News
OHB Hellas – Past, Present, Future. Moving into 2023
OHB Hellas welcomes the new year with even more rigor in the continuation of its activities. In the few years of our operation, including 2 years of the COVID pandemic, OHB Hellas has managed to win a multitude of space projects, in different domains such as Space Systems Engineering, High Performance On Board data processing and Additive Manufacturing. A highlight is the recent execution of AI in orbit on board OPS-SAT in the context of the Multi Frame Super Resolution (MFSR) study, in which OHB Hellas is a prime contractor.
OHB Hellas, a dedicated space systems integrator in Greece, in the past year grew significantly in team size, continues its active participation in projects and is aligned in the direction of self-sustainability with 4 tender proposals recently submitted and pending evaluation.
The company’s vision includes the realisation of the Satellite as a Service concept, utilising high performance on-board data processing and flexible technologies such as virtualisation to create an innovative product in the dynamically evolving space domain. This direction is strengthened by the heritage in the specific technology that exists in the country and connects with Greece’s needs for civil security from space, as well as with the upcoming national microsatellites program for Greece. Last but not least, it is a technology that brings the related expertise in the OHB group.
OHB Hellas has been involved in multiple studies collaborating with local entities and is actively promoting the growth of space in Greece. But why should the space sector be developed in the country and what is the added value? Why should Greece invest in the domain? There are many answers to this question, as the benefits are multiple.
- To answer some of the country’s imperative needs such as defense, civil security, connectivity and disaster monitoring without depending on third parties and with efficiency.
- To be on the forefront of the technological advances and not trailing, making use of the local heritage to create a niche sovereign product which can be exported. To find a position among the European partners.
- To boost the local industry, create autonomy and create a hub, where people with expertise that have left the country can find a haven and return from abroad.
- To help young people graduating from the university to find a job in one of the most fascinating technological domains.
With the coming of 2023, we aim to enlarge our customer base and diversify the application domain of high performance on board data processing. We will continue to defend the Civil Security from Space as one of the main needs from space for Greece. OHB Hellas will keep actively pursuing its goal of developing space in Greece, in collaboration with the local ecosystem and European partners, participating in many space projects, innovating and striving for the best!
ReTiMo
ReTiMo
With the number of satellites in orbit greatly increasing each year, it is critical to thoroughly understand the space environment and define the dangers that it can present to spacecraft. OHB Hellas is glad to be part of ReTiMo, a small satellite mission led by Democritus University of Thrace and proposed to ESA, with its main goal being the monitoring of space weather.
Satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) are exposed to energetic particles that impact their normal operation, creating upsets such as Single Event Effects (SEEs) that disrupt the nominal function of on-board electronics. Moreover, said particles induce surface charging that can affect hardware and also cause degradation of solar cells. ReTiMo aims to provide valuable data regarding spacecraft anomalies, advancing space weather monitoring and operational awareness in the LEO radiation environment.
The mission has been selected by ESA to be funded for a phase 0 feasibility study. Greek space systems engineers in OHB Hellas are responsible for delivering the mission concept definition, analysis, cost and schedule. The whole team is looking forward to the successful completion of the project.
AMable-RAMFASAT
AMable-RAMFASAT
We are very proud of our participation and contribution to the RAMFASAT experiment, a collaboration between FEAC Engineering, 3DHUB Greece and OHB Hellas that took place under the framework of AMable initiative, between July 2021 and May 2022.
RAMFASAT is an experiment that utilizes topology optimization and additive manufacturing techniques early in the design phase and manufacturing process, to redesign a critical component of the ADC (Attitude Determination and Control) System for Micro-Satellites.
The aim of this experiment was to:
- Achieve significant mass reduction and thus launch cost reduction
- Eliminate the limitations and restrictions from well-established manufacturing methods
- Simplify construction and assembly of the product
The final printed component, made of PEEK and NYLON in two different configurations, fulfilled all established requirements, paving the way for more widespread use of AM polymer applications in space.
#Hellenic-cam
Hellenic Center for Additive Manufacturing
OHB Hellas is proud to be one of the shareholders of the first Hellenic Center for Additive Manufacturing (HCAM), which will focus on producing end-to-end solutions in various sectors including space and aeronautics, with AM at its core.
