National Space Operations Centre Controls Experimental Laboratory in Orbit

Satellite ATHENE-1 National Space Operations Centre Controls Experimental Laboratory in Orbit

2026-10-14 Source: Press release German Aerospace Center (DLR) | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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The successful launch of ATHENE-1 marks a milestone in satellite technology, enabling the in-orbit testing of innovative communications, navigation and security technologies while advancing the automation of satellite operations.

Launch of SpaceX’s Transporter-18 Mission.(Source: SpaceX) — Launch of SpaceX’s Transporter-18 Mission.
(Source: SpaceX)

The technology demonstrator ATHENE-1 has been successfully launched from the US spaceport Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Developed and built by OHB subsidiary LuxSpace in collaboration with the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, the small satellite lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-18 mission and was placed into a low Earth orbit as planned. The satellite is controlled by the German Space Operations Centre (GSOC) of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany). GSOC research projects will include testing new operational concepts to further increase automation. In addition, the DLR is providing two instruments on board the satellite.

ATHENE-1 is the central element of the SeRANIS (Seamless Radio Access Networks for Internet of Space) research project, which is led by the University of the Bundeswehr Munich and funded by the Bundeswehr Centre for Digitalisation and Technology Research (dtec.bw). The aim of the project is to transfer innovative technologies from research into practical applications more quickly and to demonstrate their benefits for future space capabilities.

GSOC as the central interface between the satellite and the ground segment

The successful launch marks the beginning of the operational phase of the mission. GSOC provides the necessary ground infrastructure for transmitting telemetry data, sending commands, and monitoring and controlling the satellite.

“GSOC in Oberpfaffenhofen serves as the satellite control centre and the central interface between the satellite and the ground segment,” says Dr Anke Pagels-Kerp, DLR Executive Board Member for Space. “At the same time, at GSOC we are researching the processes and methods that will shape satellite control in the future. These will be characterised by highly automated operations involving a much larger number of satellites in mega-constellations, extending down to low Earth orbits. ATHENE-1 is an ideal test platform for trialling this increasing automation of control processes in space under real conditions.”

The ATHENE-1 satellite, weighing just under 300 kilograms (approx. 661 pounds), will serve as a technology and test platform for a total of 15 scientific experiments. The DLR is contributing the Cube1G laser communication terminal and the LITE instrument (Laser Interferometer for Thermal Expansion Measurements), which measures thermally induced deformations in new materials.

Testing key technologies under real-world conditions

The mission focuses on new technologies for satellite-based communications and networking, reconnaissance and sensing, navigation, and AI-supported data processing directly in orbit. These technologies include sixth-generation mobile communications systems (6G), laser communications, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Methods for detecting, locating and countering interference are also being tested, with the aim of increasing the resilience of satellite-based navigation and communications systems. Furthermore, the mission enables the testing of new approaches to intelligent signal and data processing, as well as future applications in the security sector.

“When we launched SeRANIS six years ago, our goal was to test new key technologies in space under real-world conditions as early as possible. With the successful launch of ATHENE-1, this vision is becoming a reality. We could not have foreseen the security policy developments of recent years, but the flexible mission design has enabled us to incorporate new research questions as well,” says Professor Andreas Knopp, initiator and programme director of SeRANIS at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich.

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Responding more flexibly to new scenarios

From a technological perspective, ATHENE-1 also represents the shift towards software-defined and reconfigurable satellite systems. The technologies being tested during the mission are intended to make it possible to adapt functions and applications to new requirements even after launch. This will enable satellites to respond more flexibly to new standards, operational scenarios or interference.

“The successful launch of ATHENE-1 is a significant milestone for the entire project team and a strong example of the capabilities that can be achieved through collaboration between science and industry,” says Marco Fuchs, Chief Executive Officer of OHB. “With this mission, we are laying the foundations for gaining crucial insights for future communications, navigation and security applications. Developments over recent years have shown how important technological sovereignty and resilient space systems have become.”

The ATHENE-1 mission is based on LuxSpace’s modular Triton-X Heavy small satellite platform, combined with a multifunctional experimental payload developed by the University of the Bundeswehr Munich and integrated at OHB’s Oberpfaffenhofen site. OHB Orbital Access was responsible for conducting the launch campaign. In addition to spaceflight operations and astronaut training, the DLR is participating through its Institute of Communications and Navigation in Oberpfaffenhofen and its Institute of Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing in Hanover (Germany).