News 2025

Prof. Andreas Knopp appointed to DLR Program Committee on Security and Defense

Bonn, July 15, 2025 – Prof. Andreas Knopp has been appointed to the “Security and Defense” program committee of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The committee supports the DLR in the strategic orientation and scientific-technical evaluation of projects in this security-related research area.
Prof. Knopp, spokesperson for the SPACE Research Center at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, is a recognized expert in satellite-based communications, military communications systems, and secure information transmission. With his appointment, he brings many years of experience in research, development, and collaboration with government and industrial partners to the committee.
“I am delighted to have been given this vote of confidence and the opportunity to serve on the program committee. The German Space Agency at DLR makes an important contribution to security and defense-related research, particularly through tailor-made and highly topical national funding programs aimed at achieving technological sovereignty and resilience for Germany,” said Prof. Knopp on the occasion of his appointment. “It is a great honor for us to be involved in the design of such programs in a new program committee and to contribute our many years of experience as pioneers in security-oriented space research.”
The newly established “Security and Defense” program committee, created in response to the heightened security situation, is a central body of the German Space Agency at DLR that regularly discusses research priorities and makes recommendations for the further development of the program.

Successful Demonstration of Emergency Satellite Communications for Climate-Driven Disasters

On July 10, 2025, the University of the Bundeswehr Munich had the pleasure of hosting ND Satcom and project partners at our Munich Center for Space Communications for a successful demonstration as part of the SIGMA project Germany demo.
The live demo simulated a real-world emergency scenario: a massive landslide in the Alpine region triggered by climate change. In this setting, traditional ground communication networks were assumed to be disrupted—posing a serious challenge for rescue operations in the area.
To overcome this, ND Satcom deployed mobile satellite terminals capable of re-establishing critical communications even in the absence of terrestrial infrastructure. The demonstration featured a seamless transition between communication channels: from a 5G terrestrial link to the Ka-band civil satellite link, and finally to the X-band in the event of further outages. Protocols tested included VoIP, file transfers, and live video streaming—vital tools in any emergency response.
The event was conducted in collaboration with partners from INSTER, Cipherbit, and Telespazio, and was observed by representatives from EUSPA. Their presence and interest underscore the growing importance of robust satellite-based emergency communication systems in an era of increasingly frequent climate-related disasters.
The successful demo marked a key milestone in the SIGMA project and highlighted the strength of international cooperation and cutting-edge technology in advancing resilient communication infrastructure.

Third HARMONY Network-Wide Event

June 2-6, 2025: The third network-wide event of the Horizon Europe HARMONY project took place from June 2nd to June 6th, 2025, at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich (UniBw M). HARMONY is an industrial doctoral network funded by the European Commission and coordinated by UniBw M. It consists of nine doctoral candidates and their supervisors, who are conducting research on key enabling technologies for future satellite systems. Industrial partners include Thales Alenia Space (France and Spain), Kongsberg NanoAvionics (Lithuania), MBI s.r.l. (Italy), and LSS GmbH (Germany). The consortium is completed by the academic partners: in addition to UniBw M, Heriot-Watt University and IETR, CNRS (France) are also involved.
Following the two previous project gatherings held in Toulouse (2023) and Rennes (2024), France, this event served as an excellent opportunity for HARMONY doctoral candidates and their supervisors to exchange insights on their research activities and strengthen synergies between the individual projects. As most HARMONY doctoral candidates are now entering the final year of their doctoral journey, the event fostered thorough and highly productive discussions on the final steps of their research. These conversations aimed to maximize the value of the HARMONY outcomes and ensure that future research and development efforts can build upon these results. In addition to these internal exchanges among project partners, the HARMONY candidates presented their research during a dedicated one-day workshop open to UniBw M researchers, allowing for further enriching dialogue. The workshop program was complemented by presentations from UniBw M researchers and invited guests from the GLITTER project—another Horizon Europe doctoral network coordinated by Prof. Christophe Craeye from the Catholic University of Louvain.
Throughout the week, several keynote speakers also enriched the program with insightful talks. Prof. Schilling from the Center of Telematics in Würzburg opened the event with his presentation “New Space Approaches to S5: Smart, Small, Self-organizing Satellite Systems,” offering a deep dive into multi-satellite missions his institute is or has been involved in. His research interests closely align with HARMONY’s focus, making his contribution particularly valuable for participants exploring robust and cost-efficient distributed satellite systems. Another highlight was Prof. Roger Förstner from the Institute of Space Technology and Space Applications at UniBw M. In his talk “Ready for Review!? The Path to a Successful PDR,” he shared practical advice on achieving Preliminary Design Review (PDR) readiness for New Space missions. The program also included an entrepreneurial perspective, with Stephanie Wißmann—co-founder and managing director of the start-up Secublox—delivering the presentation “Entrepreneurship in Space-Tech and Defence – Why You Should Think About Starting Up.”
Training during the event extended beyond presentations, notably through a hands-on activity focused on designing a satellite mission for direct-to-device connectivity up to preliminary design review (PDR) maturity. This so-called Space Mission Analysis and Design (SMAD) activity is a central component of HARMONY’s training approach. It promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork—crucial skills for future engineers working on complex satellite missions. The outcomes of this activity will be documented in a public deliverable of the HARMONY project.
Overall, the HARMONY network-wide event proved to be an extremely productive week for all participants. The event concluded with a visit to the production facilities of LSS GmbH, manufacturer of deployable reflector antennas. Many thanks to Dr. Leri Datashvili, CEO & Chief Designer of the company, for the engaging guided tour on the design of deployable reflector antennas!
If you want to learn more about the HARMONY project, you can visit the project website and the LinkedIn page.

