OHB SE

OHB SE’s route into space began in a ship-systems repair business in Bremen. Christa Fuchs joined the five-person operation in 1981; her husband Manfred brought his aerospace experience into the company in 1985. His idea was to use smaller, more capable components to build smaller satellites. By 1994, its first satellite, BremSat, was travelling aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

The Bremen-based group now builds satellites and instruments for navigation, weather, communications and science. Its launcher businesses supply tanks and structures and develop launch vehicles, while its Digital division handles ground systems, satellite operations and data services. For a space mission, the camera or instrument is only part of the purchase: it needs power, temperature control, precise pointing and a way to send its findings home.