Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy Dr Anna Christmann visits OHB in Bremen

Bremen, 04 May 2022 – Yesterday, Dr Anna Christmann MdB, Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy, visited the OHB site in Bremen. The focus of the visit was a tour of the various integration halls, during which she learned about the current projects in Bremen and gained an insight into the work in the clean rooms.

"The visit to the clean room is really impressive, here you can see that going into space is a truly outstanding engineering achievement and a lot of steps have to be completed so that we can see the weather forecast on the news in the evening," says Dr Anna Christmann, summing up her impressions of the integration halls.

Dr Anna Christmann was welcomed and accompanied on her tour of the company by Sabine von der Recke and Dr Wolfgang Paetsch from the Management Board of OHB System AG, as well as by Dr Rüdiger Schönfeld, who is responsible for the Earth Observation division. The group of visitors was completed by the Space Coordinator of the State of Bremen Siegfried Monser, the Aeronautics Coordinator of the State of Bremen Prof. Rolf Henke and Hans-Georg Tschupke from the staff of the Senator for Economic Affairs, Labour and Europe.

New weather satellites help predict extreme weather events

One of the key topics of the visit was the European weather satellite programme Meteosat Third Generation (MTG). During her visit to the clean rooms, the Coordinator was able to take a close look at the satellites and have their functioning explained to her on the object. With improved resolution and the ability to track the three-dimensional atmospheric structure over Europe in real time, the MTG satellites will not only ensure the continuous provision of data for weather forecasting from geostationary orbit for the next two decades, but will also take European weather forecasting capabilities to the next level.

"Precise weather forecasts are indispensable - especially in times of climate change," emphasises Dr Wolfgang Paetsch, who is responsible for Earth Observation on OHB System AG's Management Board. "Extreme weather events are occurring with increasing frequency and with the MTG satellites we will be able to detect them much earlier in the future and issue appropriate warnings."

"MTG is an important programme as understanding weather phenomena and climate change is becoming more and more essential. There are still data gaps in the area of weather forecasting that need to be closed. Only if we have the relevant data available can we prepare ourselves for the challenges of the future and better prevent disasters," adds Dr Anna Christmann.

The launch of the first MTG satellite is scheduled for the end of this year.

Sabine von der Recke draws a very positive conclusion: "We were very pleased about Dr Anna Christmann's visit and were able to give her a good insight into the company. With the German environmental satellite EnMAP, which we launched last month, and the MTG weather satellites, we at OHB are at the forefront when it comes to climate protection from space, and we were able to demonstrate this today."