Research Project “FORnanoSatellites” started

1. June 2025

FORnanoSatellites starts on 01.06.2025 and researches the topic of small satellites.
An interdisciplinary team from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), represented by the Chair of Computer Science 3 (Computer Architecture) and the Chair of Manufacturing Automation and Production Systems (FAPS), the Zentrum für Telematik e. V. (ZfT) Würzburg, the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Oberpfaffenhofen is working together with numerous industrial partners to develop a new generation of small satellites.
The companies involved include Celestial Space Technologies, Embedded-brains, eomap, Fritsch, f.u.n.k.e. Avionics, GRAW, Lino, µ-Epsilon, Rohde & Schwarz, SCIPRIOS, SEHO, S4Space, Tesat-Spacecom, Vierling and Kronos Mechatronics.
The aim is to design a new generation of small satellites weighing just a few kilograms, which are to be manufactured in a fully digitalized and automated value creation process, with the long-term goal of establishing small series production in Bavaria.

The project includes the analysis of the state of the art in the field of small satellites as well as the further development of standardization and modularization in order to develop a new type of system concept that is suitable for automated production. The main subsystems, including the on-board computer, the communication system between satellite and ground station and the necessary assembly and connection technology (AVT), are considered holistically, with a particular focus on stackable integration processes for a compact system architecture. Finally, an innovative web configurator is being developed with which an end-to-end digitalized order and development process can be implemented. This should significantly reduce the manufacturing costs of micro-satellites and provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular with easy access to customized satellite solutions.

The Bavarian Research Foundation is funding the large-scale research network for three years with around 2.0 million euros.