Success in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network Call 2024: New Project “SPARE” Awarded!

April, 2025: The Chair of Signal Processing, in collaboration with its consortium partners — most notably Heriot-Watt University and Thales Alenia Space — has achieved a remarkable success in the highly competitive 2024 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network call. The newly awarded project SPARE – Resiliency, Sustainability, and Competitiveness in Future Satellite Systems received an excellent evaluation by the European Commission, ranking among the top 6% of all engineering proposals submitted.
This outstanding result underscores the scientific excellence and ambitious vision of the SPARE project, which is set to officially launch in the coming months. Bringing together a strong and diverse consortium of academic and industrial partners from six countries — the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Hungary, and Germany — SPARE will train the next generation of experts at the intersection of satellite technology, space law, and space economics.
A total of 13 doctoral candidates will be recruited to address the critical technological, regulatory, and economic challenges shaping the future of satellite systems. The research will focus on boosting resiliency, sustainability, and global competitiveness across the space sector.
At the Chair of Signal Processing, led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Knopp, our team will supervise several core research areas, including space-based spectrum sensing and sharing, space situational awareness, and optimization of ground segment operations.
The project will also benefit from the interdisciplinary expertise of Prof. Dr. Rafaela Kraus, Professor of Corporate Management and Leadership, and Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Müller, Head of the Chair of Strategic Management, who will contribute their knowledge in economic and organizational aspects to ensure a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach.
On the University of the Bundeswehr Munich (UniBw M) side, Dr. Thomas Delamotte played a central role in the proposal preparation — marking his second successful contribution to a winning Marie Curie proposal, following the currently running Industrial Doctoral Network HARMONY, in which UniBw M acts as the coordinating institution.
We look forward to the exciting work ahead!

