German Defense Minister Pistorius visits Isar Aerospace; Bundeswehr must expand sovereign satellite capabilities

Ottobrunn — "I think today's meeting sends a very important signal, because our defense of the free world begins in space," said Isar Aerospace CEO Daniel Metzler yesterday during the minister's visit in Ottobrunn. "Without networking in space, modern armed forces cannot survive, and these satellite data are the key to military reconnaissance, communication, and also target acquisition."

With this logic, Metzler welcomed the minister during his visit to the space company Isar Aerospace. The unanimous opinion of both men: The path of the Bundeswehr inevitably leads into space as well.

Lessons from the War in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine in particular has shown how vulnerable armed forces become when satellite-based reconnaissance, communication, and target acquisition fail. The best-known example here is likely the private provider Starlink, which temporarily shut down its services.

Germany's Push for Sovereign Satellite Capabilities

According to Pistorius and the Bundeswehr, Germany therefore needs more of its own sovereign satellite capabilities. Satellites can be built in Germany, as the minister was able to see for himself earlier at OHB in Bremen.

Rheinmetall is also currently building a satellite production facility on the Lower Rhine. The critical issue is how this technology gets into space. This is precisely where the 35-billion-euro package announced by the minister in the fall of last year is intended to come into play.

Isar Aerospace's Role in Space Access

For the technology to find its way into space, two important components are needed, which are currently lacking throughout Europe: launch sites and launch vehicles. Existing capacities at Ariane or at the spaceport in French Guiana are limited. Today, German and European satellites almost exclusively reach space using Falcon rockets from Elon Musk.