SatixFy to supply on-board processing ASICs to Airbus for advanced processed payloads — the company will provide on-board processing chips, for both digitally channelized and regenerative missions.

The SX-4000 is designed on an advanced silicon process node that enables higher integration and lower power and mass in space, while meeting space radiation requirements. The SX-4000 uses advanced multi-GHz ADCs and DACs, JESD204C based SerDes interfaces, Quad core ARM A53 running at over 1 GHz and multiple DSPs to support the SDR digital processing functions.

The SX-4000 ASIC enables LEO, MEO and GEO missions to regenerate each satellite links (user, gateway and inter-satellite) independently. Decoupling of the gateways links from the user links enables an improvement in the gateway link spectral efficiency, reducing the number of gateway locations, and hence CAPEX and OPEX, considerably. Graceful gradual deployment of gateways is easily achieved allowing minimal CAPEX and OPEX during the first years of service ramp up.

Each SX-4000 chip, supports a rate of 1Gsymbol/s which in addition to the improved spectral efficiency at the gateway link, enables operation of a single carrier per RF channel enabling saturation of the satellite PA, which reduces the cost per Mbit/s considerably.

The SX-4000 is compatible with the latest industry standards, such as DVB-S2X/RCS2 and the Annex E super-frame format 4 required for beam hopping. The chip supports dynamic and flexible data switching for satellites constellation, and multiple simultaneous channels with flexible bandwidth allocation per channel.

Yoel Gat, CEO of the SatixFy group, said the company has FPGA platforms and current SDR chips and waveforms that can help de-risk future satellite programs and the firm will support all DVB S2X/RCS2 functions, including the newly SatixFy driven future extension to the DVB S2X standard for Beam Hopping.

Charlie Bloomfield, Head of Communication Products, Airbus, added that SatixFy represents an opportunity to change not just the system/payload/processor approach but the processes and timelines feasible for such advanced technologies. These approaches will keep Airbus at the forefront of advanced payloads and solutions now and in the future.