carried out by HPS and these specifications:

• Conformance to satellite operators (e.g. EUTELSAT, INTELSAT)
• Ku-band, 1.2 m diameter, also X- and Ka-band capable
• Including communication system, electronics, battery, tripod, backpack carrying system
• Total weight <20 kg
• Commissioning in under 15 minutes from backpack transport to satellite link
• Innovative, cybernetic folding mechanism based on the opening and closing of flowers
• Design and definition of components and production processes suitable for series production for a rapid transition to series production in large quantities.

Partners in the project are:

• The system supplier MTEX (Wiesbaden) with a focus on ground stations and electronics.
• The start-up Blackwave (Ottobrunn) with the economical series production of complex carbon components.
• The Chair of Carbon Composites (LCC) at the Technical University of Munich for the design of innovative extremely lightweight reflector fins.
• The Bundeswehr University for defining the user requirements and carrying out the antenna link tests with satellites.

The additional antenna deployment tests in rough terrain in the Bavarian Alps were closely monitored from the air by camera-guided drones; they provided complete documentation of the challenges, but also of the success of these tests. Videos are available at the YouTube Channel. Particular attention was paid to features and elements such as these during the tests:

1. Wearing comfort off-road (walking and running) with different body sizes
2. Assembly and disassembly over time in rough terrain (bushes, gravel, snow)
3. Speed of unfolding and folding
4. Handling by untrained test persons
5. Wind load compatibility
6. Handling in cold conditions (requirement: from -30o C to +55 o C)
7. Robust construction

The target markets for applications of this completely new technology for communication via satellite, especially on X-, Ku- and Ka-band, cover all three conceivable directions:

• commercial, such as journalistic reporting from rough terrain
• institutional, such as rescue and disaster relief operations
• military, such as for small special forces operating independently of vehicles without a direct connection to the base of fully equipped large units
• scalable up to 3.6 m, also for mobile transportation on small vehicles.

Beyond the technical successes, KEAN II is currently growing wings from a completely different direction: the European Commission’s major IRIS2 project to establish absolutely secure connectivity via a dedicated multi-orbit constellation of several hundred satellites from LEO to GEO is giving a significant boost to all those application scenarios that were previously considered to have only seen very hesitant development due to their dependence on non-European constellations and individual satellites. This applies in particular to the institutional and military markets, both of which are now growing into larger dimensions.

The last stage of development was funded by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as part of the ILKA project with funds from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate on the basis of a decision taken by the German Bundestag.

January 2024

Servicing Europe´s ambitions in space from Romania

In less than a blink of an eye, it will be a full decade that Romania´s leading space-SME “High Performance Structures Inovatie si Desvoltare S.R.L.” will look back to the beginnings of the company´s history in 2016, when it opened its office in Bucharest. Founded to meet the needs for additional capacities of HPS Munich, HPS RO quickly developed ttowards becoming one of the most renowned full-service spacetech-companies from ESA-member states in the Eastern Europe.
Just one question to managing director Astrid Draguleanu:

From the very beginnings and through the years, you have been in the position to significantly participate in shaping and guiding the company´s development. From your perspective, which factors are the ones that keep pushing HPS forward on the road of success?
From our point of view, there are three rock solid pillars the company´s success rests on.
Number one: COMPETENCE. HPS RO is an engineering company, with driven top engineers trained in the sectors of engineering, development, assembly, secondary and tertiary structures, thermal and RF-components, mechanical ground support equipments. In addition, we have managed to combine forces with commercial and institutional suppliers and partners, contributing competencies in special segments like precision manufacturing, welding, process verification, and assembly tests. So when one´s looking for a onestop source of competence in Romania and ESA´s Eastern European presence as a whole, they will sure find it in Bucharest.

