The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Germany. Photo: Fraunhofer

As part of the Beam Hopping Emulator for Satellite Systems (BEHOP) project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in conjunction with Work Microwave and Eutelsat successfully demonstrated beam hopping in an over-the-air test for the first time. The transmission technique was based on the DVB‑S2X standard’s Annex E Super-Framing structure.

In June 2018, Fraunhofer IIS collaborated with Work Microwave to test beam hopping for the first time using a conventional Eutelsat satellite. To this end, the beam hopping payload emulator developed at Fraunhofer IIS was added to the uplink transmission chain along with Work Microwave’s beam hopping enabled modulator with integrated synchronization algorithms. In the downlink, the corresponding demodulators from Fraunhofer IIS were used as a receiver.

Frauenhofer claims that currently no system in orbit completely supports beam hopping. This demonstration, the project partners proved that the beam hopping concept and technology are ready to be implemented.