Vertex Antennentechnik 12m Radio Telescope at the Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland

Vertex Antennentechnik 12m Radio Telescope at the Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland

The Vertex Antennentechnik 12m Radio Telescope was built round 2002/2003 at the Thule Air Base (renamed Pituffik Space Base) in northwest Greenland is used for astronomy and  monitoring black holes in space.

Vertex Antennentechnik is part of CPI when it acquired GDSatcom with the VertexRSI and Vertex Antennentechnik divisions, in 2019.

About Vertex Antennentechnik, GmbH.

Back in 1963 KRUPP company located in Duisburg, Germany accepted a contract for the design and construction of a 20m radio telescope for the observatory in Bochum, Germany. Within the KRUPP research division, a team of highly qualified engineers was formed and requested to construct large antennas. With follow-up contracts: the 28.5 m antenna Raisting II for the newly satellite communications technology and the design, development and construction of the 100m radio telescope Effelsberg for the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, allowed KRUPP Antennentechnik to established itself in this niche market.

During the initial phase, the product range primarily comprised large antennas structures with considerable financial volume. In 1992 the KRUPP Antennentechnik was acquired by US based Vertex Communications Corporation acquired KRUPP when the company name was changed to Vertex Antennentechnik GmbH. The product range portfolio was expanded with complete precision antennas, kingpost antennas and other satcom products. At the same time, the Radio Frequency department emerged; allowing Vertex Antennentechnik to offer complete ground stations to its customer base.

Solutions from Vertex Antennentechnik were used in Spacecom AMOS-5 spacecraft from Israel, the Telcom-3 spacecraft from PT Telkom Indonesia, for Russian satellite operators such as RSCC, RuSat, ISS Reshetnev, Orange Business Service, VSAT-Tel and Gazprom Space Systems.

The consolidation into Tripoint global together with Vertex, RSI, TIW and Prodelin took place in 2002. Currently, Vertex Antennentechnik operates within the Mission Systems Division GDSatcom Corporation.