REAL LIFE NEWS: NEW CONFIGURABLE SATELLITE TO BE DEVELOPED IN THE UK
by Hazed
The European Space Agency has approved the development of a new type of telecommunications satellite, which will be built in the UK.
The Quantum satellite will be ground-breaking (or space-breaking) because it will be reconfigurable in orbit. Usually, satellites’ major mission parameters, such as their ground coverage pattern and operating frequencies, are set before launch and cannot be changed, but the new satellite will have the flexibility to take on new roles at any time.
“The beauty of Quantum is that it uses active antennas on the uplink to the spacecraft and on the downlink to the Earth,” explained James Hinds from Airbus, one of the private companies which is developing the satellite in partnership with the ESA.
“Active means the coverage – where you point – can be moved around at the touch of a telecommand through a process called software definition. This means, for example, you can put power where the market demands it, or, and this does happen, you can change your coverage to mitigate interference in places where someone is unintentionally, or even intentionally, jamming your signal.”
Quantum will probably end up relaying video, data, telephone calls and broadband connectivity to a range of customers – some static, some on the move.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33460441
