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New Space projects

"There is hardly a space project in Luxembourg that did not have at least one EmTroniX component on board."

Luxemburger Wort - 3 Nov 2020

For more than 13 years, we have been developing a strong knowledge of the new space industry.
With our first project, the Pathfinder 2, EmTroniX has demonstrated to be capable of providing high quality and reliable electronics which resist to the space environment. We are working with key actors of the space industry while continuously developing our competences and increasing our capabilities to meet tomorrow's challenges. 
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We are focused on payload & avionic development and are providing a complete range of services such as:

  • Specific hardware design & customization

  • Digital Signal Processing design (algorithms & coding into the FPGA)

  • Embedded Software services

  • Power Electronics for load control, power supplies and power converters, power trackers

  • Sensor & small signal interfacing

  • Mechanical design

  • Electronic board assembly in-house

  • RF design (receiver & transceiver) including PA and testing equipment in-house

  • On-Board Computer

Earth and Space

OUR SPACE PROJECTS:

Sciencetaxi Yuri

 © yuri

ScienceTaxi Electronics and Software - yuri
2021 - 2024

Yuri is democratizing access to micro-gravity. ScienceTaxi facility is a middeck-locker size incubator that fits any platform. It is the perfect solution to bring experiments to all platforms beyond the ISS, such as orbital or suborbital spacecraft or parabolic flights.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

  • Support the development process of the state-of-the-art microgravity research facility: ScienceTaxi

  • Implement new functions to support future experiments and breakthrough technologies

  • Designed for current and next generation space vehicles

  • MAIT of two ScienceTaxi “Electronics and SW” and EGSE, including up to date user interface

Altius
ALTIUS - ESA
2019 - 2022

ALTIUS mission - which stands for Atmospheric Limb Tracker for the Investigation of the Upcoming Stratosphere - will deliver, for at least 3 years, profiles of concentrations of stratospheric ozone with high vertical resolution, as well as profiles of other atmospheric trace gases.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

  • System level analysis

  • Electronics design and PCB layout of the optical mechanism motor drivers

  • Mechanism Firmware algorithms and specification

  • Engineering, Structural/Thermal and Flight models

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS

  • Full ECSS electronics development

Altius OIP

 © ESA

Hera
Hera ESA

 © ESA

JuRa: Hera's Juventas Radar CubeSat - ESA/NASA
2019 - 2022

Hera will be one of humanity's first-ever spacecraft to visit a double asteroid: the Didymos binary system. This mission aims to know more about this threat and to prevent asteroids hitting our Earth.

EmTroniX is in charge of a radar payload that will not only map the skin but also the asteroid internal structure.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

  • Low-frequency radar payload

    • Management of JuRa consortium to reach delivery targets

    • Clocks, High speed DAC & ADC sampling

    • Digital processing in the FPGA

    • DC/DC module

    • Payload mechanics

    • Integration of partners board to mechanics

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS

  • Hardware design based on our SDR Generic product

  • In any future deep space missions, this instrument can conduct, with the collaboration of Grenoble University and University of Dresden, scientific investigation or space resources researches on asteroids.

Triton X
Triton-X - OHB LuxSpace
2019 - 2022

LuxSpace's next generation of multi-mission micro-satellite is designed to enable affordable regional and global LEO constellations for commercial applications. Its goal is to be more flexible, more powerful and thus more cost-effective than other commercial platforms.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

  • On-Board computer for the Triton-X platform

  • High Speed COMM for the data down link of the Avionics Unit

    • High-speed down link up to 400 Mbit/s

    • FPGA-based digital modulator

    • RF up conversion C/X/Ka band

    • Solid-State Power Amplifier X band

    • Digital Main Board as the On-Board Computer

Triton-X LuxSpace

 © ESA

Macsat
MACSAT OQ Tech
IoT project - OQ Technology
2018 - 2021

This project is a perfect example of a made-in-Luxembourg project where two companies are working together. The goal is to connect sensors, devices and measurement units in remote and sparsely connected areas, where there is no cellular network or WiFi.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

  • User terminals:

    • RF modem (electronics, RF design and mechanic)

    • User terminal demonstrator (electronics, mechanic and software)

  • Payload:

    • FPGA, A/D & D/A converters and clocks

    • Software Defined Radio architecture

    • RF design (Rx, Tx, mechanic) & SSPA

    • Software radio HDL part

    • Software infrastructure

Zyaif
ZYAIF - Kleos
2017 - 2021

This technology, among other applications, would allow for an orbiting satellite to manufacture very long antenna booms in space. With the appropriate antenna configurations, it would enable the collection of Radio Frequency (RF) data from devices transmitting pertinent power as well as frequencies to be geo-located.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

  • Design of control electronics for In-Space manufacturing elements in order to allow deployment of the sub-system:

    • Heating/cooling elements control

    • Puller/stepper motor control

    • Environmental sensor monitoring

  • Development of electronics hardware to receive 4 synchronously RF signals:

    • FPGA-based processing

    • Low-noise RF front-end

    • Low-phase-noise advanced synchronous receiver

Space project - Kleos
GHOST
Space project GHOST
GHOST - ESA/SES
2017 - 2021

The goal of this project was to design, develop and validate a novel on-ground measurement system for satellite In-Orbit-Test (IOT). The IOT measurement system is based on non-intrusive spread spectrum test signals and advanced DSP techniques to measure key payload parameters. It allows the verification and monitoring of in-orbit wide band satellite transponders without interrupting customer services. It also avoids interfering with other satellites during orbital movements.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

  • System level analysis, architecture definition and detailed design

  • Hardware design, implementation, prototyping and validation

  • Measurement DSP algorithms design, analysis, simulation and FPGA implementation

  • Firmware/Software full implementation, integration and validation

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS

  • System hardware architecture based on the concept of Software Defined Radio (SDR). Including a reconfigurable digital design platform that uses state of the art DSPs and FPGAs.

