Projects

The RF2D-D2RF project (direct Digital to RF and vice-versa), basing on the data converters manufactured by E2V within the ESA deep submicron technology activity, has concretely removed analog frequency conversions directly processing L band signals in digital. The performances of the RF digitization/generation hardware demonstrator have been analytically modelled and measured for a triple RF2D and D2RF beamforming-ready chain.

To improve the flexibility of the individual satellite, TESAT has developed the new product line of Flexible Programmable Microwave Power Modules (FPMs). The subject of this program lies on the development of a EPC/LCAMP assembly for higher power class FPM in the currently most frequently employed frequency band for telecommunication payloads, a 300W Ku-Band Single FPM. Additionally a qualification campaign is to be conducted using an EQM EPC/LCAMP assembly with a representative 300W TWT.

The aim of the activity was to qualify an EQM for a Circular OMT for complete K/Ka-Band (TX: 17.7-20.2GHz & RX: 27.0 – 30.0 GHz) suitable for multibeam applications.

The SATURN project is oriented to the development of “on-board” technologies required to enable maritime versatile applications to be built on future S-band based service platforms.

The HeHPV – short for “Helium High-Pressure Vessel” – is an innovative, light-weight, cost-competitive composite-overwrapped tank for storage of helium pressurant gas for satellite propulsion systems. Based on a common diameter, a tank family range of 50-75 l has been qualified for current and future satellite demands.

The project has succeeded in the design, manufacturing and experimental verification of a demonstrator antenna design able to operate simultaneously at both the Ku and Ka-bands.
The challenges have proved hard due to the wide bandwidth that the system must cover operationally.
The system includes a monopulse output thought for helping in the pointing of such a large antenna bor Ka-band operation.
The final system has achieved a very good performance and paves the way for the implementation of these kind of systems at customer premises.

The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test two Ku-Band IMUX channel EMs (narrow and wide band) to demonstrate mass and size reduction of at least 25% compared to conventional dielectric filter technology.

The CM Std Evo 1 project aims to improve the flexibility of the SPACEBUSTM 4000C Communication Module (CM) concerning the accommodation and the evolution of the payload and consequently to reduce the duration of the accommodation phase at the beginning of the project.

The input multiplexer and the low power circulators are crucial components in a satellite communication payload. In modern multimedia satellites the complexity of the payload is increased by adding more and more signal processing features to the simple amplification, and the role of the input multiplexer therefore becomes even more pronounced. The project focuses on C- and Ka-band circulators and isolators.

Tesat has developed a demonstrator model of a Ku-Band TTC transponder within a DLR funded project. Through this demonstrator the principal functions and performance of the equipment has been verified. However, for customer acceptance with respect to future flight applications it is essential to demonstrate the maturity by an engineering qualification model (EQM).
Within this Artes 3-4 activity the demonstrator model has been redesigned to incorporate several improvements and to include the latest customer requirements, concerning especially increased frequency agility. An EQM was manufactured and submitted to a qualification test campaign.

The aim of this activity is to develop an EQM model for a Ka Band Preselected filter with a compact design and low insertion losses for comsat's payloads and also to be placed after the antennas.
This filter is used in the payload to filter the up-link corresponding to the commercial band defined within Ka Band. This component is placed between the reception antennas and the input of the IMUXES.

Through the Artes-34 R&D project “2nd Generation Command Receiver” (“Rx2”) with ESA, Norspace has developed and successfully qualified the frequency agile Command Receiver. The EQM was qualified both as a Ku-band and a C-band Command Receiver in two different test campaigns. In addition the program has also prepared the receiver for Ka-band operation.

The project was divided into two phases, Phase 1 and Phase 2.

The main objectives of the Phase 1 project activities were to:
• Establish status for conventional- and laser pyrotechnics
• Establish requirements for a satellite optopyro system

The main objectives of the Phase 2 project activities were to:
• Design and build breadboard based on Phase 1 conclusions
• Verify the function and performance of the breadboard

Through the Artes-34 R&D project “Ku Baseband Converters for Digital Transparent Processors” (“KuBB”) with ESA, Norspace has developed and successfully qualified the two frequency converter units for conversion between Ku and Baseband frequencies. The up- and down-converter units are tailored for use on advanced High Throughput Satellites using digital transparent processors.

Spread spectrum modulation has important advantages, compared to classical standard modulation, allowing simplification of the frequency allocation plan, discrimination between signals or users being done by the spreading code, and also being less sensitive to any impairing signal.
This study driven by Airbus Defence and Space aims at dimensioning such a system for collocated fleet and hosted payloads management.

