ISAT WINS VSAT TENDER WITH SUPPORT FROM ARTES ENTRY

Artist’s rendition of Es’hail-2. Image credit: Qatar Satellite Company

UK-based Integrated Satellite Applications Technologies Ltd (iSat) has announced the signing of a contract worth nearly €900,000 to deliver two 2.4 meter VSAT systems to a customer in the Middle East. The two hubs will use the new Ku 14.5 to 14.8 GHz and Ka 24.65 to 25.25GHz frequency bands that are scheduled to come into service with the 3Q 2017 launch by the Qatar Satellite Company of Es'hail-2, which will orbit at 26 degrees East.

iSat is specialised in Ka-band VSAT terminal design. It designs RF feeds and assemblies and develops, installs, trains and supports their implementation worldwide. Established in 2011 and based in Farnborough, the company has extensive VSAT testing and integration facilities.

iSat was able to obtain the contract thanks in part to the support provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) through the Entry element of the ARTES programme. “ESA Entry support was instrumental in helping us deliver solutions based on the new extended Ku- and Ka-band frequencies,” says David Harper, CEO of iSat. “In particular, ESA is helping us in the development of innovative Ka-band feeds with optimized pointing accuracy which gives improved signal quality and faster commissioning times. This contract award required a turnkey solution where the waveguide feeds and orthomode transducers funded in part by ESA is a key differentiator”.

“The iSat contract is a good example of how ARTES Entry helps small but enterprising newcomers get a foothold in the very competitive global space industry,” says Fabrizio De Paolis, Ground Segment Engineer at ESA.

ARTES Entry is designed specifically to support European and Canadian SME Newcomers, which have not worked with ESA within the past ten years. In recognition of the importance of helping newcomers, in December 2015 the ESA Member States raised the co-funding level for ARTES Entry from 50% to 75%.
From: https://artes.esa.int/news/isat-wins-vsat-tender-support-artes-entry

New Contract For Specialized Frequency High-Power Amplifiers Awarded To Communications & Power Industries Through iSat Ltd.

            

PALO ALTO, Calif. and FARNBOROUGH, England–September 12, 2016– The Satcom Division of Communications & Power Industries (CPI) has been awarded a contract from Integrated Satellite Applications Technologies Ltd. (iSAT) for high power travelling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs)operating in the reverse DBS/low Ka-band and extended Ku-band frequency ranges. The amplifiers will be used to support a $1 million award to iSAT by a major satellite operator and service provider in the Middle East for a complete turnkey system.

            “iSat has a proven track record of integrating Ka-band systems at these higher, emerging frequencies and is very pleased to be working with CPI to provide a robust and cost-effective solution to our customer in the Middle East. We look forward to further opportunities to work with CPI in the future,” said David Harper, chief executive officer of iSat.

            CPI is one of the largest manufacturers of high-power communications amplifiers. CPI’s broad line of HPAs includes solid-state power amplifiers(SSPAs), TWTAs and klystron power amplifiers, and the company’s amplifiers are used around the world in fixed and mobile gateways for both military and commercial applications. CPI offers amplifiers in frequencies from S-band to V-band and supports its fielded products with more than 20 service centers worldwide. For more information, contact CPI via the Web at www.cpii.com/satcomsales or call +1 (650) 846-3803.

            iSat designs, manufactures and installs specialized satellite earth stations and very small aperture terminals (VSAT) worldwide, covering frequencies from C-band to Ka-band. In addition to standard-frequency products, iSat manufactures VSATs for operation in X-band and the emerging Ku and Ka frequencies, including the 12.75 GHz to 13.25GHz “Appendix 30B” Ku-band expansion bands and the extended DBS and inverted Ka-bands. For more information contact iSat at www.isatnetworks.com or call +44 1252 750812.

Media Contacts:

Douglas Slaton Marketing Product Manager CPI Satcom Products +1 (650) 846-3947

David Harper CEO iSat Ltd.

iSat reaches major milestone in development of feed tracking for inclined and Ka satellites.

Overview

In January this year iSat Networks (iSat) was awarded a contract by ESA to develop a feed adjustment mechanism, with both manual and motorised operation, to provide improved alignment of Ka-band VSAT antennas and tracking of inclined-orbit satellites up to ~±3° in the C, X- and Ku-bands. The inclined system reduces the costs of using inclined capacity.

Result of Ka band manually feed development 

Figure 1 Illustration of the manually adjusted feed mechanism currently under development

The Ka-band adjustable feed development will provide enhanced RF performance for Ka-band antenna systems and facilitate easier installation by less skilled installers. The unit is available with or without a rear mount BUC bracket which reduces waveguide loss.

Preliminary Results for inclined tracking

The C, X- and Ku-band motorised feed development will provide a simple retrofit solution to enable the tracking of inclined orbit satellites at a substantially lower cost than currently available Az-El tracking systems.

iSat has carried out initial tests of the motorised feed using a 1.8 m offset antenna at Ku-band (11.45 GHz) tracking the beacon on NSS-7 which is operating in a 1° inclined orbit. The tests were conducted at our facility in Cody Technology Park, Farnborough.

The antenna gain pattern is shown below – note a >20dB loss for a 1° mis-point.

The next plot shows the beacon level at the receiver with no feed tracking – in fact the beacon signal is completely lost due to carrier being in the noise, as the satellite oscillates in its inclined orbit

The final plot below shows the beacon level at the receiver when the iSat feed tracking is enabled. The plot shows the feed position alongside the beacon level which remains steady (<1dB variation) and shows no loss of signal associated with the tracking.

