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from the not-quite-vorsprung-durch-technik dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
On the day before Christmas last year, a Falcon 9 rocket launched from California and put two spy satellites into low-Earth orbit for the armed forces of Germany, which are collectively called the Bundeswehr.
Initially, the mission appeared successful. The German satellite manufacturer, OHB, declared that the two satellites were "safely in orbit." The addition of the two SARah satellites completed a next-generation constellation of three reconnaissance satellites, the company said.
However, six months later, the two satellites have yet to become operational. According to the German publication Der Spiegel, the antennas on the satellites cannot be unfolded. Engineers with OHB have tried to resolve the issue by resetting the flight software, performing maneuvers to vibrate or shake the antennas loose, and more to no avail.
As a result, last week, German lawmakers were informed that the two new satellites will probably not go into operation as planned.
The three-satellite constellation known as SARah—the SAR is a reference to the synthetic aperture radar capability of the satellites—was ordered in 2013 at a cost of $800 million. The first of the three satellites, SARah 1, launched in June 2022 on a Falcon 9 rocket. This satellite was built by Airbus in southern Germany, and it has since gone into operation without any problems.
[...] This new constellation was intended to replace an aging fleet of similar, though less capable, satellites known as SAR-Lupe. This five-satellite constellation launched nearly two decades ago.
According to the Der Spiegel report, the Bundeswehr says the two SARah satellites built by OHB remain the property of the German company and would only be turned over to the military once they were operational. As a result, the military says OHB will be responsible for building two replacement satellites.
[...] the German publication says that its sources indicated OHB did not fully test the functionality and deployment of the satellite antennas on the ground. This could not be confirmed.
This setback comes as OHB is attempting to complete a deal to go private—the investment firm KKR is planning to acquire the German space company. OHB officials said they initiated the effort to go private late last year because public markets had "structurally undervalued" the company.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Monday July 08 2024, @08:59PM
At my age, attitude had changed too.
Being too old to restart any seniority, vesting, work up the ladder thing, I became a "session guy", an informal contract guy. I no longer needed a steady income. I am there just to fix the problem and go. The gig economy.
However, my California governor has come down hard on gig employees. Everybody has to be a business now, complete with humongous overhead to support an entourage of superfluous participants. It's hard to operate informally at anythng resembling a "reasonable rate".
I have to charge like a "rock star", to support all the baggage that legalizes my contracts. I didn't work under contract. His word was good enough for me.
I design and make stuff. I am not a legal guy. When they need me, they tip me well. A business model much like the guys I know that work on exotic cars.
I like to choose the stuff I am good at, call in friends that I need ( we reciprocate a lot ), the people I can work with, not compete against, lest I enter the twilight zone and long for "Willoughby". I've had my fill of office politics.
Besides, I would never make it through a modern personnel department anymore. It takes a completely different skill to get a job than it does to keep one. The first is marketing, the second is technical. I fail the first.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]