OHB Sweden, a subsidiary of the space technology group OHB, has won a major contract worth EUR 248 million to develop and build 20 small satellites for EUMETSAT Polar System – Sterna (EPS-Sterna). The programme will complement the existing fleet of EUMETSAT, Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, and is funded by its member states. The foundation for this is the Arctic Weather Satellite (AWS), which OHB Sweden successfully placed in orbit as a demonstrator more than a year ago. The OHB SE subsidiary developed the small satellite on behalf of the European Space Agency ESA in record time, using a deliberately chosen New Space approach. Only three years passed between contract award and launch. For the first time, the Swedish space company will now build a large constellation.

“OHB Sweden developed a high-performance satellite in an exceptionally short time and demonstrated what is possible with clear goals. We can do New Space – the Arctic Weather Satellite, which now forms the basis of a large constellation, has proven that impressively,” said OHB CEO Marco Fuchs on the occasion of the contract award. “We are proud of our team in Sweden and grateful for the trust placed in us by our partners, who believe in our ability to build a large satellite constellation. I am pleased that EPS Sterna will strengthen Europe’s top tier capabilities in Earth observation and that Sweden is receiving the largest satellite contract in its space history.”

Why EPS Sterna is essential

The polar regions play a central role in global climate dynamics but remain underserved in terms of weather data, as geostationary weather satellites cannot capture the high latitudes. The AWS demonstrator has shown how a small satellite equipped with a microwave radar can deliver precise temperature and humidity profiles of the atmosphere – even through dense clouds and extreme polar weather conditions.

To provide meteorological services with reliable data continuity, EPS Sterna will consist of three generations of six small satellites each. ESA is developing the program on behalf of EUMETSAT. The goal is a continuous data stream from the Arctic. These measurements are crucial for faster and more accurate weather forecasts and are also needed to improve global climate models.

Largest satellite contract to date for Sweden’s space industry

“This contract represents an extraordinary milestone for OHB Sweden, and for the entire Swedish space community. We built the precursor satellite to this constellation, the Arctic Weather Satellite and demonstrated the functionality of the satellite and quality of data received from it, to improve European weather forecasting. The EPS-Sterna contract is the cumulated evidence that OHB Sweden and its partners are ready to lead, industrialize and deliver critical space infrastructure for Europe”, said Fredrik Sjöberg, Managing Director of OHB Sweden.

European teamwork with a strong industrial consortium

OHB Sweden is the prime contractor for the delivery of the satellites for the EPS Sterna constellation. The consortium also includes Omnisys in Sweden as the supplier of the microwave instruments, which constitute the primary meteorological payload. A total of 20 satellites will be delivered under the contract. The industrial team includes approximately 30 companies. Germany is also strongly represented by SMEs that will contribute key hardware for the instrument and the satellite platform. The satellites will be procured by EUMETSAT through ESA. EUMETSAT itself will develop the ground segment, procure and provide the launch services, operate the satellites, manage the constellation and distribute the data through its data distribution mechanisms, which have a planned operational lifetime of 13 years.

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