OHB SE is a European multinational technology corporation. Headquartered in Bremen, Germany, the corporation consists of the two business divisions Space Systems and Aerospace + Industrial Products. A key product of the corporation is fully integrated spacecraft. At present OHB is the third largest corporation in Europe's space sector.
The company OHB System AG is a major constituent of the OHB corporation. This company was founded in 1958 as a marine systems outfitter. The name OHB originates from this time; the name is an initialism of Otto Hydraulic Bremen. However the activities of the company shifted toward space technology in the 1980s after the couple Christa Fuchs and
Manfred Fuchs
Manfred Fuchs (25 July 1938 in Latsch, Italy – 26 April 2014 in Kaltern an der Weinstraße) was an Italian-German entrepreneur and space pioneer who was the founder of the German space company OHB.
Life
Fuchs' family owned distilleries i ...
took over ownership of the company.
Organisation
OHB is set up as a ''
Societas Europae'' – a European company. The OHB SE group encompasses subsidiaries across the European Union.
Projects
The company has been working on numerous German, European and international projects related to small satellites, manned space flight as well as security and reconnaissance technologies.
*Examples of OHB satellite missions for telecommunication, earth observation and reconnaissance are ''Small GEO (
Hispasat AG1
Hispasat Advanced Generation 1 (Hispasat AG1), also designated Hispasat 36W-1, is a Spanish communications satellite which is part of the Hispasat fleet. It was successfully launched to GTO on 28 January 2017.
The satellite will serve Spain, P ...
), BREMSAT, SAFIR 1&2, BIRD/RUBIN, ABRIXAS'' and the first German reconnaissance satellite system, ''
SAR-Lupe
SAR-Lupe is Germany's first reconnaissance satellite system and is used for military purposes. SAR is an abbreviation for synthetic-aperture radar, and "Lupe" is German for magnifying glass. The SAR-Lupe program consists of five identical (770&nb ...
''.
*Examples of OHB microgravity facilities are the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
racks ''
Fluid Science Laboratory
The Fluid Science Laboratory is a European (ESA's) science Payload (air and space craft), payload designed for use in Columbus (ISS module), Columbus built by Alenia Spazio, OHB-System and Verhaert Design and Development. It is a multi-user facili ...
'' and ''
European Physiology Modules
The European Physiology Module (EPM) is an International Standard Payload Rack for the Columbus Laboratory on board the International Space Station. The EPM rack was built by OHB-System in Bremen.
The EPM enables a better understanding of the e ...
''.
*Projects OHB demonstrated at the 2006
Berlin Air Show
The ILA Berlin Air Show (German: Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung (ILA)) combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public airshow.
It is held every even year at the new Berlin ExpoCenter Air ...
included CONDOR/ARDS, an airborne modular reconnaissance system, and Mona Lisa, a study for planning and implementing a lunar exploration program.
* On 7 January 2010, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
announced that the contract to build the first 14 operational satellites for the
Galileo Global Satellite Navigation System was awarded to OHB System and
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL). Fourteen satellites will be built at a cost of €566m ($811m; £510m). The first two are expected to be ready in October 2012.
* In February 2012, an additional order of eight satellites was awarded to OHB Systems for €250M ($327M), after outbidding EADS Astrium tender offer. Thus bringing the total to 22 FOC satellites.
*In 2014/2015, OHB was in talks with
OneWeb
OneWeb (legally Network Access Associates Ltd) is a communications company that aims to build broadband satellite Internet services. The company is headquartered in London, and has offices in Virginia, US and a satellite manufacturing facility ...
as part of a potential
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
to open a new facility for manufacturing approximately 900 -
small Internet-delivery satellites. OHB is just one of five European and US manufacturers competing to build these sub- satellites.
[
][
]
* In 2018 the
ESA
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, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
NEOSTEL
The Near Earth Object Survey TELescope (NEOSTEL - also known as "Flyeye") is an astronomical survey and early-warning system for detecting near-Earth objects sized and above a few weeks before they impact Earth.
NEOSTEL is a project founded by ...
("Flyeye") telescope was under construction, due for completion in 2019, ready for installation in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
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, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
in 2020 by the
Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency ( it, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entit ...
.
* In 2018, the
Institut Laue–Langevin
The Institut Laue–Langevin (ILL) is an internationally financed scientific facility, situated on the Polygone Scientifique in Grenoble, France. It is one of the world centres for research using neutrons. Founded in 1967 and honouring the phy ...
and
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) is a joint research facility situated in Grenoble, France, supported by 22 countries (13 member countries: France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, ...
announce a new partnership between the two research centers and OHB SE.
*In 2018, OHB SE founded the fully owned subsidiary start-up compan
Rocket Factory Ausgburg(RFA). RFA's goal is the development of a highly reliable, low-cost small-satellite launcher.
*In 2019 MT Mechatronics (subsidiary of OHB SE), together with Illinois-based
Ingersoll Machine Tools
Ingersoll Machine Tools is a manufacturer located in Rockford, Illinois that produces large scale machine tools for use in metal cutting, 3D Printing, and automated fiber placement.
History
The company was founded in 1891 by Winthrop Ingersoll ...
signed a contract to build the support structure of the
Giant Magellan Telescope
The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is a ground-based extremely large telescope under construction, as part of the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), . It will consist of seven 8.4 m (27.6 ft) diameter primary segments, that ...
. The total value of the contract is $135 million. The structure is expected to be delivered to Chile at the end of 2025.
*
As of 2019 OHB hopes to have a small rocket launcher capable of sending 200 kilograms to low Earth orbit conduct a first flight by the end of 202
Galileo
On January 7, 2010, the European Commission awarded a contract worth 566 million euros to build the first 14 operational satellites of the
Galileo (satellite navigation), Galileo satellite navigation system to OHB-System and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) 4. The first two are ready in October 2012. On February 2, 2012, OHB-System won a new contract worth 255 million euros, covering 8 additional satellites.
In 2013, a significant delay was announced for the program due to the failure of OHB, which called for help from Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, resulting in controversy over the governance of the program and the choice of OHB.
Corporate history
The OHB Systems AG was founded in 1958 as a marine outfitter company in Hemelinger harbour, Bremen. The name is an initialism of Otto Hydraulic Bremen.
In 1981 Christa and
Manfred Fuchs
Manfred Fuchs (25 July 1938 in Latsch, Italy – 26 April 2014 in Kaltern an der Weinstraße) was an Italian-German entrepreneur and space pioneer who was the founder of the German space company OHB.
Life
Fuchs' family owned distilleries i ...
became involved with OHB. At the time OHB was a small company of 5 employees doing hydraulic and electrical work, mainly for the Bundeswehr. In 1985 Manfred Fuchs took over the OHB completely. Under Fuchs, OHB changed its focus to satellite and aviation technology. In 2000, the company changed the meaning of OHB to High-technology Bremen Orbitals (German:Orbitale Hochtechnologie Bremen).
In 2009, the company had grown into 1,600 employee company.
In 1 September 2014, OHB Systems AG and
Kayser-Threde
Kayser-Threde GmbH based in Munich, Germany is a systems house specializing in applications in manned and unmanned space missions, optics, telematics, crash test data acquisition, and process control for the rail sector. On September 1, 2014, Breme ...
Gmbh merged.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:OHB SE
Aerospace companies of Germany
Defence companies of Germany
Companies based in Bremen
Manufacturing companies based in Bremen (state)
Spacecraft manufacturers