GOSATCOM 2025

March 24-26, 2025: The “National Conference for Governmental Satellite Communications” (GOSATCOM) was celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and was once again held at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich. With an constantly growing number of participants, the conference underlines its claim to unite the entire German community in the field of governmental satellite communications and to provide a platform for exchange between governmental users, procurers and planners as well as industry, science and research institutions.
Under the motto “SATCOM in Europe: Sovereign and crisis-proof”, the conference was characterized by the current upheavals in the European and national security environment. The organizers of GOSATCOM 2025 around Prof. Dr. Andraes Knopp are particularly proud and grateful that they were supported at the opening of the conference by the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection Bernhard Kluttig, and the patron of the conference MdB Florian Hahn.
The Bundeswehr's perspective on the use of satellite communication for networked combat management in all dimensions and the necessary protection of such systems was made clear in the keynote speeches by the Deputy Inspector General for Cyber and Information Space, Major General Jürgen Setzer, and the Commander of the Space Command, Major General Michael Traut, in the session “Resilient Space Architecture 2029 Target Vision”. The keynote speeches from the Federal Ministry of Defense by Brigadier General Dr. Volker Pötzsch and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection by Ministerialdirigent Marco-Alexander Breit clarified the demands.
The industry's response to these new demands and possible contributions to a self-sufficient and secure space infrastructure were presented by Sabine von der Recke (OHB System AG), Dr. Yan Venot (Airbus Defence and Space GmbH), Philippe Glaesener (SES Space & Defence) and Alessandro Cardoso (Eutelsat OneWeb).
Over the course of the three days, several specialist presentations, workshops and a panel discussion took place in which experts from science and industry highlighted current trends and challenges in satellite communication. Topics such as the integration of satellite communication into the digital infrastructure, the importance of cyber security and the development of sustainable technologies were at the center of the discussions.
This year's GOSATCOM offered two special highlights: The presentation of the TESSA Award for an outstanding dissertation in the field of satellite communication, which was awarded to Dr. Christopher Schmidt's work "Optical Communication on CubeSats", and the signing of the cooperation agreement for the flight operation of Athene 1 by Prof. Dr. Andreas Knopp and Prof. Dr. Felix Huber. The signed agreement enables the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) to operate the Athene 1 satellite, a small satellite being developed as part of the SeRANIS research project at the University of the German Armed Forces.
A highlight at the end of the first day was certainly the panel discussion "SATCOM in the Bundeswehr - Secure. Resilient. Global" in which, under the moderation of Uli Bobinger, the speakers Setzer, Traut, Breit and Pötzsch together with Andreas Knopp discussed the future of satellite communication in the Bundeswehr, which is characterized by upheaval and innovation.
On the second day of the conference, interesting and exclusive insights into various national and European satellite programs were provided.
Visitors were also able to learn about new technologies for resilient satellite communication and discuss the supply and demand for satellite communication in the BOS under the topic of “Governmental Services”.
The 2025 conference ended with two parallel workshops on the topics of minimum protection for resilient space systems and national user requirements for IRIS².
GOSATCOM 2025 at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich once again demonstrated that satellite communication is a key technology of the future. The participants left the conference with new ideas, inspiration and a clear view of the challenges and opportunities that the industry will face in the coming years.

Orbint: Innovative Solutions for Satellite-Based Signal Intelligence

February 26, 2025: As a spin-off from the SeRANIS space research project of dtec.bw at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Orbint builds on years of accumulated expertise. The company prioritizes the German and European supply chain to ensure sustainable technological sovereignty in intelligence and the broader space sector.
Recently, Orbint had the privilege of presenting its capabilities to a distinguished audience at the MSC Space Night 2025, an event organized by the BDI's NewSpace initiative as a side event of the Munich Security Conference. The gathering brought together approximately 400 guests from the security and defense industry, politics, and the German Armed Forces to discuss the strategic importance of space for security, sovereignty, and innovation in Germany and Europe. Among the attendees was EU Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius.

*dtec.bw – Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr – is a scientific center jointly supported by both universities of the Bundeswehr and part of the German government's economic stimulus program to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. With its inclusion in the German Recovery and Resilience Plan (GRRP), dtec.bw is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU

IRIS² workshop at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich: Innovative approaches in satellite communication

February 10-11, 2025: The European Commission informed numerous representatives of public authorities about the IRIS² program (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) during a workshop at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich. The workshop offered an exclusive insight into the technical and conceptual details of the planned IRIS² constellation and provided a platform for discussing the user requirements of the Bundeswehr and the authorities and the German Security Services (BOS).

PhD thesis defense by Robert Wünsche

January 30, 2025: Today, Mr. Robert Wünsche successfully completed his doctoral studies, earning his PhD with the prestigious distinction of magna cum laude. His dissertation, titled "Analyse und Kompensation von Kapazitätsverlusten in LEO-Kommunikationssatelliten mit diskreten Beamforming-Antennen," contributes valuable insights into the field of satellite communication, particularly in low Earth orbit (LEO) systems.
Dr. Wünsche's research focused on addressing the challenges faced by LEO communication satellites, specifically the capacity losses that can occur in their beamforming antennas. His innovative solutions have the potential to significantly enhance the performance and efficiency of satellite networks, paving the way for more reliable global communication systems.
The jury composed of Prof. Mathias Richter (Chairman, UniBw M) and the examiners Prof. Marco Krondorf (HTWK Leipzig) and Prof. Andreas Knopp (Supervisor, UniBw M).
We wish Mr. Wünsche all the best for his future carreer!!