OHB Sweden
OHB Sweden, a member of the OHB AG Group, is a Swedish provider of space systems. The OHB Group currently employs over 2.500 people in its "Space Systems" and Aerospace and Industrial Products" business units. Within this array, OHB Sweden AB belongs in the Space Systems and develops, builds, tests and operates satellites for different kinds of space missions within communications, Earth observation, space research and exploration. (This text is information from the company OHB Sweden. 22 of June 2014)
The new headquarters of OHB Sweden in Kista is home to around 65 qualified engineers with long experience of satellite system design, development anfd operations. OHB Sweden has the capability to carry out complete space missions, all the way from mission analysis to operations in orbit. OHB has experience from 11 successful space missions ranging from science to telecom satellites.
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OHB Sweden current programs.
PRISMA (two satellites) has successfully demonstrated autonomous rendezvous and formation flying in space. The two spacecraft are equipped with sensor systems such as GPS, a vision based system and a radio frequency based navigation instrument together with advanced guidance, navigation and controll algorithms. The mission is now in its final phase where a rendevous with a non-cooperative space object will be performed.
ODIN combines studies of star formation and of the depletion of the ozone layer. Odin is still fully operational on its 14th year.
SMALL GEO is a small European geostationary platform for Telecommunications developed with OHB System as prime Contractor. OHB Sweden is responsible for the attitude and orbit controll and electrical propulsion subsytems.
Solar Orbiter is an ESA mission conceived to perform a Close-up study of our sun. At its closest point, the Solar Orbiter will be closer to the sun than any previous spacecraft, braving the fierce heat and carry its telescopes to almost one-quarter of Earth´s distance from the sun. OHB Sweden will provide the AOCS- and the propulsion subsystems.
Innosat (not yet decided) is a new microsatellite. It is to be developed in partnership with Swedish company ÅAC Microtec and is aimed to be used for a new Swedish programme of scientific space research missions utilising low-cost and innovative satellites.
Swedish satellites: At the time when OHB Sweden was part of Swedish Space Coperation.
(From the website of OHB Sweden).
VIKING - Sweden's first satellite
Sweden's first satellite, VIKING, was launched on February 22, 1986 as a piggyback payload on the Ariane 1 rocket that orbited the French remote sensing satellite SPOT. The satellite conducted a very successful magnetospheric research mission until May 12, 1987. The VIKING project was managed by the satellite division of SSC under contract from the Swedish Board for Space Activities, the government space agency. The satellite was developed by SAAB Space with Boeing Aerospace as a major subcontractor.
Tele-X.
Tele-X was the first telecommunication satellite for the Nordic countries and was the initial step into a new era for advanced telecommunication in Northern Europe. Tele-X was launched with an Ariane 2 rocket from French Guyana in South America 2 April 1989 and was in service until late 1997. It was de-orbited in January 1998.
Tele-X was a three-axis stabilized satellite with two antennas, one for receiving and one for transmitting, and it had a designed lifetime of 6-8 years. The span of the sun panels was 19 m, the body was 2.4x2.4x1.65 m and its dry mass was 1050 kg. At launch the satellite had approx. 1200 kg of fuel onboard of which 250 kg was used for station keeping.
Freja.
The FREJA magnetospheric research satellite was launched on October 6, 1992 as a "piggyback" payload on a Long March 2C rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. The satellite was in an orbit between 601 and 1756 km. FREJA was a sun-pointing spinner with a 2.2 m diameter and 214 kg mass. The satellite division of SSC was the prime contractor to the Swedish National Space Board. FREJA imaged the aurora and measured particles and fields in the upper ionosphere and lower magnetosphere.
Astrid-1
Astrid 1 was Sweden’s first microsatellite, designed and developed by the satellite division of SSC on
behalf of the Swedish National Space Board. Astrid-1 was launched piggyback on a
Kosmos-3M launcher from Plesetsk in January 1995.
OHB Sweden had total responsibility for the entire project, from mission analysis and
platform design, to ground station development and satellite operation.
Astrid-1 carried an Energetic Neutral Atom analyzer, an Electron Spectrometer and two UV imagers for imaging the aurora. The instruments were developed by the Swedish Institute for Space Physics in Kiruna.
ASTRID-2
ASTRID-2, a successful and versatile microsat platform Astrid-2, Sweden’s second
microsatellite, was designed and developed by the satellite division of SSC on behalf of the
Swedish National Space Board. Astrid-2 was launched piggyback on a Kosmos-3M
launcher from Plesetsk in December 1998 and was successfully operated in orbit
for 7.5 months.
SMART-1, Europe’s first mission to the Moon
SMART-1, Europe’s first Moon probe was developed by the satellite division of SSC on behalf of ESA. SMART-1 was the first of ESA’s Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology with the purpose to test new technologies to be used in larger ESA science projects. The main mission objective of SMART-1 was the flight demonstration of electric propulsion for deep space missions, an objective that was successfully achieved with the spectacular capture into lunar orbit on November 15, 2004.
This sophisticated lunar probe of brand-new design was developed in only 39 months. The project team that managed and carried out the development of the spacecraft and several of its subsystems consisted at a maximum of 75 persons including consultants for specific development tasks. In addition to the prime contractor task, SSC was responsible also for the system engineering, the development of the onboard system unit based on the CAN (Controller Area Network) protocol, the star tracker based attitude control system, onboard applications software, spacecraft simulator and Electrical Ground Support Equipment.
Go to the webb-site of OHB Sweden.