SatixFy, the UK-based satellite communication technology company, has announced the availability of functional samples of its chipset products, conceived and produced in record time.
Two new satellite communication chips have been produced as part of an ambitious programme of growth over the last two years, in close collaboration with the European Space Agency.
Funding from the ARTES Core Competitiveness programme currently supports four SatixFy contracts. Key activities of these projects have been to develop two silicon chips which work in tandem to provide an innovative functionality for electronic steered antennas.
The intelligent communication between these next-generation chips makes it possible to construct truly flat antennas, or even conformal antennas of any size. Each antenna can generate multiple beams to communicate with multiple satellites.
The design ingenuity lies in the fact that the number of chips can be increased in line with the number of antenna elements, making the architecture fully modular (the same ‘building block’ can be used for multiple applications) and scalable. This innovation not only has immediate benefits for the business but has wide-reaching implications in its everyday application; facilitating the development of products and services from which a number of users and stakeholders can benefit.
“SatixFy have been able to rapidly solve an issue that has remained one of the great challenges facing the satellite industry,” says Fabrizio de Paolis, Ground Segment Engineer at the European Space Agency (ESA). “There is now a concrete opportunity for the satellite industry to enjoy high-volume production and consequent low costs per unit for a variety of applications.”
“We are pleased that SatixFy has achieved this important milestone and is moving fast to fulfil their ambitions,” says Domenico Mignolo, Head of Ground Segment Technologies & Product section at ESA. “The activity demonstrates the added value of ARTES Core Competitiveness in supporting Industry to develop innovative and competitive products.”
Yoel Gat, CEO of the SatixFy Group said: “For the first time in the satellite industry we can offer complete, low-cost integrated terminals and truly address in-flight connectivity as well as mass markets like connected cars and IoT (Internet of Things).”
He elaborated on the company’s recent growth: “Becoming an integral part of the UK space industry, with the support of the UK authorities and ESA, has been one of the most successful business decisions SatixFy has taken. It is remarkable what we have been able to achieve within a short period… we have established two successful design centres and designed our first chips. Having two new chips ready in two years is a world class achievement. ESA’s contribution to our program was significant, not only in terms of the financial support but also in terms of the guidance, advice and experience ESA shared with us throughout the program.”
SatixFy double its operations
Rapid growth of SatixFy’s UK operations means that more than half of the company now work in the UK hubs in Farnborough and Manchester. Originally located in Hong Kong and with the first design centre set up in Israel back in 2012, SatixFy now has 180 employees worldwide. The company has invested €15 million across its UK centres and other UK contractors, including Cadence and TVS. SatixFy plan to continue to grow their UK infrastructure and use it as a base for their future electronically steered antennas and satellite payloads product lines.
SatixFy celebrated this phenomenal period of growth at an event at the Churchill War Rooms in London on the 8th November, where they announced the availability of their sample chips and evaluation boards.
