Germany Designing Satellite for Commercial Partnership
The German Aerospace Center, DLR, is midway through design studies of a telecommunications research satellite to include advanced Ka-band broadcast technologies as part of a partnership with a commercial satellite operator, according to DLR officials.
The satellite, called Heinrich Hertz, would use the Small Geo satellite platform being developed by OHB Technology of Bremen, Germany, plus a payload developed by Tesat-Spacecom of Backnang and other gear from Astrium GmbH of Ottobrunn.
The project would be the latest demonstration that the German government, which for years had steered clear of satellite telecommunications, intends to maintain a national capability in the sector and to help German industry maintain its telecommunications competitiveness. DLR has been the principal backer of the Small Geo project, one of whose goals is to maintain in Germany a capacity to build commercial telecommunications satellites.