[SatNews] Airbus Defence and Space has joined the European project “Beacon” that focuses on the development of key photonic technologies for future high-capacity and energy-efficient telecommunication satellites.

As part of the “Beacon” project, Airbus DS is studying how terrestrial photonics and fiber-optic technologies could be used on future spacecraft to save mass and also increase capacity on high throughput satellites (HTS). Another goal is to enable future telecoms satellites to be more energy efficient compared with conventional telecoms satellite repeater systems deployed today.  
 
Javad Anzalchi, Space Systems Payload Product Development Manager, said, “Airbus Defence and Space has always been a leading innovator within satellite telecommunications and “Beacon” will ensure we remain at the forefront of future technology development. Using light to move signals around on telecoms satellites will be the next revolution and mean we can offer more efficient and more powerful satellites to our customers.”

The Airbus DS infosite is accessible via http://airbusdefenceandspace.com/

More information regarding the BEACON project may be gleaned at http://www.space-beacon.eu/