Abstract

This talk will assess the main technical aspects of the Galileo System. Galileo is the European GNSS and represents how GNSS will be during next decades. Galileo offers partial operational service since December 15, 2016. If everything goes fine, Galileo will be operational in 2020. After the spread use of the American GPS, GNSS have become key systems for our diary live. The European Union has developed Galileo that represents the second generation of GNSS, incorporating relevant improvements from the already ancient GPS. Part of these improvements come from lessons learned from last 30 years using GPS all over the world; and part of them are the result of the European innovation. This talk will describe also EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System) that can be considered as the first stage of Galileo System and has allowed anticipating the use of GNSS in Europe for critical applications, while Galileo is under deployment.

Short Biography

Teresa Martin-Guerrero studied Physic Sciences in the University of Granada (Spain) until 1990. She received the Ph.D in Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Málaga (Spain) in 1995. Since 1991, she has been teaching in the Telecommunication Engineering Faculty of the University of Málaga where she is currently Full Professor. Her main research activities deal with microwave and millimeter-wave device characterization techniques and the analysis and design of RF Power Amplifiers.

 

Abstract

This presentation will try to discover the necessary waveguide circuitry that is located between the antenna dish and the first microwave electronics (HPA/LNA) in any communication system. In particular, components such as waveguide transitions, polarizers, orthomode transducers, phase shifters, filters, duplexers, etc will be introduced from a practical point of view. Complete systems for standard earth-stations or cryogenic receivers for deep space applications will be also shown.

Short Biography

Angel Mediavilla Sánchez was born in Santander, Spain, in 1955. He graduated in 1977 and received the Doctor of Physics degree in 1984, both from the University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain. He joined the Microwave and RF research group of the University of Cantabria team in 1978 as assistant professor. From 1987 to 1999 he was associate professor at the Department of Electronics University of Cantabria and since 1999 he is full professor at the Department of Communication Engineering of the University of Cantabria. From 1980 to 1984 he was Ingenieur Stagiere at THOMSON-CSF Corbeville France working in the Electronic warfare area of microwave oscillators. From 2005 he is the head of the Communications Engineering Department and from 2008 is the director of the I+D+i Telecommunication Laboratory building. During more than 38 years has worked in areas related to microwave heating, microwave semiconductor modelling, high frequency circuit simulation and optimisation, microwave-to-optics interaction, waveguide structures for satellite/RADAR antenna feed and Radio-astronomy subsystems.

 

Abstract

Space represents an hostile environment and therefore any payload to be operated there shall be tested and verified on ground simulating the effects the external factors have on its different components. Outside pressure is close to zero, direct sun exposure could rise the surface temperature up to 250 degC, while the opposite site is freezing at -100 degC, radiations and particles, from electrons to heavy ions, pass through any element and atomic oxygen erodes the surfaces. Another problem is represented by the way the Space is reached. Whatever will be the launcher or vehicle used to achieve an altitude higher than 100km, during the launch and ascent phase it acts as a sort of huge shaker inducing accelerations loads, vibration levels and deafening noise which heavily stress any structure. The integrity is under thread. Therefore the qualification and acceptance processes are an essential part of the overall verification to ensure that the payload achieves all the design, performance and quality requirements and that it could be safely operated in Space.  These processes will be introduced in this lesson

Short Biography

Working for Telespazio c/o Centro Bonifacio Via Louis Breliot, 82 ; I-80144 Naples Italy

Project Manager of MISTRAL (MIcroSaTellite con capacità di Rientro AvioLanciabile) ;

Project Manager for SmallSatTrack, ESA program for tracking of Micro- and Cubesats;

Responsible for U-DRAGON for developement Global Distributed Ground Segment dedicated to MicroSat Missions;

Project Manager of EDEN ISS (H2020 project to advance controlled environment agriculture technologies in Antarctica precursor of Space);

Manager of other research projects;

Payload Integration Manager for the European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency for more than 20 Experiment onboard ISS;

Investigator and Co-Investigator of several Microgravity Experiment;

Program manager and participation in space engineering projects for the development of scientific space instruments

Participation in scientific space missions; responsible scie;ntist for space experiments; Responsible for control from ground of scientific payloads onboard micro-g platforms;

Researcher in fluid physics and fluid dynamic aspects.

