Orbital Systems

Orbital Systems is a leading manufacturer of ground station antenna positioners and components for a variety of satellite tracking applications.

The high-reliability, high-precision, elevation-over-azimuth satellite antenna systems are available in the size class of up to 5m.

Antenna positioners with high-reliability and minimal maintenance

Orbital Systems’ antenna positioners are designed for high-reliability and minimal maintenance. The systems usually do not require their first major maintenance until at around the ten-year mark.

Orbital Systems is a leading manufacturer of ground station antenna positioners and components for a variety of satellite tracking applications.

Orbital Systems’ ground station antenna system measuring 1.8m with X-S band feed.

Orbital Systems satellite antenna systems are highly precise and reliable.

Orbital Systems’ partners with System Integrators to customize Radar systems.

Orbital Systems search and rescue with reception of LEO and MEO satellites.

The firm's UAV / RPV tracking systems are custom-designed and built.

Orbital Systems provides custom antenna systems and trailer assembly and mounting.

Orbital Systems supplies worldwide professional installation and maintenance support.

The company's facilities includes a one-acre antenna system test yard, and provides a complete factory acceptance test on every system.

Orbital Systems' engineering and manufacturing headquarters is based in Irving, Texas.

The positioners are pressurized with dehydrated air to eliminate internal condensing humidity and to keep out dust, while internal temperature and humidity sensors control the built-in automatic purging system.

The elevation-over-azimuth satellite antenna systems have unlimited rotation in azimuth axis. The systems feature high-accuracy axis feedback for precision tracking from vectors and two-line element sets (TLEs).

Antenna systems for extreme temperatures

Orbital Systems’ antenna positioners use orbital data bus (ODB) technology to integrate the antenna positioner’s mechanical system with the radio frequency (RF) payload. This provides an integrated control interface that uses less internal cables and connections.

The systems’ RF cables are carried internally on a flex system that is rated for the life of the product.

The antenna systems are designed for operation in extremely harsh environments, hot or cold (-40°C to 55°C). They have built-in automatic heaters for use in cold climates and automatic purge valves for expelling moisture in hot and humid climates

Electronics mounted on the elevation arm provide options for alternating current (A/C), or direct current (DC) power, 100bT or 1,000bT Ethernet, fiber, data pairs, and RF channels through to the antenna positioner base.

These reliable antenna systems come standard with heavy-duty spun aluminium reflectors for operation up to 18GHz, powder coating on all external parts, a two-year warranty, and the typical mean time between failure (MTBF) is more than ten years.

All systems are compliant with CE electrical safety, emissions and machinery directive standards and come with a comprehensive toolkit.

X, S and L band feeds for satellite communications and public safety applications

X, S and L band feeds provide communication with low earth orbit (LEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites with custom radio frequency (RF) components used for satellite communications and public safety applications.

They have high-efficiency feeds for RX and TX / RX applications with integrated downconverter options.

Other features include:

• Multi-band feeds and optional polarity selection depending on application
• Built-in filtering options to reject strong out of band interference
• Built-in high isolation diplexers for TX / RX applications
• Feed and associated components are enclosed in machined and pressurised caging. They are integrated to the antenna controller over ODB and contain purge valves for pressurisation.

Upconverters and downconverters for telemetry, tracking and command applications

Downconverters are used for various applications, either built into feed, or electronics enclosure on positioner arm.

Orbital Systems provides combination upconverter / downconverter / loopback test converterd for telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) applications.

All of the firm’s converters are custom-made to the specifications of the client.

Mission commander software for TT&C systems

Control software provided by Orbital Systems includes mission commander software for TT&C systems, which is used for basic monitor and control (M&C) operations.

Mission commander free is also used for TT&C systems to demonstrate control protocols, and the company has partnerships with other vendors for M&C and C2 software to support Orbital Systems products.

Satellite ground station antenna positioners for satellite tracking applications

Orbital Systems satellite ground station antenna positioners and complete front-end systems are built to meet the high-performance and accuracy requirements of demanding satellite tracking applications.

These include TT&C, earth-observing systems (EOS) direct broadcast (DB), radar, search-and-rescue (SARSAT), UAV / RPV tracking, and system integrator custom-built antenna applications.

Telemetry products have extensive monitoring capabilities, and automatic safety features to prevent damage to expensive components.

They also have TLE, as well as vector and pointing vector tracking, and the systems come complete with mission commander free software. OACP control protocol makes the software interface development easy.

Radar positioners, SARSAT, and custom antenna applications for system integrators

Radar positioners through systems integrators are used for meteorological and public safety applications, providing precision scanning and high-speed slewing.

Search-and-rescue antenna systems (SARSAT) provide reception of LEO and MEO satellites in S-L bands. They have special S-L band SARSAT optimised feeds and filters.

SARSAT optimized downconverters are also provided by Orbital Systems. Custom-built antenna applications are used with system integrators, and are created for specialized military applications, using custom radio frequency components.

Worldwide professional antenna installation and maintenance

Orbital Systems provides worldwide professional installation and maintenance support for its antenna systems.

Superior engineering, precision manufacturing, and strict quality control standards result in maintenance free operation.

Average system design-to-delivery is four months, and the typical installation timeframe is two or three days.

The firm also offers extended maintenance after the two-year warranty has expired.