First European Service Module for Artemis accepted and handed over to NASA
On 11 December the first European Service Module passed its Acceptance Review and was formally handed over to NASA, the hardware is now officially NASA property. This marks the end of 9 years of designing, building and putting all the pieces together to make the next-generation powerhouse that will propel Orion spacecraft to the Moon.... ...
OHB signs contract for the realisation of payloads for the European Earth observation Mission CHIME
DE HYPERSPECTRAL SATELLITES TO COMPLEMENT COPERNICUS PROGRAMME AND ENABLE SUSTAINABLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES Press Release Bremen/Oberpfaffenhofen, November 19, 2020. OHB System AG, a subsidiary of the technology and space technology group OHB SE, will be developing the payload for the two satellites of the Earth observation mission CHIME under a subcontract from Thales Alenia... ...
ESA Council appoints Josef Aschbacher as next ESA Director General
: The ESA Council appointed Dr Josef Aschbacher on 17 December 2020 as the next Director General of ESA, for a period of four years. He will succeed Prof. Jan Wörner, whose term of office ends on 30 June 2021. Dr Aschbacher is currently ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes... ...
ARIANE 5: UNRIVALED PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY
High 5! Let’s take a closer look at Ariane 5’s exceptional track record Ariane 5 was officially inaugurated in 1987, when the European Space Agency (ESA) ministerial council approved the development of Ariane 4’s successor. This was to be a more powerful and economically viable launch vehicle, based on a different architecture capable of an... ...
Space Entrepreneurs Virtually Join Space Academy Rome 2020
The Space Academy Rome was held 9th – 10th December 2020, the third such event following successful Space Academies in Helsinki and Bremen in 2019. It was organised by project partners Cosorzio di Ricerca Hypatia and IASP – The International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation. The initial call for start-ups closed on... ...
Nanotechnology: Start-up NAVATO picks up speed
Navato Aerospace is a green start-up in the field of nanotechnology. Director and founder is Hans G. Dahn, co-founders are Miriam Janke and Jörg Praetorius. Navato was founded with the clear goal of providing coating-free nanotechnology solutions for different industries. The independent subsidiary Navato Aerospace GbR is revolutionising the aeronautics and space sector for aircraft,... ...
The Galileo Prize Bremen 2020 goes to flucto
REAL-TIME DECISIONS FOR OFFSHORE WIND Andreas Haselsteiner and Aljoscha Sander won the Bremen Galileo Prize for their startup “flucto.” Their technology for tracking individual components of wind turbines focusses on the installation, maintenance and decommissioning of wind farms. The company flucto has set itself the goal of improving regenerative energy production with the help of... ...
The 2020 Copernicus Prize Bremen goes to Coast Mapper
COAST MAPPER – A SYSTEMATIC COAST OBSERVATION SYSTEM Monitoring marine habitats, protecting coastlines against erosion, and making proper use of marine ecosystems near shorelines are crucial in ensuring a sustainable and efficient maritime economy in the EU. Coast Mapper is a system that will support the monitoring of selected parameters in coastal zones with the... ...
Angsa Robotics Wins Overall Prize in Galileo Masters 2020
Galileo Charts a Course for Autonomous Vehicles The winners of the international innovation competition the Galileo Masters 2020 were announced during the online Space Awards on 8 December as part of European Space Week 2020. At the Space Pitches sessions on 7 December, 17 winners selected by the Galileo Prize Partners had the chance to... ...
Reef Support Wins the Copernicus Masters 2020 Competition
Copernicus Data and AI to Protect the World’s Coral Reefs Celebrating its 10th iteration in 2020, the international innovation competition Copernicus Masters awarded prizes in 22 categories to outstanding products and services based on Earth observation data. All the winners presented their ideas at the Space Pitches session, and nine challenge winners were honoured during... ...
