As mentioned earlier in SpaceQ, the Canadian Space Agency has announced funding for a variety of new space technologies as part of the Space Technology Development Program. Today we look at Honeywell Aerospace who received two contracts for next-gen satellite technologies; One for their Integrated Assembly for (the) Next Evolution Satellite, and the other for their Optical Inter Satellite Links (OISL) Communication subsystem.
The contracts may serve somewhat as a validation of Honeywell’s acquisition of the former COM DEV Ltd. COM DEV has been a well-respected Canadian satellite manufacturer based out of Cambridge and Ottawa in Ontario that fell on hard times several years back due to to the downturn in orders for the GEO satellite market. We discussed this last year in our interview with Honeywell’s Marina Mississian, Senior Director of Global Space Systems. The former COM DEV had to manage significant layoffs as it worked to reinvent and reposition itself for this new era of intense deployment of LEO constellations. These awards may be a good sign for the Greenhouse Incubator they had created in Ottawa at the time.
Both of these awards are related to satellite components. In an interview with SpaceQ, a Honeywell Aerospace Chief Engineer explained that the “integrated assembly for next evolution satellites” award addresses the need to upgrade GEO satellites to meet the competition from the new LEO constellations. GEO satellites can no longer serve as mere information relays, but are slowly transforming into smarter, flexible, and more agile communication hubs for both ground-to-ground and sat-to-sat transmissions. Their work involves developing a subassembly of 64 filters and low noise amplifiers — as well as a distribution power network and beam shaping technology — that help give these satellites their upgraded capabilities and allow satellite operators to manage and control them from the ground.
The other award is focused on LEO satellites — specifically, on aiding in the development of Optical Inter Satellite Links (OISL). OISL convert incoming and outgoing optical signals to and from other satellites and from terrestrial sources. There’s a strong push away from radio frequency transmissions (like the Ka-band transmissions described above) towards optical transmission due to perceived improvements in speed, security, data rates, and lower power consumption. This technology is seen as vital in making LEO constellations viable — but as yet it’s been cost-prohibitive.
Hugh Podmore, a Senior Optical Systems Engineer with Honeywell explained how they’re working to make this technology viable. Instead of “reinventing the wheel,” they’re testing off-the-shelf commercial fibre-optic transceivers to learn if they can endure the rigours of space. Podmore and his team are looking to prove that at least one of these transceivers is worthy of classification as a “TRL6-level” device, meaning that it can function in a simulated space environment. If a transceiver is determined to be worthy, it will be placed inside a larger assembly with a telescope, tracking system, and gimballed mirror that gives it targetable laser communications capabilities, and tested for possible deployment in space.
In a statement provided to SpaceQ, Marina Mississian made the following comments on Honeywell’s STDP awards:
The dramatic changes we’ve experienced in 2020 have clarified the critical role that high-speed internet serves in our modern economy and personal lives and have reinforced our need for the creation of a new, global, space-based internet infrastructure.
Eventually, networks of orbiting satellites, so-called ‘mega-constellations’ will provide this high-speed internet with global coverage, enabling an unprecedented expansion of internet access throughout under-served and under-connected communities in Canada and around the world. The satellites within these mega-constellations will be connected as a network using high-speed laser communication links, which will become the new pathways for internet traffic. Through the STDP program, and with the support from the CSA, Honeywell is proudly helping build the internet of the future by developing key technologies to enable these laser communication links including optical telescopes and beam-steering assemblies that can be mass manufactured in high-volume at a fraction of the cost of traditional space optics.
The consistent and frequent investments from STDP grants are supporting our technology roadmap to capture new markets. The STDP grants received on Optical communications have enabled Honeywell to accelerate the technology readiness level that is driving a lot interest in both the commercial and military free-space optical communications market.
Both projects are scheduled to be complete by the end of the two-year award period.