The European Space Agency (ESA) has presented OHB System AG with the prestigious Excellence Award. With this award, the ESA recognizes the company’s outstanding work as the prime contractor for the PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) scientific mission. The award ceremony took place at the Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen.
Christine Klein, Head of the “Industrial Policy and Auditing” department at the ESA, highlighted OHB’s consistently excellent performance since the project began in 2018 during the award ceremony. OHB fulfilled the demanding tasks with no or only minimal adjustments to the original schedule and budget—despite the challenges inherent in developing a mission like PLATO, Klein said.
ESA Project Manager Thomas Walloschek also praised the collaboration: “I am delighted for OHB on the well-deserved presentation of the ESA Supplier Award. This reflects the excellent collaboration between OHB, as the prime contractor for PLATO, and ESA, without which we could not have achieved what we have so far. PLATO has remained on schedule since the contract began, and next up are the vibration tests, an important milestone in the satellite’s verification.”
The award was accepted by Dr. Rüdiger Schönfeld, a member of the Executive Board of OHB System AG, together with PLATO Project Manager Pablo Jorba Coloma and Andrea Sacchetti, Science Program Director. “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 our mission of delivering high-quality and reliable solutions for Europe’s space missions,” said Dr. Schönfeld.
The PLATO Mission: In Search of Earth-like Exoplanets
The ESA’s PLATO mission will use more than 26 cameras to search for Earth-like exoplanets orbiting stars outside our solar system. The observatory will be stationed at the L2 Lagrange point, approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, to conduct undisturbed observations. The goal is to gain new insights into the formation and evolution of planets.
As the prime contractor, OHB System AG is responsible for the development of the two-and-a-half-ton observatory and is supporting the launch campaign as well as its commissioning in orbit.
About the ESA Supplier Performance Awards
Since 2024, up to three awards may be presented each year in the categories of 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 evaluated 33 projects, resulting in a total of 241 evaluations of 119 suppliers in 23 countries.