Fresh Breeze at the ESA BIC Northern Germany
07.12.2020: The aerospace engineer Frank Kortenstedde spent many years researching in the field of wind energy – most recently at the Institute of Aerospace Technology (IAT) at Bremen University of Applied Sciences. During his dissertation, he developed the idea on which his start-up Evoblade is now based. In 2016 he founded the company and together... ...
Boeing receives first P-8A Poseidon components from Aljo
Berlin, 1 December 2020 – Aljo Aluminium-Bau Jonuscheit GmbH (“Aljo”), a medium-sized specialist for aluminum components from Berne, has delivered the first parts for Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft in September and October. The delivery follows from an industrial partnership that Boeing and the family-owned company from Lower Saxony concluded in October 2018. The... ...
New climate guardian in space – Sentinel-6 will monitor global rise in sea levels
On 21 November 2020 at 18:17 CET, the eighth satellite of the European Copernicus programme, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California (US) on board a Falcon 9 launcher. The mission will monitor sea level rise as well as recording sea state and ocean currents. The identical Copernicus Sentinel-6B satellite... ...
Extraterrestrial Couture
How is a space suit made? And what does space travel have to do with fashion? We take a look behind the scenes of the production of the new female astronaut suit used in the Women Empowerment Training of Astronautin GmbH. In the shop window of the KAIMAN fashion boutique in Bremen’s Ostertorstraße, chic trouser... ...
Enjoy the shooting stars this fall with the taurids, leonids, and geminids meteor showers
23.10.2020: The nights may be getting longer, but don’t just huddle up and hide under your comforter! The night sky will be at its most spectacular this season. Here is ArianeGroup’s selection of meteor showers not to be missed as 2020 draws to a close. The Northern Taurids – active from October 20 to December 10,... ...
Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla – Chair of the DLR Executive Board
Curriculum vitae Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla studied mechanical engineering and materials science in Bochum and Darmstadt. She completed her doctorate and qualified as a university lecturer at Ruhr University in Bochum. Following research activities at the Hahn-Meitner-Institute (HMI) and the Technical University of Berlin, she conducted research and taught as a university professor at the Vienna University... ...
Assembly of the first ariane 6 upper stage
DE ArianeGroup teams in Bremen, Germany have assembled the very first Ariane 6 rocket upper stage, coupling the launcher’s tanks with the equipped engine bay of the re-ignitable Vinci engine for the first time. This extremely high-precision operation brought together Ariane 6’s oxygen and hydrogen tanks and the support structure of the Vinci engine, which... ...
IAC2020 Digital Edition: A summary
Between 12 and 14 October, the International Space Community met digitally for the IAC Cyber Space Edition. The “Bremen Bremerhaven City of Space” stand, which as in previous years, was jointly organised by Aviaspace, the Senator for Economics, Labour and Europe and BremenInvest (Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen). Digitalisation was a key subject during this year’s IAC. With... ...
CONNECTING SPACE REGIONS: South Australia, Nova Scotia, Zuid Holland and Bremen
IAC 14.10.2020, 12.00 CET (noon) Are you interested in getting to know more about current space activities in selected regions across the world? Then, join us on October 14th, 2020 between 12:00 (noon) and 2 p.m. (CET) to during IAC 2020 to expand your global network and make new business contacts! This unique event offers the possibility to get to know more about... ...
Bremen – City of Space – presents itself with a virtual exhibition stand at the International Space Congress 2020
The 71st International Congress of Astronautics (IAC) is being held in purely digital form for the first time in its history. This is due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Under the motto “Connecting@II Space People”, the most important international conference of the space industry will also be free of charge and accessible to everyone. Between... ...
Optimising air cargo traffic: Helios Aircargo Network
5.10.2020: What do the Airbus wings, the Ariane upper stage and the Galileo satellite navigation system have in common? They are all produced in Bremen. The smallest amongst the German federal state has developed into one of the most important locations for the international aerospace industry. In Bremen up-and-coming medium-sized enterprises and bigger established companies... ...
