German satellite fleet wants to prevent the Musk monopoly
Elon Musk had satellites in space as early as 1890 – high time for Europe to counter it
Quelle: Getty Images/Michael Dunning
In the battle for space, Europe threatens to lose touch with the USA and China. Now, finally, action is being taken: A grouping around German space companies is to bring a privately financed fleet of 400 satellites into space by the middle of the decade.
Von Volkswagen is known that the car company is interested in an independent connection of its vehicles to space. For example, to install new software, as is regularly done with the electric cars of the competitor Tesla.
But Europe’s economy doesn’t actually want to make itself dependent on satellite fleets from Tesla boss Elon Musk or from China. Now a group of German space start-ups is presenting itself as problem solvers. Under the project name UN: IO, a privately financed fleet of 400 satellites is to be circling in space by 2025/2026.
The project is remarkable and ambitious in several ways. The grouping with 14 companies and institutes so far is led by three start-ups: the laser communication company Mynaric, the rocket construction company Isar Aerospace and the Berlin satellite manufacturer Reflex Aerospace.
In a sense, the consortium rushes forward and takes on the big players in the industry. A year ago, the EU Commission awarded a seven million euro study for a sovereign mega-constellation in space to industry heavyweights such as Airbus and OHB. The study results have not yet been published. Recently, Brussels awarded two further study contracts to a rather French-influenced start-up consortium (New Symphonie) and now 1.4 million euros to UN: IO.
The German group is already announcing in a full-bodied message: “By 2025, Europe will have its own constellation of satellites to ensure sovereign capacities for commercial and institutional communication channels.” The boss of Reflex Aerospace, Walter Ballheimer, describes the project as “Europe’s declaration of technological independence” . As it says on the new homepage www.unio.global, the financial investors are to be won by mid-2022 in order to launch the first demonstrator satellite at the end of 2023 and to build the entire fleet in space from 2024 to 2026.
No information is given about the planned costs. We are talking about financing from own funds and risk capital. National governments and the EU are to be “won over as anchor customers or partners,” explains Ballheimer. The 37-year-old was head of the Berlin-based small satellite manufacturer German Orbital Systems for six years and has been head of the newly founded Reflex Aerospace since June. Allegedly they have been working on the UN: IO project since the beginning of the year. Several Fraunhofer Institutes and Telefónica Germany also belong to the group.
“Each of these pieces has the power of more than one hand grenade”
For a short time, the crew of the ISS had to get to safety in two docked space capsules. The reason: A debris field flies through space. Allegedly caused by an anti-satellite missile test by Russia.
Source: WELT / Lore Schulze-Velmede
The UN: IO project is another example of the upheaval in space travel known as “New Space”. More and more private companies are entering the market. However, time is of the essence if Europe does not want to lose touch with the USA, but also with China. The main driver of the industry is the technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, who is currently building his Starlink satellite network in space at high speed.
He launched the planned 30,000 to 40,000 satellites as early as 1890. Musk already belongs to more than half of all satellites active in space. The General Director of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, recently warned that Musk practically determines the rules in space and occupies large parts of the orbits. “It creates Musk sovereignty in space,” Aschbacher told the Financial Times.
“Everything on stocks” is the daily stock market shot from the WELT business editorial team. Every morning from 7 a.m. with our financial journalists. For stock market experts and newcomers. Subscribe to the podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music and Deezer. Or directly via RSS-Feed.
.