Number two: QUALITY. In the Space Industry, quality is attributed to those who manage to comply to the specific standards and building up an immaculate heritage of successful steps on the ladder to the top. HPS RO proved that it has taken those steps, and done it with at an amazing pace: In the past eight years we have contributed to a total of twelve Space Missions so far. To get an idea of what´s behind that, let us just take a more detailed look at the contributions we´ve made in the area of mechanical ground handling and support equipment, MGSE:

• Purge Equipment for the JUICE Spacecraft on behalf of Airbus Germany
• Satellite Vertical Integration Stand for the Biomass-Mission, Airbus U.K.
• Instrument & Optical Bench Lfting Frames, Copernicus Chime Mission, OHB
• Instrument Turntable Support Stand and Instrument Turntable, Instrument Alignment Trolley, Instrument Lifting Device, Multipurpose Adapter, Vibration Test Adapter, Vertical Integration Stand, Instrument Support Structure and Instrument Mass Dummy for the METOP mission, Airbus Germany
• Satellite Hoisting Device, transport containers, various adaptors – in total 14 MGSE-assemblies for Copernicus CIMR by HPS Germany.

Number three: CAPACITY. From the very beginning, it has been absolutely clear to all of us that HPS RO has a great future, by focusing on its character as a company with high professional level and not afraid of hard work. That is why building and keeping up capacities is yet another pillar we use. Take, for example, the fact that, before having even one contract to justify the expenditures, we started out from the beginning with production facilities, giving room the even the most ambitious dreams of development. And it proved to be the golden path to go: Apart from servicing all current needs of customers, we were most happy to have the capacities for starting out the series production of the HPS Satellite Dragsail product family “ADEO”, when the winds of change reached politics and deorbit technology became a legal prerequisite to let a satellite go into space to begin with. Of course, we apply this philosophy of “growth follows capacity” also to our HR-management. Today we employ a total of 20 engineers in Bucharest, growing in numbers at top speed. We are convinced that the reason for the whole success story is the delicate balance we have learned to keep in our magical triangle of COMPETENCE, QUALITY, and CAPACITY.”

The Munich-based space-tech company HPS had this development in mind more than ten years ago, when no one else was really thinking about ways to avoid space debris. With great support from the space agencies ESA and DLR, the DLR institutes in Bremen and Braunschweig, the companies DSI, Bremen, and formerly HTS, Coswig, plus a seven-digit-investment of HPS, the company´s highly committed young team of experts has created an entire product family under the generic name ADEO, from the smallest versions ADEO-P (Pico), ADEO-C (Cube) and ADEO-N(Nano), ADEO-M (Medium) and the latest member of the group, ADEO-L (Large). The development master plan not only extends even further to possible ADEO variants with up to 100 square meters of braking surface, but also leaves enough room for derivatives with completely different applications, such as the monitoring of space debris smaller than1 cm directly in space.

In its largest flight-ready version to date, L1, ADEO has a take-off weight of 10 kg at dimensions of 43 cm x 43 cm x 25 cm; in contrast to the smaller versions, this unit also requires its own power supply for motor-controlled deployment of the masts and sails. ADEO-L1 generally fits perfectly on satellites up to the 1,500 kilo class.

In the first quarter of next year, ADEO-L1 will be integrated onto a satellite of the Belgian company Redwire for its first test flight at the end of 2024/beginning of 2025 as part of a EU program, while the versions ADEO-N1 and ADEO-N2 have already passed their baptism of fire in space. Approaching the fiery finale is currently ADEO-N2, deployed in December 2022. Since then, it has already lowered its satellite from an orbital altitude of 510 km to 460 kilometers in only 12 months without the aid of any fuel or attitude control. Expected “arrival” in a completely burnt-up state: mid2025 – and thus even around five times faster than without sails and twice as fast as prescribed.

ADEO-L1 will master this path of final in-orbit verification just as safely, company boss Dr.-Ing. Ernst K. Pfeiffer is certain. As with the other versions, it will then go straight into series production for which the company has special production facilities at its Munich and Bucharest sites.