Ice-cold savings potential: Safely crossing the polar regions with satellite data
28.9.2020: Over the past decades, the State of Bremen has become the hub of the international aerospace industry. In the Hanseatic city, established manufacturers meet renowned research institutes to join forces and explore the limits of what is conceivable and feasible. The growing aerospace industry relies on strong partners with innovative ideas across all sectors,... ...
Astronautin GmbH: Bremen start-up offers ‘out of this world’ empowerment workshops
17.9.2020: Bremen is an important hub for the international aerospace industry. One of the new innovative drivers in the City of Space is a company called Astronautin GmbH, which we will take a closer look at below. One focus of Astronautin GmbH is the organisation and implementation of management workshops combined with key elements from... ...
Valispace: Rocket-like rise of a Bremen start-up
14.9.2020: Bremen has been a decisive player in the space domain for decades. In addition to the well-established industry giants, more and more start-ups and small and medium-sized companies in the “New Space” domain are moving to the City of Space in Northern Germany. AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V., which has always been particularly interested in supporting... ...
planblue: making the invisible visible
7.9.2020: In Bremen, 140 small, medium-sized and large companies and 20 research institutes – with a total of around 12,000 employees – generate more than four billion euros a year. This makes Bremen an absolute top location for the international aerospace industry. In order to strengthen this position in the long term, the ESA Business... ...
Ariane 5’s third launch of 2020
16.8.2020: Europe’s Ariane 5 has delivered two telecom satellites Galaxy-30 and BSAT-4B, and the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-2), into their planned transfer orbits. There are also four notable updates to the launch vehicle. Arianespace announced liftoff at 23:04 BST (00:04 CEST, 19:04 local time) this evening from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, for a... ...
Six new missions for the European Copernicus Earth observation programme
1.7.2020: On 1 July 2020, the European Space Agency awarded contracts for the development and construction of six further Copernicus satellites. Contracts with a value of more than 800 million euro are being awarded to space companies in Germany, a high percentage of which are SMEs. The new satellites are intended to help find answers... ...
Galileo Masters: a springboard for next-generation space applications
17.6.2020: Have an idea that uses Galileo positioning to address a pressing societal challenge? Take it to the next level by entering it in this year’s Galileo Masters competition. Every year, the Galileo Masters acts as a springboard for exciting new ideas and awards new applications and services that use Galileo and EGNOS, also in... ...
Airbus wins ESA contract to construct third European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft
Bremen, 26 May 2020 – The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract with Airbus for the construction of the third European Service Module (ESM) for Orion, the American crewed spacecraft. The contract is worth around €250 million. By ordering this additional service module, ESA ensures the necessary continuity in NASA’s Artemis programme. The... ...
Copernicus Masters 2020 gestartet
23.4.2020: The Copernicus Masters is an international competition with the objective to drive Copernicus User Uptake of Earth observation (EO) data and thus respective business cases. With challenge partners such as European Space Agency (ESA), The European Commission (EC), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Planet, BayWa, Airbus, sobloo, the German Federal Ministry of Transport and... ...
Galileo Master Bremen Challenge
4.5.2020: Innovative ideas for the “Galileo Master Bremen Challenge”! International competition for satellite navigation started in Bremen. This year, the State of Bremen is also a co-organizer of the Galileo Masters Competition, an international competition that seeks innovative business and application ideas related to satellite navigation. The Galileo Masters is the accelerating instrument for... ...
Bartolomeo successfully docks with ISS
2.4.2020: Milestone reached for commercial research in low Earth orbit. In a complex operation lasting several hours, the Canadian robotic arm of the International Space Station (ISS) successfully attached the Bartolomeo platform to the Columbus European space laboratory – much to the relief and satisfaction of the Airbus Bremen team that developed and built it.... ...
EACP finishes its 10 Year Anniversary with a great event in Brussels
12.3.2020: The European Aerospace Cluster Partnership (EACP) has proudly celebrated its 10th anniversary throughout the year at different occasions and meetings spread around Europe. The year came to a head with a final big event in Brussels in February. At the EU representative offices of the Free State of Bavaria, 120 invited guests celebrated the... ...
