Jamie Bennet
CesiumAstro completed an over-the-air demonstration of a Ka-band satellite communications terminal it developed with SES and Hughes Network Systems.
The OTA demo, which took place in Austin, Texas, focused on the connectivity of CesiumAstro’s terminal with SES’ geosynchronous orbit satellite and Hughes’ HM400 software-defined modem located at a ground station in Maryland, the companies said Thursday.
CesiumAstro has been grooming its scalable Ka-band active phased array satcom terminal for commercial and military applications.
In the latest trial, the system enabled the demo team to perform activities common in commercial flights as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions of unmanned aircraft systems. Tasks included surfing the internet, streaming videos and receiving a live webcam feed from a remote location.
“The Hughes team is proud to join CesiumAstro and SES in demonstrating the power and flexibility of satellite connectivity in meeting mission requirements of the U.S. Department of Defense,” said Rick Lober, vice president and general manager of Hughes’ defense and government systems division.
