Ibadan, 13 August 2024. – HPS Germany with its SME consortium of cooperation partners has signed the multimillion Phase C/D contract with TAS-Italy to develop and manufacture “Internal Secondary Structures”. These are lightweight panels, hinges and brackets, following Phase B2, which began in 2021 and will provide the central elements holding the interior of the habitable I-Hab together while it orbits the Earth’s satellite.
HPS will tentatively deliver the qualification models in mid-2025, delivering the flight assemblies to TAS a year later. Likewise, the launch will tentatively happen in 2028. Prior to this, there will be intensive discussions in the autumn on all ongoing processes and the “Delta Work” action area, which have been postponed for the time being in favor of the earliest possible start of the work.
Before this contract, HPS won the contract to provide the Antenna Reflector Assembly (ARA) as a core element of the ESPRIT LUNAR-LINK. This contract, as well as the success of HPS consortia in other highly complex tasks such as the deployable giant antenna for TAS Rome as part of Copernicus CIMR, demonstrate the ability of HPS and its German consortium to contribute to the overarching Artemis missions. Furthermore, HPS has now assumed the role of central “SME enabler” in the space technology for astronautical survival infrastructure and supply sector.
Commenting on the partnership, HPS CEO Ernst K. Pfeiffer, remarked, “We are creating something here that will go down in the history books of nations; in addition to all the challenges for the engineer, participation is an honor that we are all determined to earn. In keeping with the image of the Olympic Games having taken place: this job is the gold medal with value for eternity.”
