London-based OneWeb is coordinating a project that will beam hop satellite signals to maximize their efficiency, reports SatelliteProMe.com. “Joey-Sat,” as the satellite has been nicknamed, intends to aim beams to locations where a boost in coverage may be necessary. The project has garnered approximately US$45M in funding from the Sunrise Programme sponsored by the European Space Agency.
Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications at ESA, Elodie Viau, said, “Joey-Sat will be used to demonstrate how next-generation 5G connectivity can benefit life on Earth. ESA is proud to support the space industry in Europe to bring such innovation to the competitive global telecommunications market. We congratulate all the partners involved.”
Partners include U.K. companies, SatixFy, Celestia UK and Astroscale. So far, SatixFy has received over US$35.3M to develop both the beam hopping payload and the user terminal that will support the satellite. So far, OneWeb has 182 satellites in orbit with plans to launch another 36 within the month. According to CEO Charlie Bloomfield, Satixfy will deliver “the lowest-cost and highest performance electronically-steered multibeam user-terminals on the market” and anticipates “demonstrating new game-changing satellite payload capabilities in space next year.”
Partner Celestia UK will direct its efforts towards the development and testing of smart ground-station technology. The company is looking for ways to reduce the footprint and costs of each ground station. The project includes the use of multibeam electronically steered antennas and to increase the efficiency of the whole ground network. “Gateways and user terminals are key elements in the OneWeb constellation, and Celestia UK’s products will be state-of-the-art and fit for commercial purpose,” stated José Alonso, President of Celestia UK. “We are very proud to be part of Sunrise.”
“Astroscale UK will deliver important innovations in space debris removal, develop new expertise on Harwell Campus, and provide UK commercial leadership to help protect space for future generations,” said John Auburn, Managing Director of Astroscale UK and Co-Chair of the In-orbit Servicing and Manufacturing Working Group at UK space. “Following our ELSA-d mission demonstrations later this year, the Sunrise programme will help to mature our debris removal technologies ready for commercial service launch by 2024.” Astroscale’s Responsible Space debris removal plans have so far received US$3.54M in funding.
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