ESA, in its Sunrise Partnership Project with Eutelsat OneWeb – part of Eutelsat Group – is driving 5G connectivity, at anytime, anywhere even in remote locations. The project, also supported by the UK Space Agency, is demonstrating Eutelsat Group’s 600+ OneWeb satellite constellation capabilities through partnering with two maritime expeditions, Sail for Tomorrow and Polar Pod.
The user terminals, fitted onto the respective expeditions, will be linked to the OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation enabling high-speed, low latency connectivity including the ability to transfer large amounts of data, regardless of location. The terminals themselves come in an array of sizes and form factors to enable connectivity in remote communities, on ships, trains and planes.
The benefits of the constellation and its global reach are the ability to revolutionise disaster response efforts, telemedicine services and more. Through the constellation’s design – which includes the satellites, a global network of ground stations and the user terminals – businesses will be able to establish secure networks wherever their offices or work may be located, airlines will be able to offer uninterrupted in-flight connectivity and transport companies can maintain communication with their fleets across the globe.
Demonstrating these capabilities while supporting ESA Member State scientific research is pivotal to the shared values and missions of ESA, Eutelsat OneWeb and UK Space Agency. Supporting these two French expeditions, showcases the technology’s ability to share research on a global scale, improving the efficiency and capabilities of scientific missions, and allowing researchers to process their data and insights in an instant, regardless of location.
The Sail for Tomorrow expedition is led by a student crew who are sailing from France to Tahiti, promoting the importance of our oceans through their research. The OneWeb constellation will connect to an Intellian half-duplex user terminal on their ship, “Odyssey”, where they will be able to regularly communicate with a primary school in France, bringing their research live into the classroom, inspiring the next generation of scientists and explorers.
Polar Pod, an expedition led by famous explorer Jean-Louis Etienne, is building research facilities in both polar regions. His supply ship, called “Perseverance”, has been using a bespoke user terminal from Eutelsat OneWeb that delivers upload and download speeds of up to 120 Mbps, compared to the current offerings in Antarctica of 1-5 Mpbs. This is enabling Perseverance to share its large amounts of data and exchange crew communications in the toughest of conditions, driving the success of the crew and its mission on each pole of the World.
"Our partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb, supported by the UK Space Agency, exemplifies ESA's commitment to fostering a more connected future,” said Laurent Jaffart, Director of ESA’s Connectivity and Secure Communications. “By enabling high-speed, secure connectivity in even the most remote locations, we're empowering people and businesses across the globe. This demonstration shows European technology is facilitating a world where distance is no longer a barrier to collaboration and progress.”
"The end-to-end connectivity system using Eutelsat OneWeb constellation and user terminals was developed through the Sunrise Partnership Project represent a significant leap in satellite communication technology. The user terminals compact size and ability to link with OneWeb's LEO constellation allow for unprecedented flexibility and performance,” said Khalil Kably, ESA’s Sunrise Programme Manager, “Thanks to the Polar Pod and Sail for Tomorrow expeditions, we’re able to demonstrate their transformative capability and showcase what will become a key difference maker in connectivity for diversity of domains such as businesses and scientific explorations, and the lives of citizens."
“Innovation and collaboration are at the core of what we do at Eutelsat Group. The Sunrise Project demonstrates how our LEO-based OneWeb network can provide vital connectivity to the most extreme and remote environments. We’re excited to be working alongside our partners on these expeditions to facilitate vital research opportunities. Good luck to the teams and crews involved in this groundbreaking work!” said Sara Mugnaini, Manager of Advance Engineering and Technologies at Eutelsat Group.
The Sunrise Partnership Project forms part of ESA’s wider Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) Partnership Project programme, led by the Connectivity and Secure Communications directorate. The programme works with ESA Member States to de-risk and develop technologies to empower its industry to maintain technological and market leadership in space solutions.
