SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING

Northumbria University develops innovative technologies for application in space. We work with industrial partners, space agencies and other academics to enable new measurements, new processes, or new applications using satellites across the full spectrum of opportunities from £100k CubeSats up to £500M large science missions. Examples include: optical communication systems, satellite communication networks, satellite ranging and drag measurements, novel solar photovoltaic cells, telescopes, auroral cameras, x-ray imagers, plasma sensors, space weather monitors and solar imagers.

Space-related-instrument development drives forward the national capability of UK-based satellite communications and advances the camera-technology sector. This hardware and instrument development is of great benefit to the future of small-satellite missions. We already work with multiple space-related-hardware industrial partners via our UK Space Agency funded projects, e.g., Lockheed Martin Space, e2E for space electronics, and EnduroSat for CubeSats. Few of us realise just how essential space is to every aspect of our modern daily life. Every time we use our smartphones to navigate, every time we take a flight, every time we check the weather forecast – we are using space.

Satellites orbiting the Earth only 160 kilometres above our heads keep us connected with our friends, families, and colleagues. They support our present and future security and prosperity, enabling us to navigate the oceans, monitor the climate and forecast the weather.