What becomes of an antenna whose mission has ended?
Is it the end? In the launch business, it’s popular to make the argument for reusable rockets by using the example of an airplane that is thrown away at the end of a single flight. But what about antennas? Historically, many antennas were custom built for a single mission and spacecraft. After a mission, the antenna systems are often unused despite being in great condition.
RBC Signals was built on the insight that the model of “single use antennas” meant there was significant unused antenna capacity around the world that could be repurposed. We thought we would share with you a recent story of how we “rescued” and repurposed an antenna destined for obscurity.
Several months ago it was announced that blockchain company Consensys, which had acquired the assets of Planetary Resources, would openly contribute intellectual property while also auctioning off some of the hardware assets. One of those items was a 2.4 meter S & X band antenna system on the roof of former Planetary Resources headquarters in Redmond, WA.
The “new” antenna and radome loaded on the truck awaiting transport to Eastern Washington
RBC Signals has seen the demand for S & X band communications steadily rise, especially for earth observation satellites. We jumped at the chance to evaluate the potential of this antenna. We review all antennas for condition, network fit, and specs so we can be confident when pairing an antenna with a customer’s needs. After reviewing the antenna’s suitability for the RBC Signals global ground station network, we decided to put in an offer at auction and before we knew it, we were the proud parents of another S & X band antenna (and a UHF antennas system as a bonus).
Operations Manager John Ames in his native environment – on the roof of a building
There was one small catch – the antennas didn’t come with delivery, and were on top of a 3 story building. Given that most antennas are on roofs, we at RBC Signals often feel at home up on a roof.
We braved the 85F+ degree morning heat with social distancing and face masks. By the afternoon we had the antenna off the roof and loaded onto the truck to be relocated from Redmond to Eastern Washington. After a number of hours on the road, the antenna arrived in its new home where it was installed and is now ready for new service from its new home.
Just as reusable rockets have brought down the cost of launch, repurposing ground station antennas for multiple, new data-intensive missions democratizes space for space entrepreneurs.
Turns out in the antenna business, the end can be just the beginning, even in a pandemic.