The work continues at iSat, and anyone interested can contact us now for more information.

Please note: The views in this publication can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.

iSat officially announce the award of a contract entitled "Robotic Feed Development"

25 February 2016: After a year’s discussion with ESA, and with a support letter from UK Innovate, following a negotiation meeting held at ESA’s office in Harwell on 1st February 2016, iSat LTD (Integrated Satellite Applications Technologies Limited) can officially announce the award of a contract entitled "Robotic Feed Development".

The program will be carried out under a program of, and co-funded by, the European Space Agency.

The project is to develop a feed tracking mechanism for VSAT antennas:-

-              New and retrofit Ku and X-band inclined satellites tracked with ephemeris data, which has lower down-time, lower cost and more precision than current AzEl systems.

-              Mechanically adjusted Ka-band feed holder, for accurately aligning the VSAT installation saving 1-2 dB’s and installation time.

-              Motorised Ka-band feed holder, for professional high accuracy tracking on VSATs using less power and retaining the wind loading of the original antenna manufacturers equipment.

We're able to develop mechanical prototypes for evaluation now and our first motorised products are expected in a few months.

iSat develops innovative VSAT solutions including “Kurtz-above” solutions; integrating Feed design solutions with the latest reflector technology.

For more information please use the "request more information" link above.

iSat will be at Cabsat for further discussion.

Please note: The views in this publication can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.

Terminals

 

iSat have design VSAT terminals for over 20 years. The experience has delivered terminals for X-band, Appendix 30b at Ku band, Reverse Ka band, and high power Ka-band. At higher frequencies, the skill to configure the filters for high power amplifiers with good G/T performance becomes more important, and iSat have a number of solutions designed, installed and working in critical infrastructure.

 

The examples below involve intricate waveguide, filtering and construction, which is an iSat Skill that can be applied to other emerging frequencies.

 

M4 Reverse Ka-band VSAT

X-band VSAT

Appendix 30B VSAT

981 X-band

X-Band 2.4mtr single piece

iSat Services

 

iSat have a range of services supporting products, terminals and infrastructure projects. These services are equally essential to deliver and coordinate with customers procurement teams.

 

Project Scheduling

Integration

FAT testing UK

Delivery DDP

Installation

Training

Documentation

After-sales

iSat Ka-band terminals are available from 27.5GHz to 31GHz because iSat design and manufacture their own feeds for circular or linear polarisations. This skill enables us to connect to some transponders with interesting coverage, some of which are illustrated coverage, some of which are illustrated below.

 

Astra Ka-Band 4A

Es'hailsat Ka-Band

Eutelsat 25B Inverted Ka-band

Eutelsat 8 west a at 8.0 w Ka band

Nigcomsat Ka-Band

Nilesat Ka-Band

Yahsat 1B Ka-band

Recent Case Studies

iSat experience covers many countries across the EMEA region. Monitor and control has been a major feature of many installations, and iSat have experience with a number of customer preferred software systems. Equipment interface range from serial, I/O and SNMP. All equipment is seamlessly presented on a front GUI screen. 

Monitor and Control of Contribution rack for Eritrea TV.

Broadcast market has always been a major market for iSat. Re-fitting CPI amplifiers into a neat range of 3 racks provides a satisfying appearance when installed at the earth station.

System integration Kuwait TV.

Transponders with Ka-band are becoming common. What is not so common is a supplier that has relevant actual experience of supplying, pointing and installing/ commissioning Ka-band VSATs. iSat is the world's leading experience in Ka-band antenna systems at 1.2, 1.8 and 2.4mtr antenna size.

Ka-band hub for Es’hailSat.

Networks and earth stations are commonly required in the middle of nowhere. iSat have experience of providing turnkey deployable hub earth stations which can be dropped into a theatre of operation, but also recovered on conclusion.

X-Band Airbus Defence & Space and UK Government.

In satellite networks, one solution does not fit all applications. iSat is specialist in the configuration of Romantis Universal Satellite Router. With iSat configuration, you can confidentially use full mesh to SCPC structures, while achieving high-efficiency IP networks.

Flexible modem for small to medium VSAT networks.

iSat Integration

iSat have experience of rack and VSAT integration since 1990's and designs can be quickly amended to meet new integration requirements.

Designs available include RF patch panels and shelves containing splitters, combiners, line drivers, with monitor points to front or rear or both. These shelves may can also contain L-band manual or motorised switch, dc inserters, and L-band break out panels for cross-site cables etc.
Design of rack layouts is a speciality which delivers reliable and easy to use layouts. Experience takes into consideration ventilation for electronic equipment, power distribution, cable type, and cable layout for ease of maintenance. Each rack comes with wiring diagram, wiring list with cable numbers, and each cable has that number on each connector.

iSat has built earth station RF communication cabins which are resilient independent equipment rooms with a high level of signal security. Features include redundant 3 phase mains input, redundant air-conditioning, gland and interface panels for waveguide and fibre with designs to hold 2, 3, 4 or 5 racks.

Experience in flyaway and fixed VSAT terminals has created power solutions that can source power from 12 and 24 Volt battery, solar and petrol generators. iSat use only IATA safe Lithium battery compatible with transport by air.

Resilience is available against cold and windy locations where Radomes are required for Ku and X-band VSAT terminals.

These solutions allow iSat to respond with intelligent suggestions for almost any RF integration challenge.