Aerospace & Defence

As of November 2015, GTK UK is certified to manufacture cable assemblies and box builds for the aerospace, military and security sectors. The AS9100C standard is the globalised certification that demonstrates full traceability on the components used in production – as well as the necessary rigour in terms of product and process conformance.

This week’s Satellite 2016 exhibition in Washington DC has seen AtlanTecRF launch its new Ka Band Satellite Simulator. Testing of mobile satellite communications systems has received a further boost with the launch of AtlanTecRF’s LSS range of ‘game-changing’ Satellite Simulators designed for operation in Ka band with optional use in other bands, including Ku and DBS.

A tracking system called HYPERION based on eye-safe lasers could enable aircraft, UAVs and even orbiting satellites to transmit vital data to ground stations more securely, quickly and efficiently. The development of HYPERION has been pioneered by a joint team through Innovate UK's HITEA programme: the University of Oxford with funding from the EPSRC, and Airbus Group Innovations with Innovate UK support.

The portfolio of radiation tolerant multiplexers from Intersil Corporation has been expanded with the release of two new, single supply 5V devices. The 16-channel ISL71830SEH and 32-channel ISL71831SEH multiplexers join Intersil’s 30V multiplexers, which have been onboard many satellite and space exploration missions, including NASA’s Orion spacecraft flight test.

Microsemi Corporation and STAR-Dundee have announced their collaboration to provide SpaceWire and SpaceFibre network technology using Microsemi's RTG4(TM) high-speed signal processing radiation-tolerant FPGAs. STAR-Dundee specialises in supporting users and developers of SpaceWire and SpaceFibre, which are data-handling networks for onboard satellites and spacecraft.

For decades, aircraft designers seeking to improve Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) capabilities have endured a substantial set of interrelated challenges. Dozens of attempts have been made to increase top speed without sacrificing range, efficiency or the ability to do useful work, with each effort struggling or failing in one way or another.

Emirates has launched its first non-stop service between Dubai and Auckland, one of the world’s longest scheduled flights, bringing 39 European destinations and another 38 in Africa and the Middle East within just one stop of New Zealand. And to celebrate the milestone, the first service was operated with a double-decker A380 rather than the Boeing 777-200LR that will regularly fly the route.

Airbus Defence and Space has developed and delivered the qualification model of the solar array for the European Service Module (ESM) of the Orion crewed spacecraft. During a deployment test at NASA's Plum Brook Station facility in Sandusky, Ohio (USA), the model came through the test with flying colours.

The University of Portsmouth is to host a centre of excellence for satellite data, which will promote economic growth in the UK’s space sector. The centre will allow the south coast business community to tap into satellite technology that could improve their products and services, for example, developing technology to help robot submarines use live satellite data to inform their route through the ocean – similar to drivers using live ...

The return of supersonic passenger air travel is one step closer to reality with NASA's award of a contract for the preliminary design of a 'low boom' flight demonstration aircraft. This is the first in a series of ‘X-planes’ in NASA's New Aviation Horizons initiative, introduced in the agency’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget.