We have been contracted by ATOS, Vienna to supply the C-Band Modems which are part of the Payload Test Systems that they, in turn, will be deliver to Thales Alenia Space, Rome.
These modems (4 deliverables) are similar in terms of functionality to the NDMUs that were delivered by in the frame of the Galileo IOV and FOC programmes. These modems are a derivative of the TTC-IMBU product however for G2G these modems will be based on the new Advanced Baseband Modem (ABBM) architecture.
Galileo is Europe’s civil global satellite navigation constellation, currently the world’s most precise satnav system, offering metre-scale accuracy to more than 2 billion users around the globe. With improved accuracy, the new generation should be able to offer decimeter-scale precision positioning to all users.
These Galileo Second Generation (G2) satellites will revolutionise the Galileo fleet, joining the 26 first generation Galileo satellites in orbit today plus the 12 ‘Batch 3’ satellites currently in production and testing, with a first launch later this year.
Acting on behalf of the European Commission, ESA has signed two contracts for an overall amount of €1.47 billion, to design and build the first batch of the second generation of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites. Following an intense process of open competition, these contracts have been awarded to Thales Alenia Space (Italy) and Airbus Defence & Space (Germany).