OHB Space UK signs €24M EnVision contract with ESA, plans 100 new UK jobs, and proposes VORTEX-S with Dassault. Record backlog of €3.35B drives European space consolidation.
OHB’s British arm is celebrating its first birthday with a major prize. OHB Space UK has signed a contract with the European Space Agency for the “EnVision” mission to Venus, taking on the integration and test campaign for the spacecraft. The deal, worth around €24 million, is partnered with Thales Alenia Space. The milestone comes as the parent company accelerates its European expansion strategy, simultaneously submitting a joint proposal with Dassault Aviation for the multi-purpose spacecraft concept VORTEX-S.
The UK unit is already scaling up to match the new workload. Management plans to expand the Bristol site by adding up to 100 engineering positions over the next five years, alongside a new clean room dedicated to satellite assembly. The EnVision contract marks the first major order for OHB Space UK since its formation, underscoring the group’s push to embed itself deeper in Britain’s space ecosystem.
On a separate front, OHB has paired with French aerospace heavyweight Dassault Aviation to pitch the VORTEX-S design to the European Space Agency. The proposal is now under review. If approved, the partnership would deepen European collaboration on complex orbital missions and strengthen OHB’s role as a multi-national system integrator – a strategy that chairman Marco Fuchs has been driving through both organic growth and cross-border alliances.
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The flurry of contract activity is backed by a balance sheet that has rarely looked stronger. In the first quarter of 2026, OHB’s total output rose 15% year on year to €279.3 million. Adjusted operating earnings reached around €27 million. The order backlog swelled to a record €3.354 billion by 31 March, a 45% jump from the same point in 2025, providing ample visibility for future revenues. The equity ratio stood at nearly 30%, leaving room for long-term investment.
Additional heft came from OHB Sweden, which secured a €248 million contract to build the EPS-Sterna microsatellite constellation. That deal alone ensures sustained capacity utilisation for the Nordic division and feeds into the group’s target of generating an average annual order intake of roughly €3 billion. CEO Marco Fuchs plans to outline the medium-term growth road map at a Capital Markets Update on 18 May 2026, followed by the ordinary annual general meeting on 8 June.
Despite taking a minority investment from private equity firm KKR last year, OHB remains a publicly listed company. Fuchs has ruled out a delisting, arguing that the transparency afforded by a stock exchange listing is valued by both customers and partners. The dual commitment to public markets and private capital gives the group flexibility while retaining the governance that large institutional clients demand.
With the EnVision contract, the VORTEX-S proposal, and a record pipeline of work, OHB is positioning itself as a consolidator in Europe’s space sector. The combination of a healthy backlog, targeted UK expansion, and cross-border cooperation with established players like Dassault and Thales Alenia sets the stage for the company’s next phase of growth.
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