Airbus subsidiary Jena-Optronik in a new testing environment

Foundation stone laying on 13.11.2013: Since the beginning of the year, the employees of Jena-Optronik have fully moved into their new premises in the Jena21 industrial park after only one year of efficient construction. (from left to right: Dietmar Ratzsch, President & CEO of Jena-Optronik GmbH; Thuringia's former Minister of Economics Matthias Machnig, Foreman Jürgen Wünsch, Dr. Johannes von Thadden, Board Member of Astrium GmbH, Christian Sedraan, Managing Director of the client EADS Real Estate) (Copyright: Jena-Optronik GmbH)

Production and Development Buildings: The client's requirements reflect the high quality standards for products used in space applications. Development cycles in spaceflight typically take three to five years, and repairs in space are (so far) impossible. (Copyright: HI Bauprojekt)

Cleanrooms Jena-Optronik: As the name already implies - the engineering planning and implementation of cleanrooms require the highest standards for air and filter technology. "The minimal particle contamination and chemical purity are just one aspect," reports the project manager from her own experience. A large area of the cleanrooms is used for testing the produced equipment. (Copyright: HI Construction Project)

Topping-out ceremony for the new building in Jena-Optronik: The "Pearl of Spaceflight" now has a new home with excellent production and research facilities. (from left to right: Thuringian Minister of Economics Uwe Höhn, Dr. Harald Bruhn, CFO of Jena-Optronik GmbH in conversation with board members of Airbus Defence and Space, Ms. Corinne Ziege, project manager of the general planner HI Bauprojekt GmbH) (Copyright: Jena-Optronik GmbH)

Since the beginning of the year, the employees of Jena-Optronik have fully moved into their new premises in the Jena21 industrial park after only one year of efficient construction time. Jena-Optronik, a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space, is a world market leader for highly precise robust attitude control sensors and a supplier of optical instruments and components for Earth observation. Launch conditions of a rocket can now be simulated there as well as the projection of stars into space.

"The construction planning and execution had to be as precise as the space components of our customer, combined with requirements for media supply and disposal, the construction companies, the schedule, and the budget planning in recent months," recalls project manager Corinne Ziege, who was responsible for the overall planning of the prestige project on behalf of HI Bauprojekt, reflecting on the challenges faced in recent months.

The demands of the client reflect the high quality standards for products used in space applications, with a focus on a positive cost-benefit ratio.

The development cycles in spaceflight—from product idea to product qualification—typically take three to five years, and repairs in space are (so far) impossible.

From the very beginning, everything was carefully considered by the construction planning to avoid any surprises later during the €20 million project. As early as March 2013, 15 engineers from HI Bauprojekt began planning the high-tech center to be built. "Initially, there was a kickoff workshop with all parties involved—client, user, and HI Bauprojekt," recalls project manager Ziege.

"It was three days of intensive work to clarify the requirements. In the end, we had a working basis in the form of a layout with a requirement profile for the cleanrooms, the core of the new Jena-Optronik building complex, and a list of machinery and equipment. The shell, i.e., the building structure, was then developed around this construct, and the infrastructure requirements took shape," explains Ziege about the conceptual development of the project.

As a result of further planning, it became clear that the infrastructure would need to be more extensive than initially thought—also, the speed of market development in the field of cutting-edge technologies demands its toll. Foresight and flexibility, paired with coordination and a sense of touch, were required from HI Bauprojekt to integrate new technological requirements during construction into the new building.

Looking at the vast plot of approximately 20,000 square meters in the Jena21 industrial park, the large cleanroom area stands out: 2,000 square meters of the total 12,000 square meters of built-up area are planned and constructed to high ISO standards.

As the name suggests—engineering planning and implementation of cleanrooms require the highest standards for air and filtration technology. "Minimizing particle contamination and chemical purity are just one aspect," reports the project manager from her own experience. A large part of the cleanrooms is used for testing the produced equipment. Everything should be as "real" as possible: launch conditions of a rocket are simulated as well as space itself in specially built "black rooms"—in which stars can even be projected. The climate is also simulated using climate chambers that generate heat and cold similar to space.

Just in time for the planned production start in 2015, the production and development building was handed over to the user at the end of 2014. The financial commitment here at the Jena site has paid off. This was evident to Airbus board member Thomas Müller during the topping-out ceremony of his subsidiary Jena-Optronik. The "jewel of spaceflight," as Müller called it, now has a new home with excellent production and research facilities.