Thomas Müller appointed new head of Astrium Satellite Products and new head of Astrium’s Ottobrunn site

16 january 2013 Astrium

Ottobrunn, 16 January 2013 – Astrium is strengthening the Astrium Satellite Products unit with the appointment of Thomas Müller as the new head. He also becomes the new head of site at Astrium in Ottobrunn.

In addition Thomas Müller will be responsible for Astrium’s globalisation strategy focussing on products for spacecraft and satellites.. His appointment is effective from 1 January 2013, and he remains member of the Astrium Executive Committee.

Astrium Satellite Products is managed from Ottobrunn and is one of the world leaders in the space segment with products including solar arrays, innovative payload electronics (travelling wave tube amplifiers, processors, receivers…) and antenna testing. Further main activities of Astrium’s Ottobrunn site are the thrust chambers which are core for propulsion systems of the European launch vehicle Ariane 5 with 53 successful launches in a row. On top of that Ottobrunn is producing the complete propulsion system for one upper stage of the Ariane 5. Astrium is developing and manufacturing in Ottobrunn a key optical instrument for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and is currently designing and implementing the future European SpaceDataHighway, the EDRS project.

Thomas Müller was, until 31 December 2012, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Astrium, responsible for Information Management and coordinated the Supply Management function. He has worked in a variety of roles within the EADS Group since 1991.

Andreas Lindenthal, until 31 December 2012 head of the Astrium site in Ottobrunn and head of Astrium Satellite Products, recently left to take on a new role at Airbus.

Astrium Satellite Products

Astrium Satellite Products has eleven locations in five countries, employing more than 3,500 people, and is the leading supplier of space equipment in Europe and the number two in the world.

The Astrium Satellite Products unit focuses on the development, production, testing, marketing and distribution of pioneering space products for international customers. The product portfolio is divided into four product lines: development and platform products, payload products, solar arrays, and sensors.

In addition to equipment for telecommunications and navigation satellites, and providing supplies for launchers Astrium Satellite Products also supplies Earth observation satellites and scientific satellites and spacecraft. The Astrium Satellite Products organisation includes both consolidated Group companies and independent subsidiaries with their own branding and market access.

Background information on Astrium in Ottobrunn

Situated to the south-east of Munich, the Ottobrunn site has a proud tradition of aerospace excellence from Bavaria that stretches back over several decades and brings to mind famous names like Bölkow, Messerschmitt and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace. Today it is home to Astrium GmbH, the German part of EADS’ space division. Boasting around 900 highly skilled employees, the site is primarily responsible for industrial leadership of the new EDRS SpaceDataHighway and for manufacturing space propulsion systems and satellite subsystems for telecommunications, navigation and Earth observation. Ottobrunn is a leading producer of solar arrays, which function as ultra-light “power stations” and supply modern satellites with energy. Astrium’s core space activities in Bavaria additionally encompass launch vehicle propulsion systems, including the thrust chambers – the very heart of any rocket engine – for the first and second stages of the European launcher Ariane 5. With 53 successful launches in a row, the Ariane 5 is extremely reliable and a worldwide success.

Through its subsidiary Milsat Services in Ottobrunn, Astrium operates SATCOMBw Stage 2, the satellite communications system for the German Armed Forces, ensuring constant communications for German forces on deployment, no matter where they are in the world. Astrium also operates private telephony and internet services for German troops on foreign missions through its Connect-D service. The space engineers at the site are currently designing and implementing the future European SpaceDataHighway, the EDRS project. EDRS enables Europe to access real-time Earth observation data from low Earth orbit satellites – independently, and as and when needed. Data from the observation satellites can thus be received at all times, and not only when the satellite is flying over the ground station. This is crucial if swift, targeted assistance needs to be provided in the event of natural disasters or other crises. It also makes more efficient use of Earth observation satellites. The European Space Agency (ESA) has assigned Astrium overall responsibility for the European contribution to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The JWST will carry a key optical instrument manufactured in Ottobrunn – the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), capable of detecting even the slightest radiation from the most distant galaxies.

About Astrium

Astrium is the number one company in Europe for space technologies and the third in the world. In 2011, Astrium had a turnover close to €5 billion and 18,000 employees worldwide, mainly in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.

Astrium is the sole European company that covers the whole range of civil and defence space systems and services.

Its core business is divided between three units: Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure; Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment; Astrium Services for comprehensive fixed and mobile end-to-end solutions covering secure and commercial satcoms and networks, high security and broadcast satellite communications equipment and systems, and bespoke geo-information services, worldwide.

Astrium is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2011, the Group – comprising Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter – generated revenues of €49.1 billion and employed a workforce of over 133,000.