Munich | Bucharest

No more Space Junk!


May 2022

Exciting new Partnership for Sustainable Use of Space

Paris-Munich-Berlin, September 19th, 2022. Today satellite manufacturer Reflex Aerospace (Munich/Berlin) and space-tech company HPS (Munich), signed a letter of intent that will set the pace in striving for a sustainable use of space, through the prevention of space debris Reflex Aerospace is committed to removing all satellites from orbit after system end of life, and has chosen subsystem specialists HPS as its preferred partner to equip their satellites with ADEO sail-system as the deorbit system. The mission is clear, to ensure a safe and sustainable use of space for the foreseeable future. The two German Space players share a common goal in putting the European Commission´s “Green Deal”, ESA’s “Zero Debris Initiative” and the US “National Orbital Debris Implementation Plan” into practice.

The dragsail ADEO is available in three different versions, and covers all possible shapes and sizes of satellites active on orbital altitudes up to 900 kilometres. As a result, ADEO provides their system to over 90 percent of all constellations that are currently in planning. Partnering with ADEO underlines Reflex’s ambition to foster sustainability in space and responsive space capabilities, creating additional value for their satellites and subsequently for their customers. The first step and first integration of an ADEO dragsail will be the Reflex Demonstration Mission planned for mid 2024.

The CEOs of both companies signed the agreement today, Walter Ballheimer for Reflex, and Dr. Ernst K. Pfeiffer on behalf of HPS. Following the signature, Walter Ballheimer said, “We know the satellite manufacturing business for a long time, and from a mere business perspective one can understand that some of our competitors hesitate to invest in sustainability, if that affects rentability. Our view is, however, that this is short sighted and will inevitably lead to a situation where space endeavours become incredibly risky due to the amount of debris in the low earth orbit We don’t want to wait for this scenario to materialize, instead, we see it as a clear mandate for us and our customers to assume factual and ethical leadership in this matter.” Ernst Pfeiffer added: “Every breakthrough is a highly emotional moment, and this one now is certainly one of the most important ones in the history of our company. We started developing large deployable sail subsystems, originally with partners for the purpose of solar sailing ((i.e. DLR Institutes), back in the year 2000. It took over twenty years, uncountable hours of work done by the best engineers in the field, as well as sweat and tears when the project ran more than once into dangerous waters concerning its long-term financing. We are glad and thankful that over the decades we received so much support from people and institutions who never stopped believing in our final success. DLR and ESA have to be mentioned here in their role as most important strategic investors. This step together with Reflex Aerospace justifies the worthiness of all that effort and shows that ADEO will make its way as the central tool in keeping space save and sustainable.”

For more detailed information on ADEO see: https://www.hps-gmbh.com/en/portfolio/adeo-angel-on-wings/
For more detailed information on Reflex Aerospace see: https://www.reflexaerospace.com/