Dutch and German regions launch the Action Agenda for cooperation in the space sector
During the Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen, Zuid-Holland and Bremen launched the Action Agenda for cooperation in the space sector. Starting point of this agenda was the agreement made in March. At that time, the space trading mission to Bremen took place and, in the presence of the Dutch King and Queen, the agreement... ...
ESA BASS Network meeting in Coimbra – the city of curiosity
7.10.2019: Every fall ESA Business Applications, ESA Space Solutions, ESA BICs, Technology Brokers and Business Ambassadors from all over Europe meet to network and learn from each other’s cases. This year ESA BIC Portugal invited us in its beautiful hometown Coimbra. This place hosts one of the oldest universities in Europe. Learning something new... ...
Cooperation in the Space Sector Between Bremen and Zuid-Holland
Background The space sectors and regional governments of Bremen and Zuid-Holland join forces to strengthen (aero)space in the Province of Zuid-Holland and the German Federal State of Bremen. On the 6th of March 2019 the King’s Commissioner Jaap Smit (Province of Zuid-Holland), Jeroen Rotteveel, (CEO of SpaceNed), Senator Martin Günthner (State of Bremen) and Holger... ...
Startups, investors and space tech experts joined forces at the first Space Academy Helsinki
June 7, 2019: On 3-4 June the H2020 project SpaceUp launched the first of six ‘Space Academies’, organised by EBAN (European Business Angel Network) in Helsinki, Finland. The Space Academy was a culmination of prior activities, stemming from a Call for space entrepreneurs interested in benefiting from SpaceUp’s expertise and looking to scale up and... ...
Bringing the universe to Bremen
September 27, 2018: Every year, the movers and shakers of the space industry gather at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC). From 1 to 5 October, it will be Bremen’s turn to host the event. A team from the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) has been working on the preparations for the past... ...
The space industry in Bremen: living and working in the Hanseatic city
Obtober 2, 2018: Nowhere in Germany is bigger in the aerospace industry than Bremen. We spoke to Bremen-based scientists working on the space side of aerospace about their projects, their life in the city, and their tips on where to live and where to visit. In 2018, Bremen is celebrating Space Year with a packed... ...
When precisely isn’t quite precise enough
December 11, 2018: When Peter Eickworth and André Kuhn, the two executive directors, stroll through the Eickworth Modellbau factory they are surrounded on all sides by humming, buzzing, howling and rattling. CNC machines the size of garages mill components out of huge, heavy aluminium blocks in a relentlessly meticulous process. The employees produce, assemble and... ...
3D printing connects Bremen and New York
December 14, 2018: It’s a long way from the Big Apple to Bremen – the Hanseatic city was quite a culture shock for Chirag Shah and Keyur Solanki. In the summer of 2018, the two students travelled from New York University to spend two months in the comparatively quaint city of Bremen. Both students completed... ...
A robot drone for the wind energy sector
December 28, 2018: Bremen-based researchers are developing a drone that can autonomously inspect wind turbines. Its USP is its ability to get ‘hands on’. Benjamin Staar and Dimitri Denhof love a challenge. That is the only conclusion you can come to when you consider their InspectionCopter project. The two scientists at the BIBA Bremen Institute... ...
Bremen’s artificial intelligence industry at a glance
January 15, 2019: Artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived in Bremen. Several hundred specialists in research and industry are working on this technology of the future. They have now formed a network that represents their interests: BREMEN.AI. AI is regarded as one of the key technologies of the coming years. It will be indispensable in virtually... ...
How much AI do SMEs really need?
March 12, 2019: How much artificial intelligence (AI) do SMEs actually need? Should companies be getting into AI right now? We’ve asked someone who knows: Bastian Diedrich, a young man from Bremen with a lot of vision. Some might say that’s easy for him – given that his office is in the Weser Tower, Bremen’s... ...