Author of more than 100 publications in scientific peer-reviewed journals, books and presentations to International Congresses

 

Abstract

Over the last 15 years, it has become imperative for CEOs to have not just a general understanding of the intellectual property issues facing their business in industry, but to have quite a refined expertise relating to those assets… It is no longer simply a legal department’s problem. Today, companies as well as RTOs must be able to formulate strategies that capitalize on and maximize the value of their own intellectual property assets to drive growth, innovation, cooperative relationships with other players and transfer of technology of research results to the society. This speech will focus on introducing the grounds of IPRs, taking as background the manufacturers of Satellites and related Services. The aim is to understand some technological trends and the IP challenges to tackle the global competition reviewing the patenting strategies of recent year.

Short Biography

Francesco Rogo is the Intellectual Property Manager and Head of Engineering Processes within the Chief Strategy and Innovation Office of Leonardo Group. After studying Computer Engineering at University of Rome “La Sapienza”, He got a M.B.A. in Business Engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering Economics and Management (ING/IND-35) at University of “Tor Vergata” in Rome; He worked for 7 years in the R&D unit of avionics and satellite communications of Marconi Ltd. before joining Finmeccanica Group, where he has been working since 2007 in the Corporate CTO. He is under-contract professor at Industrial Engineering of University of Cassino and Southern Lazio (Italy) and visiting professor at University of Innopolis in Kazan (Russia). His main research interests are in valorisation of technology and IP; His scientific publications have appeared in leading international journals of knowledge management and Intellectual capital areas.

 

Abstract

The talk shall be focused on the development of RF equipment  and related technologies for different Satellite Systems. Starting for an overview of Satellite applications, different payload requirements and solutions shall be illustrated together with specific advanced technologies for space use. Hints on reliability issues shall be also given, as this is one of the most critical point related to space systems evolution and introduction of  new technologies. Finally some future perspectives provided and a cal  shall be presented.

Short Biography

Mr. Marziale Feudale took his Master Degree in Electronic Engineering in 1986. In 1987 He started his career in TELETTRA SpA (presently ALCATEL Lucent) as designer of RF circuits, MMIC and ASIC for telecom systems optical interfaces. He joined Alenia Spazio (presently Thales Alenia Space Italia) in 1992 as designer of MMIC, MIC and Integrated Circuits for Satellite Equipment. In 1998 he was appointed responsible for the development of MMIC and integrated circuit in the frame of several operative Programs among which COSMO Skymed, SIASGE and IRIDIUM. In 2014 he has been appointed Thales Expert in MMIC design and qualification while in 2017 he has been appointed Point of Contact for Innovation in the frame of the transnational organization. Presently he is staff Member of R&D, Innovation and proposal department inside the Competence Center Electronics Italy. Marziale Feudale is co-author of several papers published in European and US Conferences. He is also permanent member of the CTB Microwave Working Group at European Space Agency.

 

Abstract

Active Antennas represent the preferred solution for several applications requiring high performance in terms of gain, reconfigurability (in power and pattern), cost, throughput, flexibility, accommodation etc. Today they are becoming a reality for several advances satellite systems for Telecommunication, Earth Observation and Navigation. The presentation will address architectural aspects and key technological elements of active antennas including: antenna architectures, RF front/back-end elements, analogue and digital beamforming techniques.

Short Biography

Piero Angeletti received the Laurea degree in Electronics Engineering from the University of Ancona (Italy) in 1996, and the PhD in Electromagnetism from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” (Italy) in 2010. His 20 years experience in RF systems engineering and technical management encompasses conceptual/architectural design, trade-offs, detailed design, production, integration and testing of satellite payloads and active antenna systems for commercial/military telecommunications and navigation (spanning all the operating bands and set of applications), and multifunction RADARs and electronic counter measure systems. Dr. Angeletti is member of the technical staff of the European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) of the European Space Agency (ESA), in Noordwijk (The Netherlands), and Head of the Radio Frequency Payloads and Technology Division which is responsible for payloads, instruments and technologies for space & ground applications and associated laboratory facilities. His research interests encompass multibeam antennas, flexible satellite payloads, RF front-ends and on-board digital processors.

 

Abstract

The aim of the course is the description of the problems related to the use of electronic components in the space environment. The first part of the course will describe the effects of the space environment on electronic components. The analysis will mainly focus on the effects of radiation. The radiative environment will be analyzed together with the phenomena that the radiation can activate. In the second part of the course, some architectural solutions that can mitigate the effects of radiation in digital architectures will be introduced and discussed. Some examples of applications such as radiation-resistant mass memories and FPGA-based implementations will also be presented.

