Project description
Optical feeder links for next-generation satellites
Optical feeder links for satellite communication systems – offering up to 1 terabit/second throughput – will be essential in the coming years. It is the most advanced solution for the existing digital division. The EU-funded VERTIGO project aims to develop systems for ground and onboard technologies, providing increased throughput with higher spectral and power efficiency. It will also provide high optical power generation through amplifier power increase, combining incoherent/coherent power. Atmospheric multiplication of impairments will also be reduced with the cutting-edge system of opto-mechanical and digital correction techniques. Full-scale demonstrations will take place. The new technology will support very high throughput satellite systems and help to preserve the EU's technological and industrial competitiveness.
Objective
Next-generation satellite systems will be essential to bridge the digital divide and offer high speed connectivity for all by 2025. Optical feeder links are the most advanced communication solution to the future VHTS system requirements. VERTIGO ambition is to establish the required breakthrough by developing the on-board and ground concepts and technologies enabling for a drastic increase of the link throughput towards and beyond 1 Tbps. VERTIGO is set to meet three major objectives: 1) Throughput increase: while current space optical comms use 1bit/symb modulation formats, VERTIGO will prove advanced schemes with higher spectral and power efficiency, including RF-over-Fiber approach. 2) High optical power generation: to close the demanding link budgets, VERTIGO will develop on-board and ground means to raise the transmitted optical power, not only based on amplifier power increase, but also on incoherent/coherent power combining. 3) Mitigation of atmospheric propagation impairments, to make full use of throughput and power increases. Opto-mechanical techniques using adaptive optics and aperture diversity, and digital processing (error correction coding/interleaving) will be developed to enhance the robustness of future optical feeder links. This unprecedented combination of concepts will result in leading-edge system solutions. Full-scale demonstrations will prove the expected end-to-end performance. VERTIGO ambitions to pave the way towards very high throughput satellite systems and contribute to maintain EU technological leading edge and industry competitiveness. VERTIGO consortium is composed of the different parties of the supply chain, from technology providers to satellite equipment and system vendors, and satellite operator as an advisor. VERTIGO gathers well-established industrial companies, R&D centers and SMEs, allowing for efficient technology transfer, quick take-up of last research results, and dissemination throughout the space community and beyond.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
31100 Toulouse
France