The Get Sat Ku-band ESA went flying, part of its testing program as it moves towards certification for in-flight connectivity services. The test flight, operated on an Airbus Defense A310 MRTT aircraft, will help evaluate the hardware’s performance against environmental parameters, such as vibration and temperature swings, associated with inflight performance.
The Get SAT antenna will be included in a package from Safran Passenger Innovations as part of the Airbus HBCplus offering for Ku-band connectivity. Intelsat and Panasonic Avionics are the Ku-band capacity providers selected by Airbus for the service. Airbus expects the hardware to be certified and available for install via its program in Q1 2026.
And, of course, airlines and service providers can offer the Get SAT hardware via SPI separate from HBCplus.
Among other unique features, Get SAT promises concurrent multi-orbit operations on the terminal, thanks to a multi-beam architecture. While other terminals today promise rapid switching between satellites in LEO and GEO orbital planes, the Get SAT hardware promises links with both at the same time.
Both Intelsat and Panasonic Avionics have significant GEO capacity in service today. They also both offer the OneWeb LEO constellation’s capacity via distribution/reseller agreements.
Separately, SPI also announced a contract with Gilat to source Ku-band power supply units for its inflight connectivity implementation. The multi-million dollar deal will see Gilat’s Wavestream subsidiary develop, qualify, and produce a new line of Ku band Power Supply Unit (KPSU) products to support the Ku-band ESA implementations.
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