Antwerp Space receives work order for the Communications-Subsystem of JUICE

Antwerp Space, a subsidiary of german-based and listed technology group OHB SE (ISIN DE0005936124) has been awarded a contract for the delivery of the JUICE Spacecraft’s Communication Subsystem. JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) is the first large-class mission in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme.

The JUICE-spacecraft is being designed and built by prime contractor Airbus Defence & Space; the contract awarded to Antwerp Space is worth approximately EUR 18 million.

"We are delighted that Airbus Defence & Space and ESA have entrusted this contract to our company. This strengthens Antwerp Space's position in Europe as the expert in radio frequency (RF) and satellite communication for delivering complete on-board Communication Subsystems and RF equipment to ESA science”, says Oliver Salisch, Managing Director of Antwerp Space.

Antwerp Space is responsible for designing, integrating and testing the complete Communication Subsystem, before it will be installed onto the JUICE spacecraft. The detailed design and manufacturing of the different units will be subcontracted to different companies in Europe, under the supervision of Antwerp Space.

The Communication Subsystem will enable the communication link with Earth during the JUICE mission. It includes basically a deep-space transponder, X- and Ka-band high power amplifiers (TWTAs) and a Radio Frequency Distribution Assembly (RFDA). It also incorporates two radio-science experiments from the 3GM Experiment (Gravity and Geophysics of Jupiter and the Galilean Moons): the Ultra-Stable Oscillator (USO) and the Ka-band Transponder (KaT). These two units will be provided by ESA.

Antwerp Space is going to deliver a comparable system in the frame of the Exomars 2020 mission and is furthermore contributing to numerous ESA missions, e.g. the Solar Orbiter, the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and the data relay communication system on the ISS inside the Columbus-module.

Planned for launch in 2022 and arrival at Jupiter in 2029, it will spend at least three years conducting detailed observations of the giant gaseous planet Jupiter and three of its largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. It will be the first spacecraft ever to orbit a moon (Ganymede) of a giant planet.

About Antwerp Space:

Antwerp Space, a subsidiary of listed technology group OHB SE (ISIN DE0005936124), is part of OHBs Business Unit Space Systems and provides expertise as well as system solutions for European space programs and commercial space applications worldwide. Antwerp Space develops systems and satellite equipment, satellite ground control stations for the reception of data from observation satellites and for the control of spacecrafts, as well as test systems used during the integration of satellites.