HPS Space News

January 2023

3 – 2 – 1 – Next liftoff for the HPS space sail ADEO-N3 on the satellite carrier ION of the Italian mission provider D-ORBIT

Already in the heat of last summer, HPS in Munich was preparing for the third mission of the innovative space brake sail ADEO-N, which unfolds automatically at the end of the mission and drives “its” satellite into the atmosphere to burn up. This technology avoids the formation of new space debris already on the ground and finally makes space missions sustainable.

The ION Satellite Carrier with ADEO-N3 with its sail area of 5sqm has been on board a Falcon 9 since the picture book start on January, 31, 2023 from spaceport Vandenberg, California, now on the way to the target orbit at 270 to 500 km altitude at 53 degrees inclination. Probably by the end of 2023 ADEO-N3 will then, as on previous flights – including one with ION also on Falcon 9 – deploy the braking parachute and remove its ION Satellite Carrier from orbit without leaving any residue many times faster than usual. With the flight heritage accumulated by then, the mature ADEO system heralds a “green” space age. Because at least for European missions or missions from Europe, there will – in all probability – no longer be any more launches without deorbit tech on board: The Green Deal of the EU will then also apply to “clean-green missions” in space.

On the current flight, ADEO-N3 acts as another verification of maturity for HPS. D-Orbit and HPS already captured what will happen high above the earth during a nominal mission as historical testimony on video during the last flight:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7021106640993021952

Video is free for publication

The attached video, recorded directly on site with the on-board camera of the ION satellite of the Italian cooperation partner D-Orbit, provides live proof: with the product of HPS, which is now ready for series production after twelve years of development with great support from ESA, DLR and the Bavarian government, a new era of responsibility in space is beginning. ADEO is manufactured in series by HPS at its sites in Munich and Bucharest, primarily for constellation satellites. ADEO products are available for satellites weighing up to 2,500 kilograms at flight altitudes of up to 800 km. Even higher-flying satellites can be operated with ADEO if they have previously lowered their orbit accordingly using their own propulsion. HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer: “With ADEO on board, satellites do not become space junk in the first place. And at conditions that are ALWAYS more economical than all other options.”

January 2023

Largest joint innovation project in European spaceflight: CEOs of TAS-I, HPS and LSS kick off Phase C/D of the large deployable antenna “LDRS” in the CIMR project

Since the spectacular win of the €110 million contract in 2020 for the development and construction of an LDRS (Large Deployable ReflectorSubsystem) by the SME consortium led by HPS, the project supporting to secure a sovereign European level of innovation has been running like on rails despite all its complexity. The confidence of the end customer ESA and its prime contractor TAS-I for the mission, which has grown steadily over the course of the project’s development, has now found expression on 23.01.2023 in the sealing of the departure into Phase CD by the signing of the so-called “RIDER” for the construction and testing of a qualification model (EQM) in 2023/2024, followed by no less than two flight models (PFM and FM2).

The supporting technology pillars of the innovation project are, in addition to the main innovation partners LSS (development, construction and test of the large deployable reflector), the HPS subsidiary HPtex (mesh production for the reflector), FHP (CFRP struts for the reflector), INVENT (CFRP tube for the deployable arm) and vH&S (for the deployment control electronics), further 10 companies from seven European countries under the consortium leadership of HPS.

The Environmental Observation Mission under the Copernicus Earth Observation Program of the European Union is an essential element of the European Space Strategy as a highly ambitious project in the field of climate observation and the understanding of effects of climate change.

Photo (TAS-I): contract sealing – center: Massimo Camparini (CEO of the space company ThalesAleniaSpace Italy) and the CEOs of HPS, Ernst K. Pfeiffer (right) and of LSS, Leri Datashvili.

January 2023

Historical video evidence
from HPS and D-Orbit

On December 15, 2022, at 12:10 UTC, the world’s unique ADEO braking sail from the German space technology company HPS GmbH, Munich, opened the chapter of sustainability for international spaceflight 500 kilometers above the Earth: as planned, on time and precisely, the sail attached to the ION SCV 003 satellite unfurled over an area of 3.6 square meters to remove “its” satellite from orbit in the shortest possible time without leaving any residue, thus avoiding hazards for other space vehicles and making room for the next generation of satellites at its former orbital position. Preliminary studies and calculations indicate that this will reduce the descent time not by half, as originally expected, but rather by as much as five times.

The attached video, recorded directly on site with the on-board camera of the ION satellite of the Italian cooperation partner D-Orbit, provides live proof: with the product of HPS, which is now ready for series production after twelve years of development with great support from ESA, DLR and the Bavarian government, a new era of responsibility in space is beginning. ADEO is manufactured in series by HPS at its sites in Munich and Bucharest, primarily for constellation satellites. ADEO products are available for satellites weighing up to 2,500 kilograms at flight altitudes of up to 800 km. Even higher-flying satellites can be operated with ADEO if they have previously lowered their orbit accordingly using their own propulsion. HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer: “With ADEO on board, satellites do not become space junk in the first place. And at conditions that are ALWAYS more economical than all other options.”