Prof. Antonella Bogoni of SSSA is the formal project coordinator, with Dr. Paolo Ghelfi in charge of the effective coordination (as affiliate of SSSA). The specifications of the system to be developed in the project will be defined by user needs and will benefit from the expertise on radar for satellite Earth observation (EO) given by OHB and AS, worldwide leaders in the Space sector and in satellite payload market for EO, respectively.
The knowledge for developing the photonics-based SCORE SAR receiver with optical beamforming capabilities will come from LXI and SSSA. The first one is a leading global provider of customized microsystem solutions, in particular integrated photonics-based, in scalable production volumes. The second one is a pioneer on photonics for radars (SSSA demonstrated in 2014 the first photonics-based radar for terrestrial applications).
The manufacturing of the PIC will be done by a world-class foundry in Europe, available at LXI. LXI has a strong and long experience in designing and manufacturing photonic integrated components and circuits in TriPleX™ and assembly and hybrid integration of InP-chips obtained from InP photonics platforms. TYN will bring expertise and facilities for the packaging of the integrated devices to make them suitable for Space qualification. Study and demonstration of the innovative features of the SPACEBEAM SCORE SAR receiver will be possible thanks to the experience of OHB and AS on signal acquisition and processing and RF driver circuits. Laboratories and equipment for testing the functionality of the SPACEBEAM system will be provided by AS and LXI. Environmental tests will be carried out by AFW to qualify the SPACEBEAM system and to prove its adequate functionality.