The project consists in developing new and denser products offering a broader range of modulation standards for the broadcast market. DVB-S2X capable, multi-stream, multi-carrier modems, modulators and demodulators provide innovative solutions for any broadcast related satellite link.

This project comprised the development of an Optical to IF Switch, based on the Romeo and Juliet chipset, which acts as the optical receiver for a DVB-S optical distribution system, providing outputs connecting to 16 STBs The unique features of this unit is that it allows additional units to be connected enabling more than one orbital slot to be received.

The study explored new On-Ground BeamForming (OGBF) techniques and architectures for both fixed and mobile applications and provided a roadmap for their implementation.
Different mission scenarios, spanning both fixed and mobile applications, were considered for assessing the key technical and commercial benefits which could be obtained with the proposed techniques.

The Pleiades project is based on 2 satellite communications modem physical layer development tracks, bringing new IP connectivity solutions to the corresponding 2 market segments:
A consumer oriented market on one side (addressed by Newtec’s Sat3Play™ solution, deployed in star VSAT networks).
High end professional markets on the other side (addressed by Newtec’s Elevation™ products, deployed in point to point networks).

The Space Single Channel Emulator (Space-SCE) is a test bed designed to digitally emulate simultaneously the behavior of one forward and one return channels of a satellite Payload, i.e. all the RF phenomena arising between one gateway, and up to 300 terminals receiving communications through one transponder.

The SPACEBUS G3 activities group two products: A Slip Ring Collector (SRC) and an Absolute Angular Sensor (AAS). The aim of this activity was to perform the manufacturing, integration, assembly and qualification of one G3 Slip Ring and one G3 AAS. These activities are the follow up phase of an ARTES 5.2 project, which consisted in the design of G3 SRC and AAS.

This project covers bread-boarding an efficient spectral monitoring concept design and its validation using realistic in-space spectral sensing scenarios. Dynamic sensing within the C-, Ku- and Ka-bands are targeted, considering the integration aspects with commercial satellites to achieve minimal impact in terms of size, weight, power consumption and complexity. The project targets a proof-of-concept architectural design and not a direct equipment design.

Iris is Europe’s latest development in satellite-based aviation safety services. The Iris Service Evolution is looking into the technology, operational and strategy roadmap to meet the long term requirements for air traffic control services aligned with the SESAR Future Communication Infrastructure objectives. It follows the activities conducted in the Iris Precursor project which intends to provide initial services by 2019 to complement the existing terrestrial data link services.

ANTARES (AeroNauTicAl REsources Satellite based) is the phase B study, within the Iris programme, designing a new Satellite Communication System for Air Traffic Management. The study focuses on the development of a new satellite-based communication system including low-cost user terminals and an open satellite communication standard, entirely designed around aviation’s requirements

The Radio Frequency performances of LNA components on-board telecommunication satellites are proportional to the temperature at which they are kept. The lower it is, the better are the performances. This project focuses on the implementation of a Thermo Electric Cooler (TEC) for the temperature control of the component, optimizing masses, size and power consumption, outside the LNA hermetic sealing.

Thales Alenia Space France, has been leading this study along with TAS-E, Inmarsat and the University of Bologna.
The main objective was to define the technology roadmaps that need to be implemented by the European and Canadian industry players to be able to deploy Next Generation MSS systems, in L and Ka bands, in two stages, one called Benchmark Systems, and the other called Advanced Systems.

VSATs link quality is very dependent on the tropospheric situation along the fixed slant path between the terminal and the satellite. The SatcomWeather project seeks for support of VSAT operators in optimizing networks and data throughput over time by classifying stations with optimization potential, optimize thresholds for installations, and derive weather data from the VSAT-measurements.

During the recent decades, Harmonic Drive AG built up a good and reliable technical and application know-how in industrial applications, mainly precision and high-demanding ones.
Similar expertise was gained now for space applications by the development, design, integration and testing of Harmonic Drive ® gears which are to be used in reliable, weight and performance optimised space mechanism.

The development provides a cost efficient on-board processor solution for applications using either RF signals or data collection services. Low bandwidth missions, such as Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Machine-To-Machine (M2M) communication have been targeted, as well as more general applications such as spectrum survey, geo-location and general data collection services.

The objective of this ARTES3-4 project is to design, manufacture and qualify an Engineering Qualification Model of a Selectable Sub-Reflector Antenna. This new Rx/Tx antenna product aims to cope with coverage flexiblity needs in Ku band. This antenna is steerable and able to generate 1 shaped or pencil beam among 4 possible. The antenna is in dual optics Gregorian configuration, it is composed of 4 shaped sub-reflectors. The desired sub-reflector is positioned in front of the feed thanks to a rotary actuator.

