Quasar Satellite Technologies awarded space innovation contract

Satellite communications manufacturer Quasar Satellite Technologies has announced it has been awarded a $5.3 million Defence Innovation Hub contract for space communications and space domain awareness.

With more than 50,000 satellites expected to be launched in the next decade, there is a pressing need to improve the way that satellites are supported, and how space data is managed.

The Quasar contract will further develop its multibeam phased array ground station system that may support hundreds of satellite communications simultaneously with a single compact antenna.

Traditional parabolic dish-based ground communications antennas can only support one satellite at a time for communication and management, creating a communications bottleneck.

CEO of Quasar Satellite Technologies Phil Ridley said the company was excited to receive the investment from the Defence Innovation Hub.

Ridley said: “This support allows us to fast-track expansion of our unique phased array technology into new satellite bands, and ultimately contribute to our vision of creating a powerful, flexible, scalable, sovereign satellite communications capability for Australia.”

Quasar’s technology also meets another pressing space industry problem – what is in space and what is its purpose (called space domain awareness).

Picture: Quasar Satellite Technologies