Celestia TTI completes two 500 W Ka-band GaN SSPA Systems for ESA
Celestia TTI has successfully completed the development, manufacturing and testing of two 500 W Ka-band Solid-State Power Amplifier (SSPA) systems based on GaN technology for the European Space Agency (ESA).
Developed for ESA’s ESTRACK ground station network, one system is destined for New Norcia, Australia, and the second for Malargüe in Argentina. Both operate in the 34.2–34.7 GHz Ka-band uplink.
The project represents a significant technological achievement in high-power RF amplification. At Ka-band frequencies, applications requiring power levels above 100 W have traditionally been dominated by vacuum-tube technologies. The development of a 500 W solid-state solution provides an alternative architecture designed to deliver improved reliability and maintainability for critical ground station applications.
Celestia TTI’s solution combines multiple GaN solid-state power amplifier modules to achieve the required RF output power. Its modular architecture allows individual amplifier modules to be replaced when required, reducing reliance on a single high-power amplification element and supporting long-term system availability.
The programme covered the complete development cycle, from requirements analysis, system architecture and performance trade-offs to detailed RF, power and thermal design, manufacturing, integration and final testing.
Alongside the two complete 500 W systems, Celestia TTI also manufactured and tested a dedicated set of spare modules to support future maintenance and long-term operation.
The amplifiers have been developed to support ESA’s Ka-band uplink capabilities, used within ESTRACK in support of radio science applications, enabling highly accurate spacecraft navigation and orbit determination.
“Achieving 500 W at Ka-band with solid-state technology represents a significant RF engineering challenge,” says Cristina Barquín, CEO of Celestia TTI. “This project brings together our experience in GaN amplification, high-power combining and system engineering to deliver a reliable and modular solution for ESA’s ground station infrastructure.”
The completion of this project extends Celestia TTI’s high-power solid-state capabilities into the Ka-band and demonstrates the potential of GaN technology at power levels traditionally addressed by vacuum-tube solutions, reinforcing the company’s expertise in advanced RF systems for demanding satellite ground infrastructure.
Celestia TTI has more than 30 years of experience in solid-state power amplifiers and RF solutions, developing technologies from UHF through Q/V-band for satellite communications, space and science applications. Its capabilities include GaN-based SSPAs, high-power modular architectures and proprietary power-combining technologies.
