Heinrich Hertz space mission ready for launch: Experiments from TU Ilmenau on board

When the German communications satellite Heinrich-Hertz is launched into space on June 16, it will also have experiments from the Technische Universität Ilmenau on board. The aim of the space mission: to test new technologies for satellite communications for their suitability for space under real operating conditions and to conduct experiments on communications, antenna and satellite technology. The telecommunication component of the TU Ilmenau, which is on board, is to makecommunications satellites more flexible and ready for new usage scenarios in the future. The Heinrich Hertz mission is being led by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bonn on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) and with the participation of the German Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg).

Heinrich-Hertz, Germany's own communications satellite, will be launched into space on June 16 on the last Ariane 5 rocket. At an altitude of around 36,000 kilometers, the satellite will then orbit in a geostationary orbit for 15 years, i.e. always above the same point on the Earth's surface. Its mission: to subject telecommunications services that are to be used in space in the future to tough on-site tests, known as in-orbit verification, in order to protect them as far as possible from failure during their future missions. The conditions under which the technology has to function in space are very demanding: All components have to withstand extreme heat and cold, vacuum and weightlessness.