Airbus awarded third contract for GaN satellite amplifiers
Airbus Defence and Space has won its third contract in 18 months for its latest GaN SSPAs, bringing the total ordered to more than 350.
Investments leading to the development of the latest advanced GaN SSPA by Airbus Defence and Space was carried out as part of the European Space Agency's Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems programme, which is supported by the UK Space Agency.
Designed for use in both communications and navigation satellites the innovative GaN based SSPAs are said to have superior performance and 50 percent less mass per Watt of RF output compared with previous generations of SSPA technology.
The flight L-band SSPAs deliver RF power of 50W to 100W and are 15 percent more efficient than previous models. In laboratory demonstrations, the latest GaN SSPAs have produced RF power in excess of 200W in L, S and C-bands.
Charlie Bloomfield, Airbus Defence and Space's head of communication products UK said:" These significant orders prove that the R&D investments we have made over the last few years are paying off, and that our latest GaN SSPA is a true world leader. Our experts are now looking at how we can further improve our design to give customers more power for less mass."
