GEORG is the upcoming very high resolution optical EO system of Germany. It will be in service of the Federal Intelligence Service of Germany (BND). At 20-30cm it not only the first optical VHR system built in Germany it is also one of the best in the world. Obviously whether it is a good idea…

When EnMAP was envisioned by the German Aerospace Center in 2006 its aim was spectacular. It was planned to bring Germany on the forefront of hyper-spectral imaging. Today more than a decade later the satellite is not yet launched. Why? Let’s have a look! Introduction Before looking at the EnMAP satellite we will establish what…

Germany prides itself to have some of the best satellites in the world. However in a very German strife for perfection we often wait more than a decade until they become available. I would argue, that for those who wait for that capacity – good enough today is better than perfect tomorrow. Unfortunately, since it…

My article about HydroGNSS reminded me that sometime before founding Berlin Space Technologies (BST) I had the privilege to oversee three industry led feasibility studies on small satellites for GNSS Occultation/Reflectometry, Precise Orbit Determination (POD) and Very Longe Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). The intended customer of the mission was the GFZ – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (GFZ). Planned from…

Sometimes in life you are being asked a unique question and you can but wonder; why did I not think of this earlier. This is one of these times: in August this year I was approached by a good friend who is currently building a constellation for earth observation. He was wondering for all the…

I will start this article with a simple question: does an European company that sends a design document or a satellite to the European Space Agency (ESA) require an export license for the same? The obvious answer seems to be “no, never” but is that really the case? Since in the last month I dug…

With German’s election bringing more power to the Greens (Bündnis 90 / die Grünen) and the Liberal Democrats (FDP). I would like to address them directly as they effectively the kingmakers and will wield powerful influence on the future of the German space industry. In this open letter you will find my post election recommendations:…

The German Industry Association (BDI) has recently published a paper with recommendations regarding (Key Component – Small Satellites | LinkedIn). In this white paper BDI argues that the German government should increase the government spending on space to create technologies and foster mass manufacturing of small satellites (<500kg) made in Germany. While I am very…

Episode 10 takes a look on what is #newspace and what is not. In this bonus episode we are looking on two common archetypes of the industry. The beggar who will go to their government and plea for money and the don who will demand it. Let’s have a look. This is not the free…

This month topic in #spacedonewrong is fear. Once again the European Space Agency has chosen a canonical platform which is unfortunately unsuited to meet the programmatic requirements. For me his looks like another case of “lets stick with what we know”. Its Groundhog day: EC/ESA IOD Element 2 has again ended up with a platform that…