01 March 2023
The CEO of A4X Engineering, Francesco Cosentino, reported on the results obtained from the IHDG Dubai project and in summary we report his conclusions:
“From the first moment in which we were preparing to go through the requirements of the IOT Antenna system, we realized that, in addition to having specifications of complexity for the radioelectric aspects, the system presented an evident design difficulty, due to the large number of devices to be integrated in the system under severe operating environmental conditions.
A nice puzzle we said to ourselves. Aware of the enormous commitment that we would face in the following months, we nevertheless embraced the project, as it could not have gone otherwise: "These are precisely the things we like to do".
The first rule was to segment the project, entrusting the developments to our best engineers and technicians.
Under the supervision of our Mentor, Eng. Claudio Giarrizzo, who, in addition to being a manager in Innovation, is recognized for his consolidated experience in the field of Satellite Telecommunications systems, all the technical aspects and phases in every area of the program have been treated in detail: from the elaboration of the idea of the project system, the definition, development, manufacturing and final testing at the operational headquarters of the A4X in Catania.
The development part of the Feed was entrusted to Bruno Susinna, who took care of the mechanical project and followed the RF design part, entrusted to Sicilsat of Pedara (CT), which is certainly one of the most complex parts of the entire project.
This included:
· One port in S-Band in RX in circular polarization
· Two Circularly Polarized Ku-Band RX ports
· One port in Ku Band Monopulse TE21 (linear and circular)
· Two Circular Polarization Band DBS TX ports
· Two Ka Band TX ports in circular polarization
· Two Circularly polarized Ka-Band RX ports
For a total of 10 ports and 4 different frequency bands.
The aspects related to the mechanical integration project was entrusted to Angelo Intile, an aerospace engineer, who immediately gave a touch of personality to the arrangement of the equipment inside the "hub", he developed all the guide and coaxial paths from feed to the “hub” and found innovative solutions for the inspection and maintenance of the equipment inside the Feed Cone.
Also giving a nice sign of freshness to the environment.
Ten feed ports correspond to a large number of devices, all with different shapes, stuck in "Tetris" mode inside the "hub" which eventually managed to contain everything (4 converters, 2 TLTs, a Ku 1+1, a BUC + Ka 1+1 Amplifiers system, a pressurizer, a Brower/Heater system for the feed, a power supply and equipment control panel under UPS, a panel for managing the deicer system and … so many waveguides!).
Luciano Distefano, also an Aerospace Engineer, was entrusted with the thermodynamic analysis and the sizing of all the equipment responsible for heating and cooling the volumes of the reflector, the "hub" and the sub-reflector.
A complicated microsystem made up of variable thermal masses, forced extractions that exploit fluid dynamics in the elaboration of air ducts and deflection spoilers. Also in this case the familiarity with the simulation systems has contributed to the realization of a well-studied project which has had various interactions with the "Tetris" man.
The definition of the system project involved various actors who put their experiences and skills into play to unravel an enormous quantity of cable connections.
The electrical and signaling part was entrusted to Giovanni Susinna, a veteran in the field of satellite system installations, who was able to create, with skilful dedication, a system tailoring work to give headaches to those who, together with him , had to label all the routes and name each cable both in and out. New experience for Carminia Sortino who has rediscovered unexpected qualities in herself.
Luigi Finocchiaro, Electronic Engineer in telecommunications, prepared the radioelectric specifications and the system documentation, taking care of all aspects and functions, up to the elaboration of the installation, maintenance and use manuals. He supervised all phases of the tests carried out by Sicilsat, collected and structured the test documentation and the reports for the customer.
Fausto Baldoni has confirmed his skills as a control designer, in the development of his ACU, with Monopulse functionality, he has implemented the transit of all signals and commands of the entire system. He directly followed the implementation of the "Motor Driver Unit", managed by the company ECORA (Messina), and supervised the tests of the entire tracking & Servo system.
In the process of defining, testing and debugging the controls, the team was enriched by the presence of Andrea Ferro, the youngest of the A4X engineers, who with his enthusiasm gave a strong emotional contribution, as well as a great help, spent at 360 degrees, even in aspects that did not concern him directly.
The technical coordination part and the management had a task facilitated by the precious and constant activity of information distribution, in the management of the purchasing process and the physical configuration of the system. Activity entrusted to the Purchasing office, entirely managed by Dr. Alice Trigila, who with her constant verification of procurement times, in perfect synchronism with the timetable, was a decisive element.
The financial management of the order that Anna Moiseeva managed to govern, respecting the profitability parameters, also in this case, in perfect synchronism with the time schedule, is undoubtedly useful.
The system performance meets the objectives perfectly, all test results meet the requirements, the antenna radiation masks are perfectly compliant with the standards for these applications, adding an ease of installation and use that the customer did not have had no hesitation in acknowledging us.
The result of this interaction was of great importance, recognized and appreciated by the client and made a training asset for each of us.
To these women and men must be given my best thanks. “
