Post by HPS High Performance Space Structure Systems GmbH

🛰️ Guardian Angel VIGIL in Space – For the Safety of Earth 🌍☀️ We are proud to contribute with a 2m- antenna to one of ESA’s most important future Space Safety missions: VIGIL. 🚨 Why VIGIL matters: Modern society depends on reliable energy networks, telecommunications, navigation systems, and satellite services. Yet all of them are vulnerable to space weather caused by solar activity. ESA’s VIGIL mission will act as a true "guardian angel" in space, providing earlier and more accurate warnings of solar storms from its unique position at the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point L5. ☀️ A unique view of the Sun: From approximately 1.5 million kilometers away, VIGIL will observe coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and active solar regions from a side-on perspective, allowing scientists to: ✅ Predict solar storm trajectories more accurately ✅ Improve warning times for critical infrastructure operators ✅ Reduce unnecessary interventions caused by false alarms. 📡 HPS delivers the mission-critical antenna: To reliably transmit VIGIL’s observations back to Earth, Airbus UK has selected HPS to develop and manufacture the spacecraft’s antenna system. Key features include: 🔹 2-meter reflector diameter 🔹 Lightweight carbon-fiber design 🔹 High dimensional stability 🔹 Reliable X-band communications over 1.5 million km. 👨‍🔬 Engineering excellence from Europe: The seven-figure contract will be executed by a dedicated team of engineers and technicians from HPS Munich together with our partners: 🇩🇪 INVENT GmbH (Braunschweig) 🇷🇴 HPS Romania (Bucharest) The antenna is scheduled for delivery in early 2029. 🤝 A strong European success story: The contract signed with Airbus UK end May 2026 marks another important milestone for HPS and demonstrates how German SME technology contributes to globally relevant missions in security, resilience, and sustainability. 💬 Dr.-Ing. Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO of HPS: “Barely six months after the ESA Ministerial Council 2025, we can already present the VIGIL antenna contract as a success story, showing how German SME technology can make a significant contribution to global security-relevant missions. A big thank you to ESA, Airbus, BMFTR, DLR, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and all partners involved for their trust and support." 🌍🛰️ Together, we are helping to protect critical infrastructure on Earth by advancing Europe’s capabilities in Space Safety. #HPS #VIGIL #ESA #SpaceSafety #SpaceWeather #AntennaTechnology #EuropeanSpace #Airbus #DLR #BMFTR #EngineeringExcellence #TheTeamToTrust