HPS, Munich (2026)

30/07/2026

Erfolgreiche HPS/Fraunhofer-Zusammenarbeit bei Array-Antennen: Projekt MANT erreicht Halbzeit.‼️

Die HPS GmbH und das Fraunhofer IIS setzen ihre erfolgreiche Zusammenarbeit im Bereich innovativer Raumfahrtantennen konsequent fort: Im ESA-geförderten GSTP-Projekt MANT – „Miniaturised Deployable Antenna for Small and Nano Satellites“ – entwickelt das gemeinsame Team eine kompakte, entfaltbare Array-Antenne für Klein- und Nanosatelliten. Das Projekt, das HPS und Fraunhofer IIS Anfang 2025 gewinnen konnten, befindet sich nun zur Halbzeit und kurz vor dem Preliminary Design Review (PDR) im September 2026.

Im Mittelpunkt steht die Miniaturisierung eines Reflectarrays für Anwendungen im Ka-Band. Das Fraunhofer IIS bringt dabei seine Forschungs- und Entwicklungskompetenz in kompakten, leistungsfähigen Antennentechnologien ein, während HPS seine langjährige Erfahrung mit entfaltbaren, mechatronischen Raumfahrtstrukturen und Antennensystemen beisteuert. Ziel ist eine Antennenlösung, die im verstauten Zustand in weniger als 1U – also in einen Bauraum von rund 10 x 10 x 10 Kubikzentimetern – passt und sich damit besonders für CubeSat-Implementierungen bis maximal 16U eignet.

„MANT zeigt beispielhaft, wie die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Forschung und Industrie in der Raumfahrt funktioniert: wissenschaftliche Exzellenz, industrielle Umsetzungsstärke und ein gemeinsames Ziel, neue Technologien schneller in die Anwendung zu bringen“, so die Quintessenz eines aktuellen Austauschs zwischen HPS-CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer und Fraunhofer IIS-Abteilungsleiter Rainer Wansch.

Mit MANT leisten HPS und Fraunhofer IIS einen wichtigen Beitrag zur nächsten Generation kleiner Satellitenplattformen: kompakter, leistungsfähiger und besser geeignet für moderne Erdbeobachtungs- und Kommunikationsanwendungen im Orbit.

Auf dieser Basis planen HPS und Fraunhofer IIS nun auch eine vertiefte Zusammenarbeit im Bereich Active Array Antennen. Vorgesehen ist der Einstieg von HPS im Rahmen eines laufenden ESA-ARTES-Projekts im Oktober 2026. Damit wird die erfolgreiche Partnerschaft in einem weiteren technologisch anspruchsvollen Feld fortgesetzt.

Die Kooperation zwischen HPS und der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft besteht bereits seit mehr als zehn Jahren und umfasst unterschiedlichste Technologien. Eine besondere Verbindung mit dem Fraunhofer IIS besteht zudem über die deutsche Heinrich-Hertz-Mission: Beide Partner fliegen dort – unabhängig voneinander, aber auf demselben Satelliten – eigene Hardware.

25/07/2026

☀️ Work hard. Hike together. Grow stronger. 🏔️
Yesterday, friday, july 24th, we swapped our desks for the mountains and spent an unforgettable HPS Team Day in the beautiful mountains near Lake Achensee.

After taking the cable car up the mountain, we kicked off the day with a quick breakfast at 1.850m, before half of the team set off on the two-hour hike to the Rofan Spitze (2.259m). 💪 It didn't matter who was an experienced hiker and who wasn't. We encouraged each other, reached the summit together and enjoyed the marvellous 360° view.

