Artists impression of a OneSat satellite in orbit

The standardised OneSat satellites for the highly competitive global commercial telecommunications market are software defined and fully reprogrammable in orbit. They are being developed as an ESA Partnership Project with manufacturer Airbus.

Unlike existing satellites, which typically have individually customised payloads, these satellites are otherwise identical and are programmed by software for each specific mission – and can even be re-purposed once in orbit or moved to a new orbital position.

The satellites will operate in geostationary orbit some 36 000 kilometres above Earth.

The fully reconfigurable OneSat product line features major innovations and disruptive technologies, including the latest digital processing and active antennas that enable several thousand beams per satellite.