The «Hellenic Center for Additive Manufacturing S.A. - HCAM» announced on 24 February, 2022 its establishment and start of operation in Patras, Greece.
HCAM S.A. will fill an existing gap with the creation of a Competence Center in 3D Printing technologies, in Greece and South-Eastern Europe. The recent example of the Covid-19 pandemic showed that immediate solutions can be found using 3D printing for medical support. In Greece, until now there was no dedicated Center to collect and respond to such requests at the scale needed. HCAM S.A. aspires to be a unique one-stop-shop providing end-to-end technological solutions and integrated services to companies, as well as research, training, development and education activities in the field of Additive Manufacturing for various sectors, such as energy, maritime, aerospace, medical, etc.
Nine (8) stakeholders of the Greek R&I ecosystem with a strong presence in Greece and internationally, participate in the shareholder structure of HCAM S.A., namely:
· CBL Patras S.A.
· Foundation for Research and Technology–Hellas (Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH))
· MIRTEC S.A. (EBETAM A.E.)
· MONOLITHOS Catalysts Ltd
· Neweleven Capital Ltd
· OHB HELLAS mon.E.P.E.
· Raymetrics Advanced Lidar Systems
· UBITECH Ltd
In its effort to become a center of excellence in Additive Manufacturing, to place Greece in a leading position in the field, and attract clients at a global scale, HCAM S.A. is seeking to recruit highly motivated professionals offering a competitive salary, an attractive benefits package, great opportunities for professional development, as well as an exciting, fresh and collaborative work environment. More information on new job postings will be available soon.
We want to acknowledge the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI) for its support and funding through the Action ‘Competence Centers’, making a strong contribution to the enhancement of competitiveness in the region of Western Greece and in the whole Country.
OHB Hellas' new project that focuses on SENSORS
OHB Hellas proudly presents you a new project that focuses on sensors. More specifically, a cyber-physical system, based on a network of sensors will be established for collecting various data from the physical world and transfer them into a central cyber system. These sensors will monitor many variables of interest during the satellite manufacturing and assembly line, like the temperature/humidity and pressure inside various halls and on specific components and GSE, and many others. At the same time, specific thresholds will be defined by the user, for having full control of all processes. At this moment, OHB Hellas is working on the state-of-art phase and in the next months a more detailed technical research is going to be occurred. But what is the ultimate goal of this project? SENSE would potentially lead to lower manufacturing costs, higher performances, higher reliability, and shorter time to market, actions that enhance the efficiency that OHB Hellas indicates as a company.
OHB Hellas' participation in ODIN's EYE Project
The European Commission has selected OHB System AG, a subsidiary of space and technology group OHB SE, to lead a space surveillance and early warning project, named ODIN’S EYE (Multinational Development Initiative for a Space-based Missile Early-Warning Architecture). The project is funded by the European Defence Industrial Development Program (EDIDP). "The Project named ODIN'S EYE will set the basis for the development of an autonomous European early-warning capability against ballistic missiles and hypersonic threats", said Michele Bonerba, Project Manager and Head of Future Space Security Programmes at OHB. This important award confirms once again OHB’s leadership, know-how and strong commitment to serve the European strategic and security goals. ODIN’S EYE consists of a European consortium of 34 partners from 12 EU member states. Among them, there is an important Greek industrial participation with INTRACOM DEFENSE that will focus on state of the art technologies in Secure Communications and Cybersecurity frameworks and OHB Hellas, with its main expertise on the development of On-Board Sensor Data Processing technologies for satellite platforms. This marks also the first presence of Greek industries in a European Space Defence project under the EDIDP-EDF framework.
Athens Satellite & Space Summit Conference
OHB Hellas participated at the Athens Satellite & Space Summit Conference, with the thematic "Greece at the gates of the Space and Satellite Industry", on Wednesday 7th of July. Our Managing Director, Dr. Aikaterini Panopoulou, delivered a speech and presented the company’s actions, mission and next steps in depth, with the title being “Greece needs more space”. The Conference mainly focused on the Greek Space and Satellite Technology sector and its prospects in a market. Lastly, it was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Government and the National Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) and is organized by Teamworks.
