OHB SE is widening their range of products with the addition of a new platform for smallsats.
Accordingly, LuxSpace Sarl, OHB’s Luxembourg-based subsidiary, has entered into a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA). LuxSpace will develop an entirely new, cost-effective and versatile microsatellite platform to be known as “Triton-X.”
Triton-X will be opening up new perspectives for the OHB Group in the “new space market” and generating scope for commercial applications. The smallsats will have a mass of around 80 kilos and transport a payload of up to 30 kilos to LEO around the Earth (altitude of 250 to 700 kilometers).
The Triton-X smallsat platform is highly cost-competitive, available quickly and versatile and can be used for commercial applications in the new space market, such as satellite communications, Earth Observation (EO) and the testing of new technologies in space.
In Phase 1, which is now commencing, the entire system architecture will be defined. At the same time, suitable partners for the core industrial team will be selected in conjunction with ESA. The platform will be developed and prototypes built during Phase 2. The maiden flight of a Triton-X satellite platform is scheduled for Phase 3 from the end of 2019.
According to Marco Fuchs, the CEO at OHB SE, following the successful completion of the SmallGEO satellite platform in the 3 ton class, I am particularly pleased that ESA has now, again, selected OHB as a competent partner for the next stage in the development of microsatellites. This underscores the diversity and innovativeness of the OHB technology group.
Thomas Görlach, managing director of LuxSpace Sarl, explained that this contract marks the decisive and final step on the firm's route toward becoming a provider of highly cost-competitive microsatellites and are grateful to receive support from ESA and the Luxembourg government — he OHB Group will be ready at an early stage to meet the future requirements of the new space market. LuxSpace will not only be developing and building the microsatellites but also designing the necessary production line for future volume production. With Triton-X, LuxSpace will be able to offer inexpensive volume products that are available swiftly thanks to efficient production and testing methods. With Triton-X, it is possible to make use of cost-effective launch capacity. The commercial platform is also ideal for assembling constellations of multiple satellites for joint missions.
Industrial partners from across the entire supply chain, whether from ESA Member States or from non-Member States, are invited to contact the ESA and the LuxSpace project managers to discuss how they can participate in the Triton-X product line industrial production team.
Hubert Moser, Triton-X LuxSpace Project Manager,
moser@luxspace.lu, phone +352 661 678 996
Albert Crausaz, Triton-X ESA Project Manager,
albert.crausaz@esa.int, phone +33 6 80 72 44 52
LuxSpace was created in November 2004 as a daughter company of OHB SE and is located in the SES Business Center at Betzdorf in Luxembourg and belongs to the international network of companies within the OHB group.