Heinrich Hertz launch successful, Ka-band antenna deployed

July 2023

Antenna specialist HPS congratulates German Aerospace Center, DLR

With the perfect launch on 05.07.2023 of the last Ariane 5, the Heinrich Hertz mission has now begun. The technical ambitions of the project now depend crucially on the reliability of the invisible umbilical cord of the data transmission between sky and earth, satellite and ground station as on the #sidedeployable “H2NBA” (Heinrich Hertz North Beam Antenna) from the house of the German antenna specialist HPS.

The Ka-band antenna from HPS with reflector (completely made of CFRP), feed-chain & tower, “hold-down-and-release-” as well as “deployment- and pointing-mechanism“, is extremely lightweight and at the same time geometrically stable. It offers high Eigenfrequency and is not only suitable for the intended data transmission in the high-frequency Ka-band, but also for the even higher frequency band Q/V-band. On 09.07.2023 the HPS-Antenna has successfully been deployed, which is always one of the most critical steps of larger satellite antennas after launch. Now it means, the mission’s data transfer can start.

Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO of HPS: “We warmly congratulate DLR, the mission prime OHB, our direct customer TESAT (payload responsible) and all others involved in this ambitious project on the launch of the mission and the successful first steps in setting the satellite into operation. All of us at HPS are proud to have contributed our part to the central communications technology with the H2NBA sviveling antenna.”

The Heinrich Hertz Mission and its partners:
The Heinrich Hertz mission is the first time that a dedicated German communications satellite has been launched to research and test new technologies and communications scenarios. The mission is thus also making a contribution to the information society in Germany. The Heinrich Hertz mission is being led by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bonn on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) and with the participation of the Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg). OHB-System AG was contracted to develop and build the satellite. Also involved in the development and testing of the satellite are the companies IABG GmbH, MDA AG and TESAT GmbH & Co. KG are also involved in the development and testing of the satellite. The ground segment with the control center in Bonn is being handled by OHB Digital Connect in conjunction with CGI. The sites for the new ground stations are located in Hürth (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Neustrelitz (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). Arianespace is responsible for launching the mission on board the Ariane 5 launcher (VA261). A total of 42 partners are involved in the mission – 14 of them on the scientific payload – one of them is HPS.