ERMINAZ-2 satellites are transmitting their first signals!

The three small satellites from Bochum operated by AMSAT-DL are already in space, having been launched earlier than planned. Two of them have since made contact with the ground station at the Bochum Observatory. The third satellite has yet to make contact.

A Successful Start

On October 1, a SpaceX rocket successfully launched the three ERMINAZ-2 satellites belonging to the space organization AMSAT-Deutschland e.V. (AMSAT-DL) from Bochum into Earth orbit. Since then, they had been housed in a deployment system aboard the “OSSIE-D” spacecraft operated by the space company UARX. According to the plan, they were to remain in the so-called deployer for at least seven more days before being released along with other payloads. After leaving the deployment system, the satellites were then supposed to automatically boot up their onboard computers, first deploy their antennas, then activate their transmitters, and finally “call home.”

A “premature birth”—7 days before the actual due date

But things turned out differently: While the successful launch was still being celebrated in Bochum and preparations for the next planned activities were underway, a surprise announcement came in on Saturday evening, October 3:

We would like to inform you that we have decided to initiate the deployment sequence for the OSSIE-D payload earlier than originally planned. The deployment sequence for the deployable payloads began on October 2, 2026, at 1:48:09.950 p.m. CEST

The team had not received any notification by Saturday evening about the changed plans, and no one had expected that the satellites will be finally deployed so early! Consequently, no one had been listening to the transmission frequencies. The signals from the ERMINAZ satellites went unheard at first.

Two satellites are in good condition

ERMINAZ-2U 435.900 MHz – active
ERMINAZ-2V 145.920 MHz – active
ERMINAZ-2X 145.960 MHz – unknown

The first signals were finally received late Saturday evening, October 3, both in Bochum and around the world. Initial telemetry analyses indicate that two of the three ERMINAZ-2 satellites are in good condition! ERMINAZ-2X remains a cause for concern, as no signal has been received from it so far. However, the team from AMSAT-DL and the Bochum Observatory hopes that it, too, will make contact soon.

Bochum, October 4, 2026

Peter Gülzow, President of AMSAT-Deutschland e.V.

Thilo Elsner, Vice President of AMSAT-Deutschland e.V. and Director of the Bochum Observatory.