Celestia Technologies Group UK Ltd. (Celestia UK) will develop a fully electronic scanning antenna for use with satellite-based aircraft Wi-Fi applications after receiving a £2.5 million R&D award from Scottish Enterprise, Scotland's national economic development agency.
The company, a UK subsidiary of Celestia Technologies Group that is headquartered in Holland, will be based initially at The GRID at Heriot-Watt University while it identifies permanent premises in Scotland. A total of 18 jobs will be created in Antenna technologies, Software Defined Radio (SDR), Radio Frequency (RF) Engineering and System Design.
Pictured: Jose Alonso Chairman of Celestia Technologies Group, and Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Govenment's Cabinet Secretary
for Economy, Fair Work & Culture.
CTG will use the R&D grant to develop a satellite antenna for aircraft to link with a communication satellite for the in-flight broadband sector, which is experiencing rapid growth. For this project, CTG intends to develop a flat panel antenna incorporating multi-beam and phased-array technology and to test and validate a full prototype as well as setting the basis for production. The proposed design will be electronically steered and will offer improved communications and connectivity performance for a new generation of low and medium orbit satellites.
The significance of the investment was highlighted by Catherine Mealing-Jones, Growth Director at the UK Space Agency, who said there has never been a better time to start and grow a space business in the UK, with support networks, funding opportunities and advice available across the country. This investment underlines the strength of the skills and expertise available to industry in the UK. The support provided by Scottish Enterprise and the UK Space Agency, through the leading investment in the European Space AgencyÂ’s telecommunications research program, has helped create the environment in which companies such as Celestia can thrive.
Jonathan Wilson, Global Head of Inward Investment Services at Scottish Enterprise, added the decision by Celestia UK to deliver this innovative R&D project in Scotland is incredibly exciting and one which Scottish Enterprise is delighted to support. The nation's space sector was of great appeal to Celestia UK, highlighting the growing importance of this industry as Scotland seeks to become Europe's leading space nation.
