Martel goes satellite with the recently started QV-LIFT H2020 project

Martel Innovate goes satellite with participation to the recently started Horizon 2020 project QV-LIFT, Q/V band earth segment LInk for Future high Throughput space systems.

QV-LIFT aims at developing the foundation of the Ground Segment Technology for the future Q/V band Terabit SatCom systems. This will be done by providing core technologies at two levels of the communication stack. At the hardware level, key RF building blocks and subsystems in the Q/V band will be developed that will fill a specific and well known European technology gap. At the network level, QV-LIFT will develop a Q/V band smart gateways management system able to counteract the propagation impairments, which presents one of the main obstacles in the deployment of the Q/V band feeders system. Both hardware and network developments will be demonstrated to be at TRL6 in a unique and realistic test environment where a mobile Q/V band terminal and three Earth stations will be linked to the Alphasat payload to create the QV-LIFT smart gateway network.

The QV-LIFT consortium involves 9 organizations from 5 different countries, namely Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni, M.B.I. srl and Skytech Italia srl (Italy), Erzia technologies S.L. (Spain), Eutelsat S.A and Ommic SAS (France), Martel Innovate (Switzerland) and Heriot-Watt University (UK).

The kick-off meeting of the QV-LIFT project was successfully held in Rome in November 2016 and it gave all participants and the European Project Officer the opportunity to better get to know each other, refine and strengthen the scope of the project, specify responsibilities and define the framework and timeframe to successfully undertake various key activities.

Martel’s plays a key role in QV-LIFT: besides being in charge of several coordination and management duties in support of the Project Coordinator ASI, Martel is in charge of facilitating the transfer of the acquired knowledge in the SatCom sector to existing companies in the mobile communication area by leading dissemination and communication efforts. Martel, via its proven experience and liaisons in the communication sectors, will build links with other existing communities outside the scientific and industrial areas directly involved in the project, such as external industrial actors and policy makers.

More information about the project can be found on line at: www.qvlift.eu

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