Overview of the opportunity and the commercial strategy
The opportunity exists for the development and subsequent implementation of a reliable, L-Band satellite communications antenna within the wing of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for use in missions in which the RPA operates Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) in a remote area with little, or no, reliable telecommunications infrastructure.
Currently available satellite communications antennas, suitable for operating on mobile platforms, for use with the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband service, come in two varieties:
• a mechanically steered helical antenna is typically found in a satcom terminal that is mounted on a moving ground vehicle. The drawback of this antenna is the lack of reliability of the mechanically steered antenna for regular use in an RPA operating BLOS.
• A blade (shark fin) type omnidirectional antenna, is as in the Cobham SB-200 terminal shown in the above photograph. We have tested this satcoms terminal on our Inview RPA. The drawback of this satcoms terminal is (1) the price and (2) the omnidirectional antenna spraying the other antennas on the RPA with electromagnetic signals, creating interference.

The commercial opportunities for the use of a reliable RPA in civilian BLOS applications are:
• oil, gas and mineral exploration activities, requiring geophysical surveys in remote locations.
• Oil pipeline and related infrastructure monitoring.
• Land and maritime border patrol.
• Small cargo transportation from hub to hub.
• Radio relay node to interface satcoms capability with inexpensive radio transceivers (such as the PMR 446 transceiver) used by ground personnel.

The commercial strategy to exploit this work is as follows:
• BML will provide the L-Band ESTARR antenna as an OEM unit for other RPA developers to incorporate within their RPA.
• BML will provide a vertically integrated (data gathering to and including data analytics), managed service, in which the Inview RPA fitted with a reliable ESTARR antenna is used in civilian BLOS applications.
• BML will use the 5.8 GHz ESTARR antenna to relay data between the RPA and the Remote Pilot Station when the RPA is within Radio Line of Sight.
• BML will use the 5.8 GHz ESTARR electronically steerable antenna technology as a basis for the future development of a satcom antenna operating from 5.030 GHz to 5.091 GHz.

Ka-METROCAL aims to demonstrate the feasibility and use of a novel automated RF path calibration system for gateway stations of broadband satellite networks operating in Ka-band spectrum. Ka-METROCAL outperforms traditional approaches by applying proven calibration concepts that rely on the use of a broadband white noise source to characterize a receiver chain gain or attenuation.

Unfolding the synergies of star trackers and gyroscopes, ASTROgyro™ establishes a reliable and performant attitude determination system by combining Jena-Optronik’s successful ASTRO star tracker series, as source of absolute and drift-free attitude information based on star pattern recognition, with the broad dynamic range and low noise rate spectrum of inertial sensing technology.

Telecom satellite missions with multibeam coverage up to Ka-band embark large aperture antennas with increased focal length and/or large reflector clearance. An Antenna Deployment and Pointing System (A-DPS) is required to accommodate such antennas on Eurostar 3000.
The study objective is to assess the reflector assembly impacts on Antenna pointing performances, and define the required Antenna Tracking System (ATS) product evolutions to meet the mission pointing requirements.

One of the problems of traditional MLI is the reflection of radio (particularly microwave) frequencies in its metallized surface. Such reflection equates to the one of a perfect electric conductor, and poses a significant problem to the communication branch of the mission. In this study HPS attempts to develop an MLI which is able to manage such reflections, and minimize them to an insignificant level.

The overall objective of this activity is to design and develop a high performance Local Oscillator. The intention is to demonstrate that exceptionally low phase noise can be achieved by optimizing all elements in a PLL and VCO.

The main technical objective is to evaluate the current state of the art in commercial supercapacitor technologies suitable for a space grade capacitor that can increase the specific energy density beyond 6Wh/kg.

The Project aims at fully characterize some new air interfaces, like CPM (Continuous Phase Modulation) and SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Domain Multiple Access), and techniques, like TSS (Time Slot Sharing) in a MESH Overlay Networking based on DVB-S2/RCS2 specifications in terms of achievable system performance.

Low phase noise voltage controlled oscillators (VCO) with relatively wide tuning range represent one of the key challenges in the design of flexible frequency converters for telecom payloads.
There, the requirements for the VCO’s are very demanding. The VCO must exhibit low phase noise in order to meet the bit error requirements of complex modulation schemes The performance requirements of wide VCO tuning range and low phase noise are contradicting.