Photo: Celestia Antwerp

Celestia Antwerp, the Belgian satellite ground segment company, has launched Virtual Integrated Baseband (V-IBB), a new solution for satellite Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT&C). The V-IBB is a virtual baseband modem which receives satellite telemetry and transmits satellite telecommands. It can also test satellite TT&C in the RF chain, before the satellite goes into orbit. Celestia Antwerp announced the solution, Oct. 14.

The V-IBB has been developed as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus program and in line with Celestia Antwerp’s mission to provide satellite ground station operators, satellite manufacturers and integrators with a rapid, reliable and effective means of communication between the satellite control center and, via the station RF section, the satellite.

The company believes the solution offers a number of benefits to potential customers. For example, two S-band antennas can be connected to one V-IBB modem, requiring lower investment in a multiple antenna environment, and several samplers can be connected to one SDR server. Secondly, it also operates at high speed – up to 20Mbps – and has a short acquisition time, even in challenging receiving conditions like low signal / noise or Doppler.

“The V-IBB uses the new digital technology to bring a fast, flexible and reliable solution to the market that also offers operators significant savings in set-up and running costs. It truly is a versatile and powerful tool for solving satellite communication and testing challenges that comes with field proven heritage from our track record and capabilities,” Guy Van Dijck, managing director of Celestia Antwerp, said in a statement.