Short Biography

Prof. Gian Carlo Cardarilli received the laurea (summa cum laude) in 1981 from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. He works for the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” since 1984. At present he is professor of Digital Electronics and Electronics for Communication Systems at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. During the years 1987/1988 he worked for the Circuits and Systems team at EPFL of Lausanne (Switzerland). During the years 1992-1994 he worked for the University of L’Aquila. Prof. Cardarilli interests are in the area of VLSI architectures for Signal Processing and Machine Learning. In this field he published over than 300 papers in international journals and conferences. He is the coordinator of the MSc in Mechatronics Engineering and the President of ULISSE Consortium.

 

Abstract

The evolution of new space systems with the possibility to conceive and realize, through miniaturization of on board functions, advanced digital communication processors and space based radars, new generation optical sensors and cost effective microsatellite constellations and satellite formations open the way to a new class of space services and applications in global communications and Earth Observation. Constellation and even mega constellations undoubtedly represent an interesting breakthrough and trend in the democratization of space and an opportunity to contribute to space activities for a broad range of institutions including emerging innovative start-ups, research centers and universities. The possibility to complement “traditional” space systems based on large space infrastructure and very high end performance payloads and sensors allows today to conceive hyper connected systems, very high revisit observation capabilities and in perspective to realize a quasi-persistent surveillance of our Planet. In the coming year a huge amount of data will be generated in space by radar, optical and hyperspectral sensors, this exponential growth in the amount of data will open the way to a complete new class and generation of Geo spatial service and application platforms. Use of advanced Information Technologies domain like data analytics and big data, the unprecedented growth of computing power and evolution of machine learning / AI algorithms make possible to conceive a new class of application and services, to reach new institutional and commercial user communities and finally will represent more than evolution a true revolution in the business models. This is the foundation of a fast change in the paradigm of space system, technologies and services; the ground of the so-called space economy. A broad range of new services is today, and more and more it will be in coming future, available to address global challenges, institutional needs and commercial market. In this frame the Earth Observation domain will be more and more a fundamental asset to address the sustainable development goals. The amount of information we can have from the processing of big data from space fused with a number of data layers on ground will be the key to address areas of sustainable development, including climate change, sea-level rise, maritime surveillance and marine environmental monitoring, coastal erosion, flooding, urban land subsidence, water quality, forest resources assessment, agriculture monitoring and urban territorial development. Concrete examples of application areas include establishing baselines, results monitoring, impacts assessment and auditing, identifying hot-spot locations, and supporting dialogue with global and local institution putting development issues in a spatial context. The talk will give an overview of those challenges as well as a quick outlook of the Italian industry capabilities in a sector of traditional leading position of the Country all over the value chain from up stream technologies to downstream services

Short Biography

Massimo Claudio Comparini è nato a Roma (1963), laureato in Ingegneria elettronica, sistemi radar, e graduato in Strategia e Organizzazione alla Scuola di Business di Stanford (Palo Alto). Ha una lunga carriera nel mondo delle tecnologie spaziali ove si è occupato di progettazione di apparati e sistemi con ruoli di crescente responsabilità fino a quello di direttore tecnico di Thales Alenia Space. Nel 2013 ha assunto la posizione di Direttore Tecnico del Gruppo Telespazio (Leonardo) e membro del comitato esecutivo della società. Dal 2016 è direttore della Linea di Business della GeoInformazione per il Gruppo e Amministratore Delegato della società e-GEOS (Joint Venture con l’Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) attiva nelle applicazioni e nei servizi di Osservazione della Terra da satellite. E’ Presidente della piattaforma tecnologica SPIN IT (Space Innovation in Italy) ed esperto nazionale presso la Commissione Europea con nomina dal Ministro della Ricerca per la programmazione europea Horizon 2020 configurazione Spazio.

Autore di più di 100 pubblicazioni nel campo delle tecnologie elettroniche e delle microonde, tecnologie e sistemi spaziali e del management dell’innovazione, è stato docente e titolare di cattedra in discipline tecniche ed economiche in diversi Atenei tra le quali le cattedre di Elettronica Spaziale, di Elettronica per le Telecomunicazioni (Alma Mater, Bologna) e nel campo delle discipline economiche della Cattedra di Economia delle nuove tecnologie di comunicazione (LUISS, Roma).

 

Abstract

High frequency electronics represents the enabling technology for almost all space applications, including telecommunications, remote sensing, earth observation and navigation. Nevertheless, several key aspects make the design of high frequency subsystems quite demanding, including analysis methods, design tools, components’ characterization and critical elements’ degrees of freedom. In the presentations, the above peculiarities will be briefly recalled.

