Ibadan, 12 September 2023. – Atheras Analytics, a company notable for predicting and managing the effects of atmospheric/weather impairments on Ka-band and Q/V-band satellite links, announced its successful award of a co-funded ARTES development contract for its TEMPESTAS project. In addition, the project falls under ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) Core Competitiveness program with the support of the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and SES, a provider of global satellite connectivity solutions.
This 18-month project will enable Atheras Analytics to enhance the accuracy of its Ka-band and Q/V-band link outage predictions through the use of satellite weather imagery and low-cost rain radar installed at gateway locations worldwide. SES will support the development by providing Ka-band link propagation data and hosting the rain radar at its teleport sites where possible.
John Yates, Managing Director, Atheras Analytics, commented: “With the support of ESA’s ARTES program, we will be able to further improve our ability to accurately predict weather-related outages for multi-gateway Ka-band and Q/V-band satellite networks. This is a vital requirement because these networks have become essential to deliver high throughput satellite (HTS) and Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS) services globally.”
Furthermore, Joel Grotz, Senior Manager of Technology Development, SES, added: “The development of reliable near-term weather predictions for gateways for the operation of Ka-band as well as Q/V-band links in the context of high system availability and high throughput requirements is of great relevance for the industry. We welcome this ESA-supported initiative and are happy to take part in developing measures that enable enhanced accuracy of the results.”
The ESA ARTES program can help Atheras Analytics enhance and refine its technology, enabling satellite operators to manage these complex multi-gateway networks effectively.
