HPS Space News

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.