SmallGEO: OHB and Tesat set milestone

SmallGEO
Europe's new geostationary satellite “made in Germany” has successfully been launched

PI1278 – Backnang, 28.01.2017: With today’s launch of the SmallGEO satellite Hispasat 36W-1, OHB System AG from Bremen, Tesat-Spacecom from Backnang and further suppliers have once again raised the space travel location Germany to world-class levels.

"With the development of the SmallGEO platform, the system capability for German telecommunication satellites has been recovered after more than 20 years" said Marco Fuchs, CEO of OHB System AG, at an information event earlier this week. H36W-1 is used to supply Europe, the Canary Islands and South America with multi-media services.

The SmallGEO platform is a public-private partnership (PPP) project between OHB, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Spanish satellite operator HISPASAT. The core advantages of this new platform are the ability to use the service more agile and efficient, which significantly increases the transmission capacities and lowers the communication costs.

The Swabian high-tech company Tesat-Spacecom was responsible for the telecommunications payload of the new satellite. Günther Adam, Chief Operating Officer, describes the project: ”OHB as the system leader for the entire satellite and Tesat-Spacecom as the responsible for the payload have realized this success together and in close cooperation with their customers and subcontractors. With H36W-1, 25 years after DFS-Copernicus and with the help of DLR and ESA, the system capability in the area of telecommunications satellites in Germany will be established again.”

About Tesat: Over the course of five decades, Tesat-Spacecom has developed in-depth expertise in manufacturing of payload equipment for communication satellites and has established itself as a clear European market leader. On its 60,000m² premises in Backnang, Germany, 1,200 employees develop, assemble, integrate, and test systems and equipment for telecommunication via satellite. To date, more than 700 space projects have been completed. The accumulated in orbit lifetime heritage exceeds 250 million hours.

Further information for journalists:
Tesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co KG
Nina Backes, Communications
Gerberstrasse 49, D-71522 Backnang
Tel.: +49-7191-930-1126
E-Mail: info[at]tesat.de

© Tesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co. KG, 2022
Contact
Tesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co. KG
Gerberstr. 49
71522 Backnang
Germany