Manfred Fuchs (aerospace engineer)

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Manfred Johannes Fuchs (born July 25, 1938 in Latsch , South Tyrol , Italy ; † April 26, 2014 in Altenburg , Kaltern , South Tyrol, Italy) was a German aerospace engineer and entrepreneur in satellite technology and founder of the OHB technology group .

origin

Fuchs came from a wealthy background. His family ran distilleries, sawmills, wine trade and the Forst near Meran brewery, which is still family-owned today . His father also owned a trucking company and a restaurant. He first attended the former trade school in Bozen , studied in Munich at the technical college (today HAW Munich ) and from 1957 in Hamburg at the engineering school (today HAW Hamburg ).

life and work

Fuchs was a graduate engineer for aerospace engineering and development engineer at Hamburger Flugzeugbau , where he started after graduating in 1959. From 1961, Fuchs worked in Bremen for the space company ERNO , one of EADS 'forerunners. There he became a group leader, head of department (Astrodynamics / Preliminary Development) and head of department (Department Director 1982) in 1965. In 1981 he received full power of attorney . He was involved in the Ariane 1, Columbus and Spacelab projects.

In 1981 he and his wife Christa, who initially held the shares, took a stake in Otto Hydraulik Bremen (OHB) in the Hemelinger Hafen. At that time, OHB was a small company for hydraulic and electrical work with five employees and mainly worked for the German armed forces. In 1985, after leaving ERNO, he completely took over OHB. Fuchs expanded OHB into a satellite and aircraft technology company. Initially, the company also produced components for the Airbus A380 . In 2009 the company had around 1,600 employees and was located in the technology park at the University of Bremen . The company supplied reconnaissance satellites for the German armed forces , including the SAR-Lupe system and satellite data for the Frontex . Sales at that time amounted to 320 million euros and in 2009 OHB was the third largest European space company after EADS and the Thales Group . OHB has stood for Orbital High Technology Bremen since 2000 . Manfred Fuchs, his widow since 2014, chaired the Supervisory Board. In 2009 the company was 70% family-owned by the Fuchs family, but was listed on the stock exchange.

In 2010 the company was awarded the contract to build the satellites for the Galileo project for a European GPS system and the contract for the European Meteosat project. With its subsidiary MT Aerospace in Augsburg, the Fuchs Group is the largest German supplier for the Ariane rocket .

Fuchs was vice-president and also president of the ZARM Förderverein eV, the support company of the Bremen drop tower of the center for applied space technology and microgravity (ZARM) of the university. In addition, he was a member of the DLR Senate for eight years and was temporarily its deputy chairman. Fuchs was also a member of the German Space Agency DARA .

He was on the supervisory board of Carlo Gavazzi Space, Milan, in which OHB has a stake, of ATB GmbH (Institute for Applied System Technology, Bremen) and BEOS GmbH (Bremen Engineering Operations Science) in Bremen, an initiative founded in 1999 for Bremen as a space location. For many years he has cooperated with the Russian space industry in launching satellites. The company also has plants in Milan and Bavaria.

He was politically active in the CDU , for example as chairman of the research and technology working group of the Bremen CDU and as a member of the federal committee for research and technology of the federal CDU. He was Vice President of the Hermann Oberth Society and Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan .

Fuchs had been married to Christa Fuchs, a merchant's daughter from Pinneberg, since 1960. As CFO, his wife played a key role in OHB's success. The marriage had two children. His son Marco is the CEO of OHB. Manfred Fuchs died in April 2014 at the age of 75 in his holiday home in Altenburg near Kaltern.

Awards and recognitions

literature

  • Marco Fuchs, Daniela Sell, Joachim Thaeter: A pioneer of space travel: Manfred Fuchs - The biography . Schünemann Verlag, Bremen, 2018. ISBN 978-3960470380

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Diana Tobias: MANFRED FUCHS - Ringträger 2011. Retrieved on December 2, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ Official OHB website
  3. ↑ Press Office Senate Bremen 2008
  4. ↑ South Tyrolean satellite pioneer Manfred Fuchs is dead. Stol.it, April 28, 2014, archived from the original on April 29, 2014 ; Retrieved April 28, 2014 .
  5. ↑ "Rowing Against the Current". August 28, 2009, accessed December 2, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Bremen Senate honors Manfred Fuchs: The square in front of the company headquarters is named after the OHB founder. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Fuchs, Manfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fuchs, Manfred Johannes (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German aerospace engineer and entrepreneur of South Tyrolean origin in satellite technology and founder of the OHB technology group
DATE OF BIRTH July 25, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Latsch , South Tyrol , Italy
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 2014
Place of death Altenburg , Kaltern , South Tyrol, Italy