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Bavaria is planning its own earth observation mission with customized geodata. An important step towards the digital sovereignty of the Free State.
Munich – The Free State wants to conquer space – or something like that. Bavaria is at least planning to send small satellites into orbit around the Earth. In the near future, Bavarian microsatellites could provide high-resolution images of the Free State from space.
Small satellites from Bavaria are supposed to go into space – it’s also about “digital sovereignty”
The first five satellites, commissioned by the survey administration, are scheduled to launch into space on a test mission at the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026. They will then begin their work in an orbit 460 kilometers above Earth. These satellites are only 37 by 23 by 10 centimeters in size and weigh only ten kilograms.
Bavarian microsatellites are preparing for a mission into space. Your task: provide high-resolution photos of the Free State. © IMAGO / CHROMORANGE / Steinach / Merkur collage
“We want to launch our own earth observation mission into space soon and get customized geodata directly from space,” explained Bavarian Finance and Home Affairs Minister Albert Füracker (CSU). The entire process of the research project, from data collection in space to processing on the ground and making it available to citizens, remains under Bavarian control. “This is a decisive advantage over commercial providers and an important contribution to the digital sovereignty of the Free State.”
High standards: The data is not only useful for flood forecasts or climate changes
“The satellite data obtained will be ideal for evaluations of flood forecasts, climate changes or in agriculture and forestry,” says Füracker. A TO-supported data analysis and management system will efficiently store, analyze and visualize the space data. “In this way, we enable timely and targeted forwarding of information to relevant departments within and outside the state administration.”
These are microsatellites equipped with a multispectral camera and were developed in collaboration with the Center for Telematics and S4 Smart Small Satellite Systems GmbH. These are supposed to provide images of the Free State every three days. The project is run by the Technical University München supported in the development of the evaluation algorithms.
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Bavaria as an industrial space location: After the test phase, a decision will be made about expansion
After extensive test operations, in a second step a decision will be made about expanding the mission to completely cover Bavaria. This mission will promote Bavaria as an industrial space location and at the same time strengthen the Bavarian economy, says Füracker.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder, who repeatedly describes himself as a big Star Wars fan, has made it clear several times that he also sees Bavaria’s future in space. The “Bavaria One” project, among others, can be traced back to this ambition.(fhz)
