Thales and University of South Australia secure satellite research funding

A team of partners including Thales Australia has secured an Australian Research Council grant to improve how satellites transmit large volumes of data.

“As satellites become increasingly important and capable, and data collection technologies improve through enhanced imaging capabilities and higher resolutions, it’s vital to find new ways of transmitting this information quickly and securely over vast distances,” Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins said.

“This innovative project is at the cutting edge, and will lead global thinking on new processes to maximise the use of satellite systems.”

The team, which also includes Thales Alenia Space and the University of South Australia’s Institute for Telecommunications Research, will jointly conduct the three-year project, entitled ‘Downlinks for Future Earth Observation Satellites: Breaking the Bottlenecks’.

They will use advanced signal processing techniques to improve the efficiency and speed of data transmission and deliver greater capacity to satellite systems.  

The competitively-awarded Australian Research Council grant of $340,000 will be leveraged with a further $650,000 of cash and in-kind contribution from the team partners to deliver world-leading knowledge to benefit Australia’s future utilisation of satellite technology.

The research will be carried out at the University of South Australia, and at the Thales Alenia Space facility in Rome, Italy.