Airbus Defense and Space has begun working with the Beacon project, a collaborative R&D project that focuses on the development of various photonic technologies for the future of high-capacity, energy efficient telecommunication satellites.

As part of the project, Airbus DS will study the use of terrestrial photonics and fiber optic technologies with future spacecraft, and how these could save mass and increase capacity on high-throughput satellites. Airbus will also look at enabling future telecommunication satellites to be more energy efficient than existing repeater systems.

Co-funded by the European Union, the Beacon project enlists the work of companies and research centers in the design and development of technologies such as high-speed electro-optic modulator arrays for RF processing, radiation-hardened optical amplifier arrays, and multi-beam silicon photonic integrated beam-formers.

For more information, visit www.space-beacon.eu.