{mprestriction ids="1,2"}NORSAT-1, scheduled for launch in Q1 2016, will be Norway’s fourth AIS capable satellite with Kongsberg AIS receivers. The development contract for the Novel SAT-AIS Receiver (Project name: NAIS) was agreed as part of ESA’s ARTES 21 programme, which kicked-off in February 2014.
“To deliver the flight models to the customer after only 16 months, is a major achievement for the Kongsberg and ESA project team, and proves the ability to implement new technologies with a cost-effective approach and in-time for fast developing maritime applications,” says Carsten Tobehn, ESA’s project manager.
The latest satellite AIS payload has been built on software-defined technology, which allows for full in-orbit re-configurability, Kongsberg says, meaning that a mission can evolve throughout its lifetime by updating the software and adding new functionality.
A recent example is AISSat-1, where performance has been consistently improved during its five years in orbit.
“Kongsberg Seatex has refined its software-defined technology for spacecraft hardware for almost 10 years. With this latest generation SAT-AIS receiver we have had full focus on ensuring high reliability for even longer mission life-times,” said Kongsberg project manager, Frode Storesund.
“This has required multiple radiation test campaigns at several sites over the world, built-in redundancy schemes, an innovative approach on verifying COTS for flight and implementation of clever mitigation techniques.”{/mprestriction}
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