SmallGEO
OHB System AG
European small geostationary satellite platform for commercial telecommunications missions up to 3,500 kg launch mass.
Technical specifications
- Orbit
- Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)
- Launch Mass
- ~3,200–3,500 kg
- Dry Mass
- ~1,700 kg
- Payload Capacity
- Up to 300 kg
- Payload Power
- Up to 3 kW
- Platform Power
- > 6 kW (beginning of life)
- Design Lifetime
- Up to 15 years
- Propulsion
- Bipropellant main engine (S400) + 8x SPT-100 plasma thrusters
About
SmallGEO (also designated LUXOR) is OHB System AG’s proprietary geostationary satellite platform, developed under ESA’s ARTES 11 programme to give European industry a competitive bus in the commercial small GEO telecom market. The platform is designed for payloads up to 300 kg and 3 kW payload power, with a launch mass around 3,200–3,500 kg and an operational lifetime of up to 15 years.
The platform has flown twice: as Hispasat 36W-1 (launched January 2017 on Soyuz-2 ST-B, with 24 Ku-band and 3 Ka-band transponders) and as the German national technology demonstration satellite Heinrich Hertz (H2Sat, launched July 2023, ~3,408 kg). Propulsion combines a bipropellant S400 main engine with electric SPT-100 plasma thrusters for on-orbit manoeuvring and station-keeping.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
