Munich Startup: Who are you and what does Dcubed do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Thomas Sinn: We are Dcubed – Deployables Cubed GmbH – and have our office and laboratory in Gilching and Germering near Munich. Dcubed was born out of the idea that, especially for small satellites, there were no cost-effective and readily available release mechanisms available in Europe. Founding team consists of Thomas Lund, Alexander Titz, Joram Gruber, and me, Thomas Sinn. We are all experts in aerospace.
Will there soon be less space junk in space thanks to Dcubed?
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Thomas Sinn: Space travel is moving toward ever more powerful applications on ever smaller satellites, which are launched into space by the hundreds. These satellites are standardized so that many fit into the rocket. But powerful applications in space require large structures. For example, solar panels for more energy, large antennas to transmit data, and space sails to remove space debris. However, these structures are too small to fit into the rocket.
That's why the idea is to make them deployable – so to speak, small in the rocket and large in space. At Dcubed, we're focusing on precisely this development: deployable structures for these small and micro satellites. You can imagine them a bit like an umbrella, which is initially folded and then unfolds when needed. Our first product, the actuator, is essentially the button that triggers this deployment.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Thomas Sinn: Not really here in Europe. The spacecraft available in Europe are designed more for large and expensive satellites and not really for New Space small and micro-satellite applications. Competing products from America are almost always subject to export restrictions such as ITAR and EAR. (Editor's note: ITAR = US Regulations on International Arms Trade; EAR = US Export Administration Regulations).
Munich Startup: What have been your three biggest challenges so far?
Thomas Sinn: Good question. There have been many challenges in the last year alone. I would name the following three:
- Shifting marketing from physical conferences and trade fairs to virtual events
- Securing further financing through investments and subsidies
- Startup life in Covid-19 times and celebrating the milestones achieved
“With this investment we can accelerate immensely”
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Thomas Sinn: With the Seed investment from HTGF and ILV We can significantly accelerate the development and space qualification of our products. We aim to have completed this by the end of this year and have already flown our products into space one or two times. In five years, we aim to be the market leader in the field of actuators and deployable structures for small and micro satellites.
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Thomas Sinn: We highly value Munich as a startup hub. The opportunities for networking, continuing education, and support have helped us tremendously over the past two years. Munich is also an ideal location for space travel, with its locations in Garching, Oberpfaffenhofen, and Ottobrunn. 'New Space' is a big deal in Munich.
Munich Startup: Hidden champion or shooting star?
Thomas Sinn: Hidden champion!