Others explored the hiking trails at their own pace, relaxed in the sunshine or enjoyed the breathtaking views. No matter which route everyone chose, the day was filled with great conversations, good food and drinks, and lots of laughter :) 🌄

One fun surprise made the day even more special: 41 people had signed up... but 47 colleagues showed up! 😄

To round off the day, we all came together again for a delicious lunch at Almstüberl (1.840m) and a few Weißbier 🍽️🍻

Moments like these remind us that our greatest strength isn't just the work we do—it's the people we do it with. Taking time to connect, support one another is what makes our team the "TEAM TO TRUST" 🧡

A huge thank you to everyone who joined and made yesterday such a fantastic day! 🧡

22/07/2026

🏆 Zero Defects. Maximum Precision. Another milestone for HPtex.
We are proud to share another manufacturing success from HPtex, our joint venture with IPROTEX for metallic high-performance knitted structures for space applications:

➡️ A Universal Space Mesh for deployable and rigid reflector antennas has been successfully manufactured and delivered to a space customer — with zero reported defects.
In a market where a certain number of defects is generally accepted, achieving not a single defect demonstrates the outstanding precision of our "Made in Germany" manufacturing and HPtex's growing role as a trusted supplier for demanding international antenna and reflector applications.

🔬 Engineering Excellence in Every Micrometer:
Producing this mesh requires extraordinary precision:
* Mesh dimensions: 2.2 m × 11 m
* Ultra-fine 25 µm gold-coated metal wires
* Around 200 kilometers of wire integrated into a single mesh
* An ATLAS warp-knitting pattern that prevents local defects from propagating, significantly improving mechanical robustness.

🌍 Already Supporting Europe's Flagship Earth Observation Mission CIMR:
At the same time, HPtex technology is proving itself in one of Europe's most ambitious space programmes. For the ESA/EU Copernicus CIMR mission, HPtex has delivered the reflector mesh for the Engineering Qualification Model of the Deployable Reflector Assembly (DRA-responsible: LSS GmbH), part of the Large Deployable Reflector Subsystem (LDRS). Reflector and Arm are currently undergoing EQM qualification testing.

This impressive reflector mesh:
* Measures approximately 10.2 × 9.5 meters
* Uses even finer 20 µm wires
* Was fully automatically stitched together from three individual panels.

🚀 Ready for the Next Generation of Space Missions:
Based on the experience gained in manufacturing and qualification campaigns, HPtex continuously advances its technologies with:
* Larger production widths
* Increased automation
* Optimized mesh properties for different frequency bands and mission requirements.

These developments position HPtex for future applications in, SatCom/ telecommunication, Earth Observation, or other satellite-based services. To support the growing international demand, HPtex expanded into larger production facilities in 2026.

💬 "All of us across the group are very proud of the high quality that our team in Münchberg is now consistently delivering in series production. Six years ago, we could hardly have expected that the combination of space expertise and textile manufacturing competence for the automotive and aircraft industries would develop so dynamically into an internationally sought-after supplier. Today, HPtex supplies customers not only across Europe, but also in the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Ukraine and Israel. Working with our colleagues in Upper Franconia is a great pleasure — and we still have a great deal ahead of us."
– Dr.-Ing. Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO, HPS GmbH

21/07/2026

Congratulations to Bull Co. Ltd. on the successful in-orbit demonstration of HORN! From our own ADEO journey — first proven in space in 2018, now flying on commercial missions and continuously evolving across all satellite classes — we know exactly how important this milestone is, and how much work begins after it. 🚀

📈 Welcome to the long road from promising deployment to proven product.

🤝 We look forward to watching the next steps while preparing ADEO-C and ADEO-L for our own launch in late 2026 / early 2027.

🌍 Wishing the entire team continued success and many more milestones ahead!

07/07/2026

🚀 Another successful launch for HPS ADEO dragsails!
We are happy to announce that another HPS dragsail of the ADEO-N series (ADEO-Nx) has successfully reached orbit aboard Falcon 9 Transporter-17 on July 7th. 🌍

🛰️ This time, ADEO-Nx is integrated on NASA‘s GRITSS satellite manufactured by ISISPACE (NL), a CubeSat with 12 U in size. After 15 month in space, ADEO-Nx will play a crucial role at the end of the mission by enabling an accelerated, passive deorbit from an altitude of approx. 600 km.

