Space Communications

We designed the Intermediate Frequency and Modem System (IFMS) to meet the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth Station communication and ranging / doppler signal processing requirements for deep space missions such as Rosetta & Mars Express. IFMS also operates with the high Doppler rates encountered for near earth spacecraft.

The equipment achieves high performance and flexibility through the extensive use of software and FPGA firmware in both its signal processing and data processing subsystems. This also results in the equipment being ready to accommodate new functions. This is of particular benefit for ESA missions where any new functions can be downloaded onto equipment which is already fully integrated into ESA’s ESTRACK network.

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