\ Alta Tecnologia \ In-Orbit Demonstration of PICOSATS’ technologies on board D-Orbit’s ION

PICOSATS today announced the signing of a contract with the space logistics transportation company D-Orbit for the In-Orbit Demonstration of the RADIOSAT Ka-band transponder and the BEAMSAT K/Ka band horn antenna aboard the ION Satellite Carrier. ION Satellite Carrier is a multipurpose vehicle capable of performing satellite transport, payload hosting and advanced edge computing services in orbit in a single mission.
The mission is scheduled for October 2023 and the target orbit is SSO, at an altitude of 500 – 600 km.

“This opportunity will enable PICOSATS to reach flight heritage and enter the SATCOM equipment market with flight proven products” said Arianna Cagliari, VP Business Development.

Founded in 2014 as a spin-off of the University of Trieste, PICOSATS is a company committed to the research, development, and commercialization of cutting-edge telecommunications systems for the small satellite market and beyond. The increasing use of small satellites in low orbits for satellite communications and the spectrum congestion has demanded the development of high-frequency, miniaturized telecommunications systems, and PICOSATS has seized the opportunity to enter this rapidly expanding market.

PICOSATS is currently testing in an operational environment two transponders designed for CubeSats and small satellites, one in K/Ka and one in Ku-band for applications in LEO and GEO. The development of these products makes use of the know-how acquired by the company through various opportunities provided by the European and Italian Space Agencies. Along with the transponders, PICOSATS has also
developed K/Ka-band and Ku-band horn antennas, and a V-band double reflector antenna for small
satellites.