Atos and the European multi-national space technology company OHB have been awarded a contract by the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support to supply the "Space Situational Awareness Center Expansion Stage 1" to the German Federal Armed Forces. The two companies are supporting the German federal armed forces in the creation of a Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system to protect Germany’s national space infrastructure.
Satellites are now essential to many civilian and defense activities and the number of satellites is constantly increasing. By 2025, more than 10,000 satellites are expected to be active in space. In this context, the SSA system will provide and assess the space situation, and map all satellites and monitor them, in order to avoid collisions between satellites or to spot satellite failures.
The joint Atos-OHB solution is developed in Germany and based on European products. Its core system is based on different modules of a software which is already used for space monitoring by other European countries. On top of each individual software module, OHB adds an operational layer, providing interoperability to the overall system which can be adapted at any time. Atos integrates the various software and hardware components into the overall solution, creating interfaces to external sensors and ensuring the operational performance of the overall system for the customer.
"Together with our partner OHB, we are proud to support the German Federal Armed Forces, our long-standing customer, in this groundbreaking project. Satellite protection makes a crucial contribution to the security of public order. Our technically modular and innovative European solution, combined with our experience in space infrastructure, enable us to provide a high level of security, meeting the challenges that the constant expansion of satellites brings," said Udo Littke, Head of Atos in Germany and Head of Public Sector and Defense for Central Europe.
The solution developed by Atos ensures the interoperability with other space organizations and other governments in Europe. This comprehensive Space Situational Awareness Center will be drawn up under the joint leadership of the German Center for Air Operations and the German Aerospace Center - Space Management.
