News: Microelectronics
10 August 2021
EPC Space’s rad-hard GaN power devices chosen by Astranis for small geostationary communications satellites
EPC Space LLC of Haverhill, MA, USA has been selected by Astranis to provide rad-hard gallium nitride (GaN)-based power devices for use in DC power supplies on the latest satellite build. Astranis announced earlier that it has started to build four new small geostationary communications satellites, three of which are already spoken for signed deals with new, yet-to-be-announced customers.
This new build of Astranis satellites is expected to offer 15% greater lifetime and 20% greater throughput than the first-generation model, without increasing satellite hardware costs.
Astranis is building small, low-cost telecommunications satellites to connect the 4 billion people who currently do not have access to the Internet. Each spacecraft operates from geostationary orbit (GEO) with a next-generation design weighing only 400kg. By owning and operating its satellites and offering them to customers as a turnkey solution, Astranis can provide bandwidth-as-a-service and unlock previously unreachable markets, it is reckoned.
The rad-hard GaN power devices that EPC Space is providing to Astranis provide high precision, small size, low weight, and can withstand the harsh environment of space.
“This program will add to the tens of thousands of our units already on board of satellites flying in LEO and GEO orbit with mission lives of more than 10 years,” says EPC Space’s CEO Bel Lazar.
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