SSTL and Oxford Space
Systems to launch CarbSAR In Orbit Demonstration
mission to showcase innovative Wrapped Rib Antenna
Surrey Satellite
Technology Ltd (SSTL) and Oxford Space Systems (OSS)
have confirmed a partnership to build and launch an
OSS Wrapped Rib antenna mounted to an SSTL CarbSAR
satellite. The In Orbit Demonstration mission
advances both companies’ abilities, with OSS gaining
space heritage, and SSTL building its ability to
integrate capability from new suppliers. The
work has been jointly funded by OSS, SSTL, Airbus
Defence and Space, the National Security Strategic
Investment Fund (NSSIF, HM Government’s corporate
venturing arm for national security and defence
technologies, www.nssif.co.uk ) and the MoD, and is
proving a ground breaking Synthetic Aperture Radar
concept which may be of significant interest to UK
defence ISR strategies in the near to medium term
future.
Surveillance, change
detection and “big data” analytics applications are
driving interest in spaceborne SAR data, to support
day/night and all-weather imaging at a rate faster
than can be achieved with any individual satellite.
This drives demand for much smaller radar satellites
that can be launched within a limited launch volume
in groups, however it is still desirable to retain a
large antenna for better quality imagery. Having a
large, scalable, stowable and lightweight, reflector
antenna provides a number of benefits in designing
small radar satellites for particular applications.
A reflector antenna can also significantly simplify
the radar electronics, making it ideal for
implementing radar on much smaller spacecraft such
as SSTL’s CarbSAR platform.
The Oxford Space Systems
Wrapped Rib Antenna for Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) enables high resolution imaging from small
satellite earth observation missions, irrespective
of weather conditions or daylight. These antennas
deploy carbon-fibre ribs from a central hub to form
a 3m diameter parabolic dish supporting a high
performing metal mesh reflector surface. This UK
developed antenna technology has a uniquely compact
stowed configuration and achieves a highly
cost-efficient performance when deployed in orbit.
The antenna has successfully completed an extensive
ground based test programme, including a Radio
Frequency (RF) test campaign and is now ready to
demonstrate its performance in orbit.
Carbonite is the latest
in a long range of 100kg class smallsat platforms
SSTL has been building in Guildford since the early
1980’s. Carbonite-1 launched in 2015 was an
innovative development mission based on a
commercially available optical telescope. The range
was always designed to be multi-sensor and has
evolved to feature a standard set of core platform
avionics available now with either a high resolution
optical, medium resolution multi-spectral, mid-wave
infra-red or SAR payload. CarbSAR - delivering
high-resolution X-band SAR imagery – sees the SAR
electronics embedded with the standard Carbonite
satellite core avionics in an elegant combination
with the stowable OSS antenna.
Sean Sutcliffe (CEO,
Oxford Space Systems) said:
“This In Orbit Demonstration mission will allow us
to build on our relationship with SSTL and
accelerate our product development and
industrialisation programme for the game changing
Wrapped Rib SAR antenna. The support of NSSIF is a
huge vote of confidence in the technology and the
capability of Oxford Space Systems to support future
UK requirements. I am delighted that the antenna for
the IOD mission is being built in our newly
commissioned facilities that will establish our
production capability for future export sales ”
Andrew Cawthorne,
Business Development Director of SSTL, said:
“Announcing a new satellite mission is one of the
most exciting things we get to do here at SSTL. And
that excitement is amplified when the mission in
question is CarbSAR, a variant of our Carbonite
range, and a mission part-funded by our Shareholder
Airbus Defence & Space. CarbSAR is a compelling UK
success story on its own, as well as a necessary
step towards the bigger spacecraft required for the
UK’s Space ambitions. The integration of our latest
generation 100Kg Satellite platform and SAR
electronics with OSS’s revolutionary wrapped rib
antenna is a mission we will be very proud to
launch.”
An NSSIF spokesperson
said:
"NSSIF is delighted to be collaborating with Oxford
Space Systems and supporting their plan to
industrialise delivery of antennas to satellite
constellation programmes. Working with businesses
like Oxford Space Systems contributes to NSSIF’s
objectives of accelerating the adoption of future
national security and defence capabilities and
supporting development of the UK’s dual-use
technology ecosystem”.
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