Axon’ links on board a Sentinel

The initial tests have been completed on the radar on-board this earth observation satellite Sentinel-1a from the European Space Agency. It was launched on April 3rd by the Soyuz launcher from the spaceport in Kourou. The role of Sentinel-1a is to detect changes in the ice-thickness in the Arctic, water pollution, plus study the earth’s surface and assist the emergency services during any natural disasters. The radar manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space is the basic element of the mission, and Axon’ Cable has been chosen for the on-board interconnect.

Small and compact
Axon’ cable assemblies are backplane connections of the Integrated Central Electronics (ICE) equipment located within the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on board the satellite. The technical challenge was dimensional: it consists in having several stacked connectors in a very confined area (37 mm high!). To meet this challenge, Axon’ manufactured and supplied the harnesses on jigs to confirm the dimension of these harnesses. Axon’ also supplied high speed data cable assemblies for the Laser Communication Terminal (LCT).

Sentinels of the Earth
Sentinel-1a is the first satellite of the Sentinel spacecraft missions. The European Union and ESA (European Space Agency) are both involved in this environmental programme. Five other missions will follow between now and 2019. Collected data will be used for the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). These missions will collect a huge quantity of data about the blue planet. It will be a real sustainable network which will monitor vegetation, the ground, the atmosphere and the oceans. Axon’ is already involved in projects for Sentinels 2 and 3.

About Axon’ Cable
In addition to data transmission products for Ariane 5, Axon’ equips many satellites
worldwide as well as the Curiosity Rover which is currently exploring Mars. Equipped with
several dedicated clean rooms, the Axon’ group is very well versed in the requirements and
challenges of space applications: weight saving, miniaturization, and materials designed for
severe environments. The headquarters of the company is situated in Montmirail in France
(100 km east of Paris) and employs around 1700 staff world-wide in 12 subsidiaries across
Europe, America and Asia. The Group turnover amounts to some €116 million euro (2013),
almost 70 % of which is export.

Photos: ESA, Axon' Cable