Airbus partners with Kythera for OneSat mission sizing software

Airbus partners with Kythera for OneSat mission sizing software
by Staff Writers
Bethesda MD (SPX) Mar 14, 2023

Kythera Space Solutions (Kythera), the leading provider of dynamic management systems for next-generation payloads and SATCOM networks, has partnered with Airbus Defence and Space to develop advanced payload mission sizing software for Airbus' OneSat Software-Defined Satellite (SDS). The new OneSize product enables OneSat satellite customers to quickly plan, optimize, and evaluate the performance of the OneSat's system performance including ground stations and user terminals. This can be done on-the-go on a standard laptop, independent from the operational ground segment.

Airbus' OneSat satellite is a new breed of SDS satellite, with the ability to be fully reconfigured while in orbit. Capable of adjusting its coverage area, capacity, power, and frequency all "on the fly" to meet evolving mission scenarios, OneSat offers Airbus customers unprecedented flexibility to meet different mission needs.

"Software-defined satellites like OneSat are extraordinarily capable, but that flexibility is hard to prove and visualize," noted Dr. Jeffrey Freedman, PhD, CEO of Kythera Space Solutions. "We're proud to be able to provide Airbus customers an easy way to boil away the complexity and see exactly how the OneSat payload will perform."

The new Airbus OneSize product, developed with Kythera, enables Airbus customers to explore the flexibility, power, and capability of OneSat. Ideal for pre-sizing and new business opportunities, OneSize takes as input a mission scenario, with various coverage regions, users, terminals, gateways, and mission constraints.

Using a model of the OneSat payload and advanced optimization algorithms, OneSize quickly optimizes the OneSat payload to yield a beam laydown configuration, frequency and channel plans, and capacity to service the mission at hand.

The result is an engaging visual display of OneSat's support for the mission users and extensive performance data showing how OneSat will meet the mission need for each user. With OneSize, Airbus customers are able to quickly iterate with different mission scenarios to see how OneSat will perform.

"We are excited to partner with Kythera Space Solutions, leveraging their singular expertise in SDS optimization, to provide our customers with a unique capability in the industry," said Olivier Mathieu, OneSat Programme Director of Airbus Defence and Space. "OneSize demonstrates the power of OneSat to meet highly varied mission needs and we consider it a vital part of Airbus' comprehensive OneSat customer experience."

Airbus plans to formally release OneSize initial versions gradually before the end of summer 2023.