Airbus Defence and Space joins European “Beacon” project on lighter and more capable photonic telecoms satellite payloads

29 May 2014

Airbus Defence and Space has joined the European project “Beacon” that focuses on the development of key photonic technologies for future high-capacity and energy-efficient telecommunication satellites.  

As part of the “Beacon” project Airbus DS is studying how terrestrial photonics and fibre-optic technologies could be used on future spacecraft to save mass and also increase capacity on high throughput satellites. Another goal is to enable future telecoms satellites to be more energy efficient compared with conventional telecoms satellite repeater systems deployed today.   

Javad Anzalchi, Space Systems Payload Product Development Manager said: “Airbus Defence and Space has always been a leading innovator within satellite telecommunications and “Beacon” will ensure we remain at the forefront of future technology development. Using light to move signals around on telecoms satellites will be the next revolution and mean we can offer more efficient and more powerful satellites to our customers.”