Unmanned Systems Technology 028 | ecoSUB Robotics AUVs I ECUs focus I Space vehicles insight I AMZ Driverless gotthard I InterDrone 2019 report I ATI WAM 167-BB I Video systems focus I Aerdron HL4 Herculift

Platform one Israeli company GetSat has developed a full satellite antenna receiver that is small enough to fit into an unmanned aircraft (writes Nick Flaherty). The company develops phased array satellite antennas that can reduce the size and power of a comms link to a satellite. They are built from circuit boards with specific elements to capture the radio signals, which are then combined with complex digital signal processing algorithms. The NanoSAT-H antenna weighs 2.2 kg and integrates a full receiver for a Ka-band link, transmitting at 29-31 or 27.5-30 GHz and receiving at 19.2-21.2 or 17.5-20 GHz, with a power budget of 37.7 dBw. It includes an 8 W block upconverter, low noise block and antenna control unit for a total of 3.6 kg. The tracking gimbal allows the antenna to automatically track the position of a satellite, which with the high power budget supports bit rates up to 4 Mbit/s. The system is aimed at the satcom systems of midrange UAVs. Satcom fits midrange craft Communications GetSat’s NanoSAT-H has a full Ka-band receiver integrated into it