For planet earth and beyond
The latest type of telecommunication satellite that can respond from space to changing demands on Earth is about to start assembly of its electronic components.
The highly flexible satellite is setting a new paradigm for geostationary telecommunication satellites, by using off-the-shelf commercial components in the standardised physical hardware and using just software to configure bespoke missions.
UK start-up Darwin Innovation Group has recently launched a fully autonomous passenger shuttle at Harwell Campus, that is utilising integrated satellite and 5G communications for seamless operation. With the support of ESA and the UK Space Agency, the 1-year pilot phase of the project will demonstrate the performance of such vehicles in a real-world environment and investigate all related aspects, including user demand and insurance.
The European Space Agency (ESA), RHEA System Luxembourg, LuxSpace Sarl, Aurora Insight and the European Business Reliance Centre (EBRC) are joining forces for the development and deployment of a European Spectrum Monitoring System leveraging their respective core capabilities. A Memorandum of Intent (MoI) was signed last week in Luxembourg by Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications at ESA, together with industry representatives.
A Research Fellowship position with ESA’s Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (TIA) Directorate is now open at the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) in Oxfordshire, UK. The Directorate is responsible for co-ordinating, shaping and supporting innovation in satellite telecommunications and for promoting applications that combine space-based telecommunications, Earth observation and navigation systems.
Efforts to enable seamless connectivity and reduce the digital divide by using telecommunications satellites to enhance terrestrial 5G services have leapt forward.
A small European telecommunications satellite intended for launch into geostationary orbit some 36 000 kilometres above the Earth – which can be used as a basis for future satellites – has won support from ESA.
Ambitious plans to expand the nascent space industry in Greece – enabling the digital transformation of society while creating jobs and generating prosperity – have received a fillip from ESA.
Space-enabled 5G technologies – which will transform connectivity and reinforce the internet of things – have come a step closer, thanks to the formation of a new partnership.
Plans to create a network of satellites that supply data from space to improve life on Earth have entered a new phase.
Keeping information secure is becoming ever more important in today’s interconnected digital world.