Morpheus Space - Ion propulsion system with the help of OpenProject
Every day, mankind launches more and more satellites into space: navigation, internet, remote sensing and earth observation: more and more services are sharing the orbit, and the orbits are becoming ever more crowded and competitive.
Innovative satellite propulsion: Morpheus Space leads the way
As competition increases, so do the demands on the mobility of the satellites themselves - and this is precisely where Morpheus Space offers innovative and sustainable propulsion technology. The company currently not only produces the world’s most advanced propulsion system for satellites, but also offers mission planning software for satellite missions. And OpenProject plays a small part in this.
Image source: GO-2, probably the most advanced propulsion system for satellites in space travel today, comes from Dresden and is being developed with the help of OpenProject - https://www.morpheus.space/media
In ion propulsion, ions from a molten metal alloy are released and accelerated by an electric field. Because these ions are accelerated to a very high speed, the drive technology is highly efficient and is also ideal for small satellites. And all this, according to the manufacturer, is also possible because OpenProject supports project management.
Morpheus Space was founded in 2018 and emerged from research into field emission propulsion (FEEP) technology at a technical university in Germany. The company is dedicated to the ever-increasing challenges of space mobility faced by satellites and spacecraft. Conventional propulsion systems are no longer sufficient to solve the problems faced by satellite operators in orbit: Our orbits are full of debris, and many satellites are about to become space debris themselves.
What was reserved for Star Trek or other Hollywood productions just a few years ago is becoming a reality in Dresden: “Our GO-2 ion propulsion system is the simplest, most efficient and cost- effective propulsion system, and it allows mobility over the entire lifespan,” explains Arne Riemer from Morpheus Space. Morpheus develops its prototypes in Dresden and operates its own thermal vacuum chambers and vibration test facilities. The company only expanded in July 2024 and opened new production facilities with “Reloaded”, in which one hundred ion drives are to be manufactured per year. Photos from the website show the newly built production room, which has been equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
Image source: Morpheus Space Launches New “Reloaded” Factory in Dresden, Germany - https://www.morpheus.space/media
How OpenProject fuels space tech development at Morpheus Space
Arne Riemer is a project manager at Morpheus, he loves “structuring projects”. Riemer comes from an aerospace engineering background and has been working in aerospace for over 10 years, including at large corporations such as RUAG - and, like most of his colleagues, he is very satisfied with OpenProject:
“We use OpenProject in the cloud, mainly because MS Project couldn’t offer us enough agility. Especially in the start-up environment, that’s no longer enough.” OpenProject is also really easy to administer, especially in contrast to Jira: “Jira was too complex for us to manage, the barrier to entry was far too high,” explains Riemer. Because OpenProject then also “remained fully within the expected price range”, both management and users are very satisfied. “I can improve it if I want to, that’s just great with open source software. I have contacts, can push for features and always understand the development process. If I have a problem with Microsoft products, I have to overcome much greater hurdles to get support, whereas companies like OpenProject deal with my requests very quickly,” says the project manager, describing his impression.
In a start-up, it is not sufficient to rely solely on predictions, but at the same time it is not possible to adopt a purely agile approach. Open Project offers the perfect mix of both and enables to use hybrid project management methods.
And OpenProject has been able to assert itself against competitors such as MS Project, especially when it comes to tickets. Even though some workflows still take place in Teams, MS OneNote and Gitlab, Morpheus Space already uses numerous OpenProject modules, from the Work packages, Gantt charts, agile Boards, and gradually also the Team Planner, as well as the Backlogs module.
Morpheus Space is very happy with OpenProject: “We give feedback directly back into the product and we see progress. That’s not always the case for customers working with large proprietary software companies. OpenProject won in almost all categories in the comparison with MS Project.”
