Celestia TTI’s ambitious five year project to develop UHF band amplifiers using the latest, high performance technology comes to fruition when the SpainSat NG I satellite launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, in just over a week, taking a piece of Cantabria into space.
SpainSat NG I, a satellite destined for the Spanish Armed Forces, represents a milestone in the space industry in Spain, providing enhanced communication capabilities across secure government communications, disaster relief and scientific research.
Part of the SpainSat NG programmes, one of the most important in the field of satellite communications in Europe, the initiative is led by Hisdesat and involves the collaboration of a wide range of Spanish companies, organisations and universities undertaking very advanced technical work.
SpainSat NG I, heralded by Miguel Ángel García Primo, CEO of Hisdesat, as “the most important Spanish satellite in the history of the country”, serves the Spanish Ministry of Defence alongside four European NATO countries, all of them belonging to the small group of nations capable of offering secure communications.
Specialist teams from Celestia TTI have been responsible for the design, development and manufacture of UHF band amplifiers which will enable the satellite to make contact with the earth. They had to create amplifiers capable of transmitting signals in geostationary orbit with a range of about 36,000 kilometres, and robust enough to work in extremely hostile environments.
The amplifiers use advanced GaN technology to give them the power required and underwent rigorous vibration, electromagnetic and vacuum-thermal testing to guarantee their reliability throughout the satellite’s useful life, estimated to be 15 years.