2.20pm – 2.40pm, 29 October 2024 ‐ 20 mins
Glyn Thomas, Payload Product Manager and Senior Expert and Oriol Vidal, Airbus Defence & Space
The future vision for Non-Terrestrial Networks leveraging satellite connectivity in LEO, MEO and GEO orbits. The technology challenges and roadmaps to ensure satellite is able to form a fundamental enabling part of future 5/6G systems.
Payload Product Manager and Senior Expert, Airbus Defence and Space
Glyn is a Senior Expert in flexible, processed and HTS payloads for both commercial and governmental applications. Glyn is responsible for overall payload strategy within Airbus Defence and Space covering GEO, MEO and LEO. Glyn holds a number of patents in the domain of flexible telecommunications payloads covering active antenna, analogue and digital processing. Glyn is currently leading the design and definition of airbus 3rd generation of flexible satellite payload. This payload will be a scaleable multi-orbit design with the satellites in each orbit being essentially network hubs leveraging each orbit to its fullest extent and according to the specific needs of the data traversing the network. The network nodes will include;
· Optical inter satellite links
· RF intersatellite links for GEO-MEO, GEO to LEO broadcast data
· Next generation active antennas able to form thousands of simultaneous beams from over 1000 radiating elements
· Regenerative processing nodes, including modulators and demodulators, operating on DVB, 5G and MIL waveforms
· Transparent and regenerative transponder paths
· V, Q and W band feederlinks
· Ku / Ka user links via afore mentioned active antennas
· 100Gbps ethernet packet switching, memory for edge processing.
Glyn was deputy chief engineer for Airbus Defence and Space payload equipment’s division during the period 2010 to 2014. Glyn previously managed research and development where he generated a number of key patents in the fields of flexible communications payloads. Prior to this Glyn worked in both systems engineering and microwave design roles on the RADARSAT 2 Synthetic Aperture RADAR system. Glyn graduated from St. Andrews University with a degree in Theoretical Physics and also holds a Master’s degree in Microwave Solid State Physics