DGAP-News

OHB SE: 'Max Valier' nano-satellite successfully launched

DGAP-News: OHB SE / Key word(s): Miscellaneous OHB SE: 'Max Valier' nano-satellite successfully launched 23.06.2017 / 13:49 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Sriharikota/ India, Bolzano/ South Tirol, Bremen/Germany, June 23, 2017: Today at 6.00 hours CEST, "Max Valier Sat", a satellite for school students and amateur radio users, was launched on board an Indian PSLV rocket lifting off from the Dhawan Space Centre around 80 kilometers north of Chennai. Working closely with teachers and school students from the Technology College (TFO) of Bolzano, South Tirol, specialists from Bremen-based space company OHB System AG developed and built this nano-satellite. One particular highlight is the mini x-ray telescope added to the mission by the Max Planck Institute of Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching. The team were elated when "Max Valier Sat" emitted its first sign of life after being released into its target polar orbit at an altitude of a good 500 kilometers. Evolution of a satellite for school students OHB founder Christa Fuchs and her late husband, Prof. Dr. h.c. Manfred Fuchs, initiated and financed the project together with the state government of South Tirol. South Tirol was where Manfred Fuchs came from and is a region with which he maintained close contacts throughout his life. A visit to his former school, the "Max Valier" TFO in Bolzano, in 2008 kicked off the project. Since then, OHB has been helping teachers and students in realizing their dream of building their own satellite as a unique teaching method. "This project was particularly close to my husband's heart. Knowing that this satellite is now in orbit is a fitting memorial to him and his commitment to his home in South Tirol," says Christa Fuchs. The director of TFO Bolzano, Dr. Barbara Willimek, is watching what is going on at the ground station at her school. "We have all been working on this special project with great enthusiasm since 2008. It has become a really complex satellite and I am pleased that all the efforts have paid off and "Max Valier Sat" is now in orbit. This is a fantastic success for our teachers and students."