📋 Tender Overview
July 7, 2026
Today we are writing Bavarian space history: The five CuBy small satellites - developed together with the Center for Telematics from Wurzburg, Smart Small Satellite Systems GmbH and the Technical University of Munich - have successfully launched into space. This is the beginning of the Free State of Bavarias first operational satellite mission. For the Bavarian Surveying Administration, which is responsible for this groundbreaking project, and for all of Bavaria, this is a strong signal for our modern technology location. For the first time, we can photograph Bavaria from space and deliver images with an accuracy of around four meters. From the recording in space to the use of the images in administration, business and research, everything remains in Bavarian hands. This makes us more independent and strengthens our future viability, said Finance and Home Affairs Minister Albert Furacker happily on the occasion of the launch of the CuBy satellites.
Our five satellites - real high-tech ambassadors from Bavaria - are hardly bigger than a shoebox, but they do an impressive job: In the future, they will deliver high-resolution images from space every three days. This means we can bring important information quickly and specifically to where it is needed - whether for protection against natural disasters, environmental protection or updating digital maps:
For example, this data helps us to identify the effects of climate change in agriculture and forestry at an early stage, continues Furacker.
With the Bavarian Satellite Network CuBy research project, the Free State of Bavaria is relying on pioneering, sophisticated technology. The microsatellites of the Bavarian Satellite Network, measuring just 37 x 23 x 10 centimeters and weighing 14 kilograms, operate in a stable orbit of 460 kilometers above the earth and deliver high-resolution images every three days at the same local time, which enable highly informative time series analyzes tailored to Bavaria. With the help of an AI-supported data processing and management system, this satellite data is stored efficiently and various data sets are derived from it. This allows information to be forwarded to users in a timely and targeted manner.
The first images from orbit are expected in just a few months. The regular, comprehensive provision of processed satellite images is expected to take place in the first half of 2027. This trial operation is intended to test the feasibility of a possible full mission.
Press release on the publishers website
