The Vice President of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani, yesterday 2 February announced the signature of a contract between the syndicate comprising OHB System AG, a subsidiary of OHB AG, and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., Guildford, UK, (SSTL) and the European Space Agency, to build and test a further eight satellites of the European global navigation satellite system established under the Galileo programme. This contract is worth around Euro 250 million.
After signing the contract, Marco R. Fuchs, the CEO of OHB System AG, had this to say: “The fact that OHB has been awarded a further contract constitutes an enormous success for us and is simultaneously acknowledgement of the work which we have performed to date on the Galileo FOC program. We have been able to justify the trust placed in us by the European Commission and the ESA. Today’s decision underscores the determination of all the parties involved to continue advancing the program as successfully as before.”
OHB System is the prime contractor for the construction of what is now a total of 22 satellites for the system and is responsible for developing the satellite bus and for integrating the satellites. SSTL is developing and constructing the navigation payload and additionally assisting OHB with the final assembly of the satellites. The 22 satellites will undergo final assembly in Bremen.
Since the award of the contract for the first 14 satellites in January 2010, the syndicate has already passed key project milestones. In December 2011, development work was completed with the performance of the critical design review. The preliminary hardware developed and assembled by OHB System was successfully tested in spring 2011, qualifying for series production. In summer 2011, a structural model of the satellites underwent successful testing at ESA’s site in Noordwijk, Netherlands. Currently, work on integrating the first satellite is ongoing, with series production of the other satellites under preparation.
© OHB System
