News

 

 Callisto has started a project to develop Ka band LNAs for Earth Observation applications.

This project will cover the development of pre-production units for:

- Conventional ambient temperature LNAs

- Compact cryogenic LNAs with 2 reception channels.

The RF band between 25.5 and 27 GHz has recently been designated for downlink of data from Earth Observation and Scientific Research spacecraft. This frequency band has just been assigned for satellite use and future satellites will operate in the frequency to reach very high data rate. Moreover, there are fewer component options compared to more commonly used frequency bands. The aim of Callisto is to develop 26GHz LNA with state-of-the-market performance and also to provide a European source for this kind of LNA.

This project is supported by ESA under a GSTP funding programme.

 

The ESA station maintenance team of Deep Space Antenna 3 (Malargüe, Argentine) has received support from Callisto for the preventive maintenance of the X-Band cryogenicUltra Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs).                                                                                                                                  

The cryogenic Ultra Low Noise amplifiers are  used to amplify the signal coming from ESA spacecraft and will support the forthcoming Gaia mission (launch planned in December 2013).

In addition to the maintenance support, the DSA3 staff have received a training course from Callisto. The course has been well received by the attendees who enjoyed both detailed theoretical and practical lessons on cryogenic LNA systems for their operations and maintenance.

Callisto attended the 6th ESA Workshop on Tracking, Telemetry and Command Systems for Space Applications at ESOC, Darmstadt, between the 10th - 12th September 2013.

Two papers were presented by Callisto staff:

- "Zero Maintenance X-Band Cryogenic Low Noise Amplifier" presented Callisto's second generation compact X-band LNA that offers 20K noise temperature over 8.0 - 8.5GHz and a very attractive 10 years MTBF.

- "Ka-Band Ground Station Low Noise Amplifier Development for Earth Observation Missions" presented the latest progress in the development of 26GHz LNAs working at room and cryogenic temperatures. The ambient LNA based on commercial MMIC is already commercially available with a noise temperature lower than 160K over the frequency range 25.5 - 27GHz.

In addition Callisto was mentioned in ESA and CNES presentations:

 

ESA has recently completed the replacement of all X-band cryo LNAs in its Deep Space Antennas with upgraded models.  The original cryo LNAs which were all built and delivered by Callisto in the period 2000 to 2009 are being offered for refurbishment and re-sale.  The refurbishment activity will be undertaken by Callisto and will include the replacement of the cryogenic components (cold head, compressor and gas lines), renewal of all vacuum seals and completed RF retest.  The systems will be supplied with LNA power supplies, data logging unit and monitoring software.   The RF circuits include bandpass filters which could be removed for customers requiring extended RF bandwidth e.g. for radio-astronomy or VLBI.  Outline technical details of the equipment are provided in the attached data sheet.

The equipment will be supplied with a comprehensive operating manual.  The cryogenic systems will be offered with 12 months guarantee.  Full after sales services will be available from Callisto, if required, such as installation support, training, help desk, predictive maintenance support and annual preventative maintenance.

Callisto has started a project in collaboration with Sysméca (Colomiers) to develop Ka band LNAs for Satcom applications. This LNA will operate at 20GHz and will be ruggedized for outdoor use.
The aim of Callisto is to develop this LNA with competitive performance compared to those currently available on the market and also to provide a European source for this kind of LNA.
This project has been awarded a grant by the "Région Midi-Pyrénées"  via the European Union FEDER 2007-2013 Program.

This month Callisto is celebrating its 20th birthday.  In 1993 our company was originally founded in the UK by Steve and Béatrice Rawson and we won our first consultancy contract with EUMETSAT.  Since then we have progressed, albeit modestly, to become a small specialist engineering and consultancy company serving the European space industry.   Based near Toulouse, France with operations in the UK and Germany we have 13 permanent employees and three associates.  Despite our modest size we have contributed to a number of successful European space projects including all the METEOSAT family of missions and all the European Deep Space missions launched since the 1990s.

Callisto is pleased to announce the completion of the design of a new cryogenic test Dewar system for testing of various types of small components including RF, optical, and electronics. This system is cryogen-free (no liquids), operates under vacuum and uses a GM-type refrigerator (cryocooler). It can cool components as low as 25K. One of the main features of this system is the capability of automatic
thermal cycling between +60°C down to below 40K within a very short time
frame, typically less than 1h30.