Creotech Instruments has signed a contract worth 400,000 euros with OHB System AG to prepare a satellite project based on the company’s proprietary HyperSat platform. Creotech is part of an international consortium under the leadership of OHB, which will carry out an innovative mission project for the European Space Agency (ESA) to refuel a satellite in Earth’s orbit. The Creotech-designed satellite’s task will be to dock and then accept fuel transfer from another, larger satellite. The mission schedule envisages raising the satellite into orbit in the second half of 2026. This is the first project in which the principal mission coordinator acting on behalf of the ESA, the commercial company OHB, has chosen Creotech’s proprietary platform as a key element of their space mission. The project is in line with the company’s strategic development direction, which aims to commercialize the HyperSat platform that will be tested in space conditions as part of the EagleEye mission this year.
The satellite designed by Creotech Instruments is part of the “Preliminary Design of In-Space Transportation Proof of Concept-1: In-Orbit Rendezvous and Docking-Phase-B1″ project commissioned by the European Space Agency. Within the consortium, Creotech will be responsible for preparing the satellite project, which began in early 2024 and will last approximately five months. After completion, further talks with the ESA are planned to conclude a contract for the construction of the satellite, which is scheduled to be launched into orbit in the second half of 2026.
The design of a satellite weighing approximately 60 kg based on our HyperSat microsatellite platform is the result of many years of company development and having high competencies,” commented Grzegorz Brona, President of the Management Board of Creotech Instruments. “After a market analysis carried out by OHB, they decided to entrust us with this key element of the entire project. The mission, of which we will be a part, aims to demonstrate the ability to carry out an orbital fuel transfer from the refuelling satellite to our client’s satellite. The refuelling satellite project is the responsibility of Berlin Space Technology GmbH, and the entire system project is overseen by OHB System AG, the largest and most renowned German company specializing in space technologies and systems. Our cooperation will contribute to a valuable exchange of knowledge and increase Creotech’s recognition in the European market, which is in line with our ambition to become a leading supplier of microsatellite technology in defence and commercial projects in the EU.
The mission to perform an orbital fuel transfer in Earth’s orbit is part of the broader ESA’s Future Space Transportation Systems program, which aims to develop logistical systems for conducting manoeuvres and services between satellites in near-Earth orbit. The aim is to demonstrate the feasibility of controlled deorbiting, cargo transportation, and the transport of microsatellites to medium and geostationary Earth orbit. The task of the Creotech-designed satellite will be docking and then accepting a fuel transfer from another, larger satellite.
“In the satellite project for the ESA, we will consider several solutions developed for the EagleEye satellite launch mission planned for 2024, which is based on our HyperSat platform. Its ongoing commercialization on the global space market is key to our further growth, and the development of our platform is one of the key investment areas for which we successfully raised funds in a public offering last October,” added Grzegorz Brona. “Creotech’s participation in the innovative satellite refuelling mission could contribute to the extension of the implementation period for future satellite missions and broaden their utility for more complex missions, which require high fuel consumption.
HyperSat is the first Polish satellite platform developed from scratch by Polish engineers, composed of modules of individual subsystems. It allows scalable design and production of satellites weighing from 10 kg to dozens of kilograms with different mission objectives. HyperSat, developed by Creotech since 2017, was created with the support of experts from the European Space Agency and is in accordance with European requirements for the design and construction of satellite systems (ECSS). The platform forms the basis for the EagleEye mission, which will be implemented in 2024, and for the PIAST mission.
In 2023, Poland made a strategic decision to increase its national commitment to the ESA budget by an additional 295 million euros in 2023-2025. The mechanism for national contributions to the ESA enables almost all of the funds to be recovered in the form of projects and orders from the ESA for domestic companies. Over the past 10 years, Creotech, together with the ESA, has implemented over 25 space projects, becoming one of the largest Polish contractors and the first choice in Central Europe for key agency projects. The company is currently in talks with the ESA about several other space missions based on its proprietary HyperSat microsatellite platform.