🍃 Sustainability in Space:
Our ADEO dragsail family has been developed to help satellite operators actively reduce space debris, to comply with the latest international deorbit requirements, and extending operational time. ADEO makes a valuable contribution to the long-term sustainability of Low Earth Orbit.

📈 Every successful launch further expands the flight heritage of the ADEO product family and demonstrates the growing confidence in HPS deorbit technology for institutional and commercial missions alike.

🌎 The GRITSS mission itself will demonstrate technologies to eg improve the precision of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), paving the way for future Earth observation missions focused on ocean, ice, and land topography.

👏 Congratulations to all partners involved in the successful Falcon 9 Transporter-17 mission, especially to our customer-colleagues at ISISPACE. We are delighted to see another HPS ADEO dragsail contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable future in space.

30/06/2026

🌍 Special Visit from ESA's Acting Director for Human & Robotic Exploration 🌍
Short visit by the ESA Acting Director of Human & Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander (HRE) to our HPS Headquarter in Munich: what an honour for us as company and for our staff to have had the chance for a chat during our walk through our three floors. And we had the chance for a short exchange on some cornerstone projects within the “Human & Robotic Exploration” Programme, where HPS contributed/contributes (iHAB, ESPRIT), and where we would love to contribute: ARGONAUT.

Also, the former ESA-Director for Human Space Flight, Mr. Jörg Feustel-Büechl, was here, and he was still well known by some of our senior staff.

Of course, a duty was a group photo with our CEO (Ernst K. Pfeiffer), CFO (Peter Rauhut) and further five of our HPS Leadership Staff.

Munich, 29.06.2026

28/06/2026

📰 HPS in den Medien 📰
Eine nettes HPS-Outline und unser Kurzstatement zum ESA-Programm im Raumfahrt Concret Sonderheft Juni 2026 auf Seite 32. Prima, dass auch wieder unser Abgeordneter Sebastian Roloff (SPD, MdB, München Süd) ein klares Bekenntnis zur ESA Raumfahrt abgegeben hat und zudem schreibt: „…unsere Unternehmen leisten damit einen unverzichtbaren Beitrag….“.
Unser CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer ist in der Ausgabe auf S. 23 mit einen Beitrag zur Bewertung der ESA-MK25 aus Sicht nach einem halben Jahr vertreten.

27/05/2026

💫 In April 2029: RAMSES Encounters APOPHIS During Its Earth Flyby - HPS supplies the antenna for Europe’s second iconic asteroid mission
Contract Signature between OHB-IT and HPS-DE on-site SmallSat Europe Conference on May 26 💫

In 2029, the asteroid Apophis will pass Earth at a distance of only 32,000 km. ESA’s RAMSES mission, built by OHB Italia, will closely study the asteroid and analyze how Earth’s gravity affects its structure and surface.

As with the HERA mission, antenna specialist HPS GmbH has been selected to provide the spacecraft antenna — the critical communications link between RAMSES and scientists on Earth.

HPS’s X-band module is a custom-designed horn antenna made from a high-strength yet lightweight aluminum alloy, offering excellent radiation and gain characteristics. For HPS, drawing on experience from major antenna projects such as the Euclid mission (ESA, with TAS-Spain as direct customer), Heinrich Hertz (DLR, with TESAT/OHB as direct customer) and HERA (ESA, with OHB-Bremen as direct customer), this antenna falls within a well-established field of technology.

With the contract now in place and the antenna concept defined during the preliminary phases, the industrial partners are moving into the detailed design and manufacturing of the Ramses flight hardware. Next year, these components will undergo environmental and functional testing to ensure they are fit for launch and for operation in deep space.

Ramses is scheduled to launch as early as spring 2028 and reach Apophis in time for its April 2029 flyby, enabling scientists to observe the asteroid before, during, and after the event. This ESA mission supports the core objectives of the Space Safety Programme by improving knowledge of how near-Earth objects behave under external influences and by further developing strategies to defend against potentially hazardous asteroids.

