DEOS Phase B

In phase B of DEOS a contract has been awarded by DLR agency to SpaceTech GmbH to design the platform for the demonstrator target spacecraft (Client).

The Client is executing different attitude manoevers to simulate a satellite being out of servcice, starting from a Earth-oriented attitude mode at the beginnign to a spinning and at least tumbling attitude behaviour increasing the complexity of the experimental program. Within the experiments berthing operations by a manipulator system of the approaching Servicer spacecraft and docking will be executed. In the coupled configuration fixed by the manipulator system the Client is executing orbit manouvers for lowering the orbit altitude during the planned one year in-orbit period and will terminate the mission by a contolled atmospheric re-entry of the coupled configuration of Client and Servicer over the South pacific.

The phase B has been kicked-off in March 2010 and will end by th Preliminary Design Review in May 2011. The phase B Client contract of DEOS is performed on behalf of the Agency of the German Aerospace Center funded by the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology, funding code 50 RA 0922.

The responsibility for the overall mission, Servicer spacecraft, robotic system and for the GNC are contracted separately to OHB-System AG, Astrium GmbH and Kayser-Threde GmbH.