A €5 million ESA contract has been awarded to COM DEV Europe Ltd. for the development of Swiftbroadband for Satellite (SB-SAT) technology that, in combination with the Inmarsat-4 satellite constellation, will give LEO satellites the capability to provide globally, and in near real time, constant access to Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) and low rate (up to 475 kbps) payload data transmission via the existing Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) system.
Currently LEO satellites can only communicate with the ground during the ten minute period when they fly over a dedicated ground station. Satellites have to be designed to store data until the satellite passes over a ground station and therefore real-time data cannot be provided to users.
In the SB-SAT architecture the LEO satellite hosts an SB-SAT terminal that communicates during its orbit with the Inmarsat-4 GEO satellite via an L band inter-satellite link. The LEO terminal utilises the existing Inmarsat-4 satellites and BGAN ground network capabilities in a similar way to a ground or aeronautical BGAN terminal.
“The SB-SAT project is a new way of controlling and monitoring LEO satellites and it shows the potential of using telecommunication satellite based technology in support of other space missions,” said Mr. Domenico Mignolo, ESA technical officer for this project.
The ESA contract covers the development of the SB-SAT engineering qualification model of the SB-SAT transceiver and the modifications required to the commercial Inmarsat BGAN network elements.
The space qualified SB-SAT will be certified to operate within the BGAN service portfolio. Working in partnership with Inmarsat (UK) and Broad Reach Engineering (US), COM DEV Europe will act as the technical lead and coordinator of the terminal hardware development and integration efforts, with support from Broad Reach Engineering. COM DEV will also lead the radio frequency (RF) systems engineering effort and the development of RF hardware. Inmarsat will lead the system and ground infrastructure development and perform end-to-end system verification and approval.
Inmarsat, COM DEV Europe and Broad Reach Engineering have signed a Teaming Agreement for the commercial roll-out of the SB-SAT terminal and associated service provision. The Broad Reach participation in the project is covered by this agreement with COM DEV and its work is not funded by ESA. A first flight opportunity for the SB-SAT technology has been already secured by the industrial consortium through a contract awarded to Inmarsat by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
“COM DEV and its partners believe that this concept could revolutionise the way in which operators use and control LEO spacecraft and may stimulate new mission concepts that can utilise '24/7' access to TTC and Payload data. The team is excited to be working with ESA and getting the benefit of their expert advice in developing this innovative new service,” said Mr. Rob Goldsmith Business Development Director of COM DEV Europe.
The ESA contract is split into two phases and the work is expected to be completed by mid 2012 with the delivery of the terminal engineering qualification model and the BGAN network adaptations.
For more information, see the links located in the column to the right.
