Irish company Arralis was awarded a €2 million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) for a new electronically steerable Ka-Band antenna. Arralis is designing and developing the antenna for use in future ESA science missions, with potential applications in observatories at the Earth-Sun Lagrange points and ESA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, designed to detect and accurately measure gravitational waves. LISA is scheduled to launch in 2034.

The communication technology being developed for use in space missions will also have commercial applications on Earth, with growing demand for low power, lightweight, steerable, Ka-Band front-ends for high speed, low latency, internet access anywhere on the globe. This technology can be deployed in LEO, MEO and GEO communication satellites to increase access to broadband.

Arralis secured the contract with the support of Enterprise Ireland. The development will be carried out in the Arralis headquarters in Limerick and will support the company’s continued growth in Ireland.

Speaking about the announcement, Gary Soul, Arralis VP of business development, said, “We are delighted to continue working with the European Space Agency to deliver the world’s leading Ka-Band satellite communications products to the global space industry.”

Welcoming the announcement, John Halligan T.D., Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research & Development, stated that Arralis is a prime example of how government investment in ESA has supported the establishment and growth of high technology companies in Ireland and takes place in the context of the development of Ireland’s first National Space Strategy for Enterprise by the Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation, which is currently underway.

Bryan Rodgers from Enterprise Ireland welcomed the announcement, which highlights the continued growth in Irish companies developing highly innovative technologies for the rapidly evolving global commercial satellite communications market.