Reprogrammable Satellite is Ready for Launch
A European reprogrammable telecommunications satellite that can be completely repurposed while in orbit has been placed on board a rocket ready for launch on July 30th.
Developed under an ESA Partnership Project with satellite operator Eutelsat and prime manufacturer Airbus, Eutelsat Quantum is the first commercial fully flexible software-defined satellite in the world. Because it can be reprogrammed in orbit, it can respond to changing demands for data transmission and secure communications during its expected 15-year lifetime.
Its beams can be redirected to move in almost real time to provide information to passengers on board moving ships or planes. The beams also can be easily adjusted to deliver more data when demand surges.
The reprogrammable satellite can detect and characterize any rogue emissions, enabling it to respond dynamically to accidental interference or intentional jamming.
In-orbit reprogrammable features will set a new standard in flexibility and will principally address markets that are highly changeable and mobile, for:
Communications on the move: dynamic beam shaping and vessel-tracking capabilities can be optimised for power and throughput as required by maritime, aeronautical and land-based transportation;
Data networks: bespoke design of wide-area networks and dynamic traffic shaping, responding to demand where and when needed;
Government users: rapid response for public protection and disaster recovery as well as secure control using the latest encryption technology.
Eutelsat Quantum is the outcome of an ESA Partnership Project. It is a UK flagship project with most of the satellite developed and manufactured by British industry. Airbus was the prime contractor and was responsible for manufacturing the satellite’s payload, while Surry Satellite Technology Ltd manufactured the new platform.
ESA Partnership Projects develop sustainable end-to-end systems, right up to in-orbit validation.
The agency says its Partnership Projects generate great benefits for industry and member states by fostering the competitiveness of the satcom industry in Europe and Canada, and creating new value-added solutions that would otherwise not be offered.
Moreover, Partnership Projects enable greater risk sharing where ESA bears the risks related to the development of innovative solutions and the operators assume the commercial risks in answer to market needs. Without this partnership approach, many projects would not have emerged because they would have been too risky either technically or commercially.
(Image provided with ESA news release. Video courtesy ESA)
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