Proximity 1 SDR autonomous transceiver
Proximity 1 SDR autonomous transceiver - ESA/Qinetiq
2018

This activity was undertaken in the frame of an ESA study aiming to provide the architecture, define the DSP algorithms, and implement the design of an SDR autonomous transceiver for a Mars orbiter, in view of a future flight qualified unit implementation. This anticipates the future need for a Mars orbiter with an autonomous Proximity-Link transceiver, due to the increasing number of planetary missions including Mars rover and lander elements from different agencies.

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The proposed transceiver is a full autonomous and SDR system that has the ability to identify unknown attributes of received signals and automatically reconfigure itself accordingly, without explicit pre-configuration or reprogramming of its functions. Specifically, it implements innovative DSP techniques for the classification and estimation of every unknown parameter of incoming signals including modulation type, data rate, modulation index, coding type, SNR, frequency and timing.

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Thanks to its high performing algorithms and optimized FPGA-based design, the proposed autonomous transceiver allows the orbiter to communicate with any current or future landed element automatically, offering the required flexibility and adaptability, and avoiding the need of ground intervention to reconfigure the unit.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

  • Orbiter UHF transceiver unit requirements analysis and specification,

  • Orbiter UHF transceiver unit architecture definition,

  • Autonomous receiver DSP algorithms design, analysis and simulation,

  • Hardware and FPGA implementation of the software defined and autonomous orbiter transceiver unit,

  • Algorithms validation and testing in the selected digital platform FPGA based.

Space project - Proximity

 © ESA

Lunar pathfinder
Space project - Lunar pathfinder
Lunar pathfinder -
Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M) - OHB LuxSpace
2014

Named in honor of the late OHB System founder Manfred Fuchs, this pathfinder was the first commercial demonstration satellite to achieve a lunar flyby on the 28th of October 2014.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

Electronic development:

  • OBC interface

  • Downlink modulator

  • Battery protection

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Satellite assembly:

  • Electronics

  • Satellite harness

  • Batteries

  • Solar panel

  • Antenna

  • Additional payload

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS

  • Design lifetime multiplied by 2.

  • The 4M spacecraft transmitted continuously with a 1.5 W power input with a simple monopoly antenna.

2014
ADS-B Receiver
Space ADS-B Receiver - Thales
2012

EmTroniX has developed a Space-based ADS-B demonstration payload in collaboration with Thales Alenia Space Germany under an ESA contract. As with AIS, ADS-B messages reception in space has to overcome high numbers of signal collisions over dense air-spaces.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

Design and production of:

  • FPGA-hosted ADS-B receiver

  • Multichannel parallel design

  • Ultra low resource usage

  • Integrated error correction

  • High sensitivity

  • Scalable and expandable

  • EmTroniX-owned FPGA IP

Space project ADS-B receiver
Vessel sat 1&2
Space project Vesselsat
VesselSat 1&2 - ORBCOMM/OHB LuxSpace
2010

EmTroniX contributed to the transition from experimental to commercial technologies with the first Luxembourg built satellite VESSEL SAT 1 and later VESSEL SAT 2. These two missions aimed to track ships by receiving signals from their AIS.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

Design and production of:

  • 4 channels payload AIS receiver

  • OBC Bus Interface Board

  • Telecommand Receiver

  • Central of Inertia

  • Sun Sensor

  • GNSS

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS

  • The two satellites have been in operation for 4 years (their design lives were 3 years).
ColAIS
ColAIS - OHB LuxSpace/ESA
2009

This satellite represents the continuity of the successful PathFinder 2 with enhanced signal analysis, logging capabilities and with also additional stringent technical requirements as for all ISS-embarked equipment. It was designed for wide-area vessel detection on the ocean in VHF frequency.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

Design and production of:

  • FPGA & ASIC based AIS Receiver

  • Operated on board of the ISS

  • RF front end

  • Analog processing chain

  • Digital Signal Processing

  • FPGA synthesized processor

  • ISS interface

  • Power management

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS

  • This AIS was operated in the Columbus module of ISS

Space project COLAIS
Pathfinder 2
AIS.jpg
Pathfinder 2 - OHB LuxSpace
2008

This project launched EmTroniX's space adventure.

This demonstration satellite had as main function to gather space born AIS data from vessels aiming to overcome signal collisions.

EMTRONIX CONTRIBUTION

Design and production of:

  • AIS receiver

  • Downlink & Telemetry Modulator

  • On-Board-Computer interface

  • Solar panels power tracker and battery power management

  • Baseband AIS digital sampler

  • GPS antenna

  • Payload embedded control software

ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS

  • Satellite's lifetime multiplied by 3

  • AIS messages reception level

 © Luxspace

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