New centre for cutting-edge technology ‘made in Bremen’
May 9, 2019: “Bremen has a long tradition of working together and collaborating on research and development. This is what provides a solid foundation for ECOMAT, which is not only set to become an integral part of the aerospace industry in northern Germany but also represents a milestone in the evolution of materials research,” said... ...
Blackout Technologies are developing robots with artificial intelligence
March 21, 2019: Blackout Technologies are developing robot software that uses artificial intelligence. The company is the first in Europe to market truly intelligent personalities for robots – which answer to evocative names such as ‘Pepper’ and ‘Luna’. Demand is extremely high and the programming team, based in Bremen’s World Trade Center, is growing quickly.... ...
Space exploration takes flight in Bremen
November 20, 2018: Production of the upper stage of the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle will soon begin in a new production hall near Bremen Airport. The upper stage is the heart and the brain of the rocket, whose maiden flight is scheduled for July 2020. The size of the building on the edge of... ...
Flyline – two decades of success in Bremen
February 5, 2019: Bremen-based Flyline can look back on two decades of success and expansion. The wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways (BA) started out as a call centre with 30 employees. The company chose Bremen as its base because the clearest German is spoken here, managing director Michael Spring says with a chuckle. In... ...
New incubator for space start-ups in Bremen
ESA Business Incubation Centre launches as a collaboration between Starthaus and AVIASPACE BREMEN Bremen/Bremerhaven, 13 May 2019. The ESA Business Incubation Centre Northern Germany (ESA BIC NG) is the new flagship project for the aeronautics and space industries sector in Bremen. The space incubator, part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) network of 29 centres... ...
ESA BIC TO OPEN IN NORTHERN GERMANY
Soon entrepreneurs in Northern Germany can join the ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) in Bremen to turn their space ventures into viable start-up companies. The ESA BIC Northern Germany is planned to open in the coming months to join ESA’s European-wide network of 20 ESA BICs already operating in 17 countries. This was announced earlier... ...
Ariane 6 on track with two major milestones
In Bremen, the first propellant tank for the future European launcher’s upper stage was delivered to ArianeGroup’s new production center. This is a key juncture for the program, as the liquid hydrogen tank manufactured by MT Aerospace is the first structural component of Ariane 6 to enter into integration. Read more… ...
Mission success: Flight VA242 orbits DSN-1/Superbird-8 for SKY Perfect JSAT and HYLAS 4 for Avanti Communications
Arianespace has successfully launched two telecommunications satellites: DSN-1/Superbird-8 for the Japanese operator SKY Perfect JSAT; and HYLAS 4 for the British operator Avanti Communications. Read more… ...
Airbus’ site manager Dr André Walter: “For us, digitalisation means making work easier and more efficient”
A total of 4,500 employees work at the Airbus premises next to Bremen airport. The vast site also houses the space division of Airbus Defence and Space and their subsidiary supplier Premium Aerotec. ...
CanSat 2017: Location and selected teams announced
ESA’s Education team is thrilled to finally announce the location and organiser of the 2017 European CanSat launch campaign: the competition will be hosted by the Centre of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) helped by local partners, at the University of Bremen, Germany. ...
To boldly go, and safely return – behind the scenes at Ariane Group
What man and machines are achieving in space is truly impressive. At the launch sites and at home, millions of spectators watch rockets blasting off into the great unknown. But few outsiders get the chance to see what makes all this successful space travel possible. At Bremen Airport-City, rocket engineers work on projects such as... ...
Canadian space companies discuss potential collaborations with German delegation
On April 12, 2018, representatives of the Canadian space industry and officials from the CSA met with a delegation from the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany, at CSA headquarters in St-Hubert, Quebec. Over 40 Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises had the opportunity to showcase their expertise in space-related applications to the German delegates and... ...
Antarctica loses grip
ESA’s CryoSat mission has revealed that, over the last seven years, Antarctica has lost an area of underwater ice the size of Greater London. This is because warm ocean water beneath the continent’s floating margins is eating away at the ice attached to the seabed. ...