Short Biography

Prof. Ernesto Limiti (S’87-M’92-SM’17) is a full professor of Electronics in the Electronics Engineering Department of the University of Roma “Tor Vergata” since 2002, after being research and teaching assistant (1991) and associate professor (1998). His research activity is focused on three main lines, all of them belonging to the microwave and millimeter-wave electronics area. The first one is related to characterization and modelling for active and passive devices. For active devices, equivalent-circuit modelling strategies have been implemented both for small- and large-signal operating regimes for GaAs, GaN, SiC, Si, InP and Diamond MESFET/HEMT devices. The second research line is related to design methodologies and characterization methods for low noise devices and circuits. Finally, the third line is in the analysis and design methodologies for linear and nonlinear microwave circuits (HPAs, mixers, LNAs …), including their multi-functional integration (Single-Chip Front-Ends, Core Chips). The above research lines have produced more than 450 contributions on refereed international journals and presentations within international conferences. Ernesto Limiti acts as a referee of international journals of the microwave and millimeter-wave electronics area and he is in the steering committee of several international conferences and workshops. He is actually member of the IEEE MTT-TC6 on microwave integrated circuits. He is actually the head of the EE dept. of the University of Roma “Tor Vergata” and the director of the Microwave Engineering Centre for Space Applications (MECSA), an inter-universitary center grouping more than 100 researchers in 10 italian universities. List of publications at :

http://directory.uniroma2.it/index.php/schede/getPubblicazioni/4403

 

Abstract

Metasurfaces are the 2D version of metamaterials, which consist of artificial materials engineered `atom by atom´ to present exotic electromagnetic properties. In this way, these artificial surfaces can accomplish electromagnetic field transformations that were not achievable with surfaces with conventional materials: anomalous refraction, perfect absorbers, artificial magnetic conductors… One of the applications of this interesting field is the design of antennas with enhanced performance, which are required for the emerging communication systems such as broadband satellite connection, advanced radar systems or 5G. In this talk, we will focus on the application of Huygens’ metasurfaces to build an appealing type of antennas, leaky-wave antennas, which are simple, inexpensive and with scanning capability. We will see how the use of metasurfaces can lead to arbitrary control of the radiation parameters of these antennas.

Short Biography

Elena Abdo-Sánchez received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Telecommunication Engineering in 2010 and 2015, respectively, from the Universidad de Málaga, Spain. In 2009, she was a granted student with the Institute of Communications and Navigation at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Munich, Germany. In 2010, she joined the Department of Communication Engineering at the Universidad de Málaga as a Research Assistant. From April to July 2013, she was a visiting Ph.D. student at the Antennas and Applied Electromagnetics Laboratory of the University of Birmingham, UK. From May 2016 to May 2017, she was a Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at the Electromagnetics Group of the University of Toronto, Canada. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Málaga. Her research interests focus on the electromagnetic analysis and design of planar antennas and the application of metasurfaces to the implementation of novel antennas.

 

Abstract

In this lecture, after a brief summary of the antenna theory basics, we present the main aspects related to the design of microwave antennas for space applications. The large distance characterizing a space link determines the antenna type choice (reflector antennas, reflectarrays, etc.), resulting in peculiar gain, matching, polarization, SNR properties. The different applicative scenarios of satellite communications, inter-satellite links, radio-navigation systems, extra-vehicular activities, and spacecraft communications will be reviewed, highlighting the main issues involved and presenting the typical solutions in terms of radiating elements/systems. Today, the ever increasing complexity of the space platforms (e.g. satellite payloads, spacecrafts, etc.), as well as the cyber threats, require new research efforts, leading to miniaturized multifunctional antennas, innovative co-siting strategies, cyber countermeasures at the physical layer. We show how such new challenges can be successfully taken through the use of engineered electromagnetic materials (referred to as metamaterials).

Short Biography

Filiberto Bilotti is a Full Professor of engineering electromagnetics at ROMA TRE University, where he is the Director of the Antennas and Metamaterials Research Laboratory. He has authored 500+ papers in the fields of antennas and microwave/optical metamaterials and metasurfaces. He is the elected President of the METAMORPHOSE VI, the international institute of metamaterials (2013-2019. He served the scientific community as the elected General Chair of the Metamaterials Congress (2013-2018) and as the Chair of the Technical Program, Steering, and Organizing Committee of many international conferences in the fields of antennas and metamaterials. He served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (2013-2017) and the Metamaterials Journal (2007-2013) and is a member of the Editorial Board of a number of international scientific journals. He is an IEEE Fellow and received many recognitions/prizes from IEEE and METAMORPHOSE. He won the Finmeccanica Group Innovation Award in 2014.