On Tuesday, May 26, Roberto Aceti (CEO OHB-Italia) and Ernst K. Pfeiffer (CEO HPS GmbH, Germany) celebrated the contract signature on-site the SmallSat Europe Conference in Amsterdam (NL).

🗨️ Ernst K. Pfeiffer “It is fantastic to be part of this exceptional mission, and it is an honor that our antenna will transmit these highly fascinating data back to Earth. Images of the asteroid — perhaps even with Earth in the background — will be seen around the world. It is great that Germany decided to participate in this mission at the CM25 conference in November, as this now enables SMEs to contribute their high-tech capabilities as well. I am pleased to further expand now our cooperation with the prime contractor OHB Italia.”

🗨️ Roberto Aceti, CEO of OHB Italia: “This contract further consolidates the cooperation between OHB Italia and HPS GmbH on advanced space systems. The Medium Gain Antenna is an important element of the RAMSES mission communication chain and its development reflects the value of specialized European industrial capabilities in support of complex exploration missions.”

19/05/2026

🎤 Meet us! 🎤
Meet our Collegues and our CEO Dr. Ernst K. Pfeiffer and don’t miss HPS technical stage presentations on “Parametric Study of Deorbit Sail Sizes for Small Satellites” (Germar Puttich) and “UDAN: A Compact Deployable UHF Antenna Enabling High-Gain Links for CubeSats” (Dr. Carlos Garcia Mora)

📍Small Sat Europe
26. – 28. Mai 2026
Amsterdam, Niederlande

12/05/2026

🚀 HPS Romania delivers major -Item for the - 🇷🇴🛰️

HPS S.R.L. Bucharest has successfully delivered the Transport Container for the Deployable Reflector Assembly (DRA) of the CIMR mission within Europe’s Copernicus programme — just in time and according to the demanding mission requirements.

📦 A mobile cleanroom for Europe’s next flagship reflector:
The specially engineered transport container protects the sensitive deployable reflector during transfers between integration at Large Space Structures GmbH (LSS) and various European test centres.

📏 Key facts about the container:
• Dimensions: 3 x 2.1 x 2.2 m
• Net weight: 1,662 kg
• Materials: anodised aluminium & passivated stainless steel
• Designed as a fully controlled “mobile cleanroom” environment.

⚙️ Advanced protection system
To protect the reflector against shocks and vibrations, the container integrates:
• Six high-performance cable spring isolators
• Dual spring damping technology
• Hermetic sealing and ECSS-compliant cleanliness standards.

🛠️ Highly complex engineering- & MAI- effort:
The DRA-container-development included:
• Coordination with 36 international suppliers
• Integration of 1,959 component references
• Handling of individual parts up to 551 kg
• Full traceability of all components.

⚒️Extensive qualification campaign:
The transport container underwent comprehensive testing, including:
✅ Dimensional & weight verification
✅ Functional & handling inspections
✅ Load & drop tests
✅ Rain tests for hermetic sealing
✅ Electrical conductivity verification

⏱️Just in Time: Despite major logistical challenges and the demanding zero-defect requirement, the HPS-RO team delivered the system punctually before the first DRA transport operations to the first environmental test series.

Additionally, HPS-RO supplied 10 precision MGSE vibration adapters for qualification testing of the DRA. These adapters enable demanding shaker tests simulating rocket launch conditions and transfer extreme mechanical loads while ensuring high-quality test data.

🤝 CIMR-LDRS-MGSE Scope:
HPS Romania was contracted by HPS GmbH Germany — prime contractor to Thales Alenia Space Italy for the entire LDRS subsystem — to deliver the handling and vibration test MGSE for all LDRS subassemblies, including:
• Reflector
• Arm
• Complete LDRS subsystem

🌍 Through technical excellence, precision manufacturing and flawless supply chain management, the HPS-RO team is making an important contribution to Europe’s future environmental monitoring capabilities through the CIMR mission.

For more information please consult our homepage.

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