Filtronic has opened a design centre in Manchester, focused on developing mmWave technology for satellite communications, as well as hired several engineers for its design and its process engineering teams. “Establishing the new centre for satellite communication design has enabled us to expand our physical footprint across three UK locations: Sedgefield, Leeds and now Manchester, and has assisted us in ...
Military/Aerospace Electronics
Electronics related to Military/Aerospace
More power/signal contact options for Harwin’s high-rel Gecko-MT connectors
Harwin has expanded the contact layout options of its high-reliability Gecko-MT connectors. There are six additional contact arrangements, with 2 to 6 power contacts and 4 to 24 signal contacts. To give an idea of size: the connectors are 5mm wide. These new ones are non-symmetrical, with 10A (max) power contacts at one end and 2A (2.8A max in one ...
Exobotics wins contract to build GenMat prospecting satellite
UK satellite company Exobotics has won a contract with US firm GenMat to build a remote sensing, prospecting satellite with a hyperspectral imager. Described as a multi-million-pound deal, the satellite – the first of GenMat’s planned constellation – is due to be launched later this year aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare. Specifically, Exobotics will design, manufacture, and test a ...
Eutelsat’s board approves its merger with OneWeb
The board of Eutelsat Communications has announced it has formally approved the planned merger with OneWeb, the satellite communications company partially owned by the UK government. Eutelsat – the Paris-based satellite operator – and the main shareholders of OneWeb (Bharti, the UK Government, Softbank and Hanwha) signed the final combination agreement on 14 November. Under the terms of the deal ...
Spaceport Cornwall finally receives first-ever UK spaceport licence
Formally enabling orbital launch capabilities, Spaceport Cornwall based in Newquay has received the first-ever UK spaceport licence, which has been issued by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). With the imminent launch of a Virgin Orbit rocket, the long-awaited licence means the U.S. company can begin ‘wet dress’ rehearsals ahead of a proposed launch, which would be the first of ...
CogniSat-6 AI-centric CubeSat to boost image optimisation
The UK and Irish companies Open Cosmos and Ubotica Technologies have signed an agreement to deliver CogniSat-6, which they describe as the first AI-centric CubeSat mission to include autonomous capabilities. As part of the agreement, CogniSat-6 will carry the flight proven (TRL-9) CogniSat edge computing platform to LEO (low earth orbit). It will provide reactive re-targeting to optimise image gathering ...
Winners announced for IEEE competition on NTNs Beyond 5G and 6G
The winners of the IEEE Competition on Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) for Beyond 5G and 6G have been announced at the Connecting the World from the Sky conference. First place, and a prize of $10,000, was awarded to a proposed solution for integrating of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, dubbed Multi-Mode High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) for Future Wireless Networks (pictured). It ...
Ofcom updates space spectrum strategy, grants NGSO licences
Ofcom has updated its strategy for supporting space-based communication, its Space Spectrum Strategy. It means satellite operators will be allowed to access more airwaves to provide a wider range of broadband services. This will include non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite systems – orbiting the Earth and tracked by satellite dishes – which can enable services including satellite broadband to homes and ...
Viewpoint: Proprietary data protocols, the true enabler for SatIoT
Building intelligent devices that can seamlessly switch between many technologies – each being optimised for specific conditions – is the soundest approach for SatIoT, writes Fabien Jordan, CEO of Astrocast. With the arrival of cost-effective Satellite IoT (SatIoT), Systems Integrators (SIs) are rushing to meet the huge pent-up demand for global solutions that allow asset tracking across the 85% of ...
JoeySat demo beam-hopping 5G satellite heading for LEO, via Florida
An ESA broadband satellite that was developed in the UK and will be demonstrating next-gen 5G connectivity from low Earth orbit (LEO) is entering its final assembly ahead of launch. Its fully digital beam-hopping and beam-steering payload can switch between different places on Earth up to 1000 times per second, says the agency, and adjust the strength of the communications ...