Military/Aerospace Electronics

UK company Metalysis is working with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a process to extract oxygen from lunar dust, leaving behind metal powders that could also be 3D printed into construction materials for a Moon base. The technology could prove an early step to establishing an extra-terrestrial oxygen extraction plant, hopes the agency. This would have the dual ...

Teledyne e2v’s Chelmsford-based Space & Quantum team are working on the development of a Cold Atom Space Payload (CASPA) Accelerometer, for future space missions’ ability to take sensitive measurements of atmospheric drag. The aim is that the sensors will improve scientifc understanding of upper atmospheric dynamics and drive advances in climate modelling, weather forecasting and satellite orbit prediction. The company ...

A deal signed by AAC Clyde Space UK and the European Space Agency (ESA) will see 10 new government-backed satellites being built in Scotland. The small satellites will be built as part of a new three-year project entitled xSPANCION. The aim is to create a satellite constellation that businesses can use for applications such as satellite-based communications, Earth Observation and ...

The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite has been successfully launched into orbit around Earth. With a SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully completing the launch, the new satellite – the latest in a series of satellites developed jointly by Europe and the USA – is intended to track rising sea levels using the latest radar altimetry technology. According to the European Space ...

In the newly announced UK government defence spending plans, a new RAF Space Command is due be established, with plans to begin launching British satellites and rockets in 2022 from Scotland. The Prime Minister announced the £24.1bn spending, over the next 4 years, addressing national defence and security. This includes a new ‘Space Command’ that will “protect the UK’s interests ...

EDA company, Mentor, has joined Nano 2022, the latest project to promote the French electronics manufacturing industry. It covers components, connectors and PCBs, to design and assembly, distribution, embedded software and software tools. The project is part of the European Commission’s Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) to promote research and innovation in power ICs, sensors, optical equipment and ...

The UK arm of Elecnor DEIMOS will play a leading role in the Clearspace-1 mission, which is intended to help tackle space debris. Planned for 2025, the Clearspace-1 satellite will use a pincer motion to collect its targeted object, before giving it a controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. And Elecnor DEIMOS will design the Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS). ...

The European Space Agency has approved what is described as the world’s first space telescope dedicated to studying how exoplanet atmospheres form and evolve. And UK institutions will play a central role. It is dubbed the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, or Ariel. Following government funding, UK research institutions – including UCL, the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) RAL ...

Raytheon Technologies has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the privately held Blue Canyon Technologies, a provider of small satellites and spacecraft systems components. The companies expect the acquisition to be completed by early 2021, subject to regulatory approvals. Blue Canyon Technologies will report into Raytheon Intelligence & Space, one of the businesses that make up Raytheon Technologies. Pictured above ...

UK-based Teledyne e2v’s Space Imaging division has completed the signing of Thales’ Alenia Space contract for the supply of a specialised image sensor for CO2I and NO2 instruments. The company will supply image sensors and detectors to the recently announced proposal of the European Space Agency to place six Copernicus Sentinel satellite missions in space. As the sensor partner for ...