These are dubbed Signals of Opportunity (SOOP).
The Birmingham-based company will be part of a consortium led by Telespazio UK, in a €800,000 contract. This is a subsidiary of its Italian parent company, a 67/33% joint venture between Leonardo and Thales.
For the “System-of-Systems approach”, Novocomms will also be working alongside Eutelsat OneWeb and Cranfield University.
Beamforming
“We are very pleased to be part of this groundbreaking initiative, which will help maintain Europe’s leadership position in satellite communications,” said Dr Sampson Hu, founder and group CEO of Novocomms (pictured).
“Our team, which includes shareholders and technical experts with more than 40 years of antenna-related experience – particularly in millimetre-wave and advanced beamforming technologies – is uniquely positioned to contribute significantly to this innovative effort.”
Hu also highlighted previous Innovate UK backing:
“Our recent work on mmWave CPE funded by an Innovate UK SBRI contract and on a LEO-PNT ground terminal antenna demonstrator for the UK Space agency means we have the right set of skills and experience to contribute to this type of challenge.”
The ESA project is due to complete in 2026.
Telespazio
According to Telespazio UK, the proliferation of mega-constellations in Low Earth Orbit offers new opportunities. Although providing global telecommunication coverage, they also provide a way to diversify navigation signals from space. This is without the need for additional dedicated satellites for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).
The company writes:
“The concept of SOOP Positioning allows a user to determine their position based on signals not designed for navigation. The advantages of utilising satellite SOOP signals are the large number of satellites offering diversity in the number of satellites in the constellation, orbit height, frequency diversity and bandwidth, as well as the signal structure.”
“Newer broadband communications constellations operate at much higher frequencies than previously (typically in the Ku and Ka bands), offering advantages such as being able to estimate time of arrival of signals more accurately. Combining SOOP signals with other sensors such as Inertial Measurement Units and Barometers emphasises the System-of-Systems approach and offers further advantages in integrating these systems.”
Finally, there is also another important advantage. All GNSS signals are also vulnerable to natural interference, deliberate and accidental jamming, and spoofing. An alternative approach potentially offers more resilience and security.
SATSOOP positioning initiative
When originally awarded the contract, in March, Telespazio highlighted the importance of resilience for the positioning initiative.
“This is a great opportunity for us to be part of this important ESA project which will build on the work that has already been done within the Alternative-PNT arena, especially with SOOP concepts,” said Geoff Busswell, Vice President of Business Growth at Telespazio UK.
“We are pleased to be leading such a strong team and look forward to developing new techniques that will help provide position resilience. This kind of resilience is vital for safety, security or defence-based applications, potentially making a difference to our daily lives in the future.”
See also: European Space Agency looks ahead with ESA Strategy 2040
