Bremen, 20 November 2025 – The European Space Agency (ESA) has presented OHB System AG with the prestigious Excellence Award. This accolade recognizes OHB’s outstanding work as Prime Contractor for the scientific mission PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars). The award ceremony took place at Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen.
Christine Klein, Head of the Industrial Policy and Auditing Department at ESA, emphasized that OHB had delivered consistently excellent performance since the project began in 2018 when presenting the award. According to Klein, OHB completed the demanding tasks with no or only minimal adjustments to the original schedule and budget – despite the challenges involved in developing a mission such as PLATO.
ESA Project Manager Thomas Walloschek also praised the cooperation: “I am delighted for OHB to receive this well-deserved ESA Supplier Award. It reflects the outstanding collaboration between OHB as PLATO’s Prime Contractor and ESA, without which these achievements would not have been possible. PLATO has remained on track since contract signature, and the next major milestone will be the vibration tests for satellite verification.”
The award was accepted by Dr. Rüdiger Schönfeld, Member of the Executive Board of OHB System AG, together with PLATO Project Manager Pablo Jorba Coloma and Andrea Sacchetti, Program Director Science. “This award is a testament to the dedication and excellence of our PLATO team. We are honored by ESA’s recognition and remain committed to delivering high-quality, reliable solutions for Europe’s space missions,” said Dr. Schönfeld.
The PLATO Mission: Searching for Earth-like Exoplanets
ESA’s PLATO mission will use more than 26 cameras to search for Earth-like exoplanets orbiting stars beyond our solar system. The observatory will be positioned at the Lagrange point L2, approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, enabling uninterrupted observations. Its goal is to provide new insights into the formation and evolution of planets.
OHB System AG, as Prime Contractor, is responsible for developing the 2.5-ton observatory and supporting the launch campaign as well as in-orbit commissioning.
About the ESA Supplier Performance Awards
Since 2024, up to three awards have been granted annually in the categories Prime Contractor, Subcontractor, and Innovation. This year’s awards are based on evaluations conducted in 2024 and consolidated in the first half of 2025. ESA teams assessed 33 projects, resulting in a total of 241 evaluations of 119 suppliers across 23 countries.
Contact for media representatives:
Marianne Radel
Head of Corporate Communications
Phone: +49 421 2020 9159
Email: marianne.radel@ohb.de
Contact for investors and analysts:
Marcel Dietz
Investor Relations
Phone: +49 421 2020 6426
Email: ir@ohb.de
ESA's Christine Klein (Head of the Industrial Policy and Auditing Department, seen on the left) and Britta Schade (Head of Product Assurance and Safety Department, sitting) led through the award ceremony. They are on stage with Rüdiger Schönfeld, Andrea Sacchetti, Pablo Jorba Coloma and Lena Stern from OHB.
