Assessments to Prepare and De-Risk Technology Developments - Characterisation of a Liquid Crystal on Silicon Based Laser Beam Steerer for Applications in Free Space Optical Satellite Communications in Low Earth Orbit. 

Up to now, the RF Safe Operating Area (SOA) of a process is evaluated by performing, at Room Temperature, RF step stress tests and RF life testing on specific parts and for specific applications only. In order to establish the complete RF SOA of a process, i.e. the RF SOA covering the main applications of a process, the two following main testing need to be done. Firstly, RF step stress tests and RF life testing will be performed on several MMIC designs and/or discrete parts, specifically chosen to be representative of the main applications of 2 major European millimeter-wave processes.

The inertial navigation market has a need for accelerometers with high sensitivity, low noise, low cost and low power consumption. ESA has identified high accuracy accelerometer units as a priority in a 2019 roadmap. The current state of art products are not able to deliver. Here we introduce a novel accelerometer design, using concepts originally developed for gravitational wave detector physics, which will enable an accelerometer to meet these requirements.

The goal of the project was to develop a service as a product to simplify fitting DNN (Deep Learning Neural Networks) in on board HW to make better use of AI on space missions The role of the service is to support data processing engineers in reducing HW resources requirement of powerful DNN for image analysis to be executed onboard. 

Electrical, Electronic and Electro-mechanical (EEE) components play an essential role in the functional performance, quality, life cycle and costs of space systems. EEE components are fundamental building blocks of any spacecraft and major drivers in determining their performances. Guaranteeing access to EEE components able to provide the necessary performances to comply with the requirements of future satellite missions is of paramount importance to maintain a successful and autonomous satellite manufacturing capabilities.

Space qualified Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical (EEE) components are often considered as very expensive compared to automotive products that exhibit similar and sometimes better performances with a demonstrated quality and reliability. Therefore, the use of automotive EEE parts might be considered as a potential solution to decrease the cost of component of a spacecraft. However, the suitability for space application of the automotive products shall be demonstrated.

The activity consists in the development of a voltage clamp integrated circuit to be used in power conversion and distribution architectures based on Point of Load (or linear) regulators. Such functions are currently based on discrete whit corresponding drawbacks and limitations.