Jane Edwards
Isotropic Systems and SES Government Solutions have completed the first of a two-phase trial program meant to assess the capability of a multibeam antenna to provide warfighters access to real-time data through multiple military and commercial satellites.
Isotropic and SES GS conducted the initial phase of the trials with the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army in the U.S. and the U.K. as part of the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet program, the companies said in a joint release published Thursday.
During the first-phase tests, the companies demonstrated the capability of Isotropic Systems’ optical multibeam antenna to track SES’ O3b satellites in medium-Earth orbit. They were also able to demonstrate the transformational optics at the core of the beamforming terminal.
The second phase of the DEUCSI trials will look at the antenna’s capability to link with SES satellites in both MEO and geostationary orbits. These tests are expected to conclude in 2021.
“The armed forces and defense agencies are incredibly good at acquiring actionable information, but they run into bottlenecks when they try to distribute that mission-critical data over single beam parabolic antennas and other outdated infrastructure,” said Scott Sprague, chief commercial officer at Isotropic Systems.
Sprague added the milestone trials with the Air Force and the Army seek to demonstrate the capability of the company’s antenna platform to establish multiorbit connectivity in order to support troops on the battlespace and decision-makers across the government.
Pete Hoene, president and CEO of SES Government Solutions and a retired Air Force brigadier general, said conducting collaborative trials with the U.S. military is critical as the company prepares to launch its SES-17 satellite and O3b mPOWER constellation in 2021.
If you’re interested in the U.S. military’s space technology procurement efforts, then check out the GovCon Wire’s Space Acquisition Forum coming up on Sept. 14. To register for this virtual forum and view other upcoming events, visit the GCW Events page.
