Frequency coverage for weather and science missions in mm-wave and submm-wave radiometers is increasing and it is now possible for Omnisys to commercially offer receivers up to 1-2 THz. For frequencies exceeding 300 GHz, integrated MMIC technology is preferred as it enables performance improvements and allows for more efficient system level implementations.

The activity investigated a novel hybrid magnetic shielding system that uses both passive and active cancelation. The design and simulations used, along with the characterisation and measurements taken on the optimised system, are summarised in the executive summary report, and described in more detail in the Final Report. This activity was divided in two main work packages: study of optimisation and magnetic shield prototype.

The Ka-band frequency (35 GHz) is becoming increasingly attractive for spaceborne remote sensing applications. Unlike other radar bands, the Ka-band enables the development of compact high resolution interferometric instruments and embarking the payloads on a single platform. This creates unique new opportunities in Earth observation science and civil security applications, for instance in monitoring the changing cryosphere, generating high resolution maps of ocean currents and ship and vehicle detection.

For an extended stay on the Moon, humans require habitation with substantial protection from space radiation and micrometeorites. The lunar regolith is a readily available resource in-situ, which can be thermally treated to build lunar habitats/infrastructure and extract oxygen/water. Due to the volumetric heating characteristic intrinsic to microwave heating, it is a more energy-efficient process than solar or laser sintering for large-scale manufacturing and construction.

Commonly used classical cryptographic protocols, such as the RSA-protocol, rely on the hardness of computational problems. With the advent of quantum computing (QC), the hardness assumptions of these problems is nullified, since they can be solved efficiently on a QC. On the other hand, the security of Quantum key distribution (QKD) rests upon the very laws of physics and guarantees information-theoretic security, which not only enables tap-proof communication at present, but also prevents any future technology to crack encrypted messages.

This activity investigates how mega-constellations can be used to provide low-Earth orbit (LEO) spacecraft with broadband low-latency services, a novel Concept with potential to disrupt spacecraft design, operation, and performance by allowing spacecraft to access mega-constellations’ enormous resources (Tbit/s throughputs) and global coverage at a lower cost than traditional data relay systems and ground station networks (two to fifty times cheaper, that is, a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per month for a daily net capacity from hundredths of Gbit up to almost ten Tbit).

This activity is intended to investigate the Grazing Angle (GA) Carrier Phase Altimetry (CaPA) using signals transmitted by the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The CaPA technique requires that the electromagnetic signal reflects coherently rather than in a diffuse regime. The hypothesis is that GA geometries enhance the likelihood of coherence scattering. It was also hypothesized that the combination of signals at slightly different frequency bands could expand the coherence conditions (widelane techniques, WL).

The main objectives of this project were to develop a thruster prototype based on magnetic powder electrostatic propulsion and to test it in vacuum with direct thrust measurements. The aim was to check the robustness of the concept and to measure and calculate important performance parameters such as thrust and specific impulse, to allow a comparison with other thruster technologies. This project demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of electrostatic propulsion based on powder emission.

The issue of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) generated by artificial sources is an increasing problem. Areas affected by the radio spectrum pollution include: Earth Observation using passive and active microwave remote sensing, ground based remote sensing of the atmosphere, space based radio experiments and radiostronomical observations.The current level of RFI contamination on ground based and spaceborne passive sensors is already an issue.