Bundeswehr satellites: Jammed antennas can now be extended after all
A sigh of relief from the Bundeswehr: the antennas of two reconnaissance satellites could now be extended after all. They were jammed in the satellites.
The three SARah satellites consist of two reflector satellites and one phased array satellite.
(Image: OHB)
Those responsible at the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and space company OHB must be relieved: After a long back and forth, the antennas of two new reconnaissance satellites for the German armed forces have now been deployed after all. OHB had already prepared itself for having to make subsequent deliveries. Instead, the two satellites, which have been in space since 2023, are now functional after all.
"SARah" stands for Synthetic Aperture Radar, the imaging radar method – the rest is a play on words. The 1.2 billion euro project consists of three satellites: two image reconnaissance satellites from OHB based on SAR reflector antenna technology and another reconnaissance satellite from Airbus with SAR phased array antenna technology.
Bankruptcy followed the launch
However, some time after the two OHB satellites were launched into space with SpaceX in December 2023, disillusionment set in: the antennas that had to be extended for operation were jammed. The specialists at the Bremen-based company struggled to find solutions, but in parallel they finally agreed on a solution with the Ministry of Defense: OHB was to supply new satellites. According to Der Spiegel, the manufacturer had already set aside 38 million euros for this.
Surprisingly, however, the saving grace has now been achieved: Spiegel reports that several complex flight maneuvers recently have succeeded in releasing the jammed radar antennas.
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System offers several improvements
This should now clear the way technically for SARah to take over from its predecessor, SAR-Lupe. According to the Bundeswehr, the new satellites offer three major improvements: Overall, they should provide more quickly available and more detailed aerial images than the predecessor SAR-Lupe system. The images should also be able to cover a larger area, writes the Bundeswehr.
The system also includes ground segments for monitoring, control and image transmission/reception and two ground stations for communication between the satellites and the ground segments. The ground stations are located in Germany and Sweden.
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