Harmony Horizon Europe

About Harmony

Part of the European Commission's Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), the Industrial Doctorate programme HARMONY: Innovating New Space Frontiers: Harmonised Federated And Fractionated Systems Unlocking Fresh Perspectives For Satellite Services has opened an immediate opportunity for well-funded PhD positions in the area of space networks exploiting emerging constellations with focus on the underlying architectures, signal processing and antenna technologies. Structured around a major European satellite manufacturer (Thales Alenia Space), HARMONY comes as a follow-up to the REVOLVE project (https://revolve.eps.hw.ac.uk/), where 7 MSCA graduates developed cutting edge antenna technologies that have led to new products and approaches that have been adopted by the industry. A further success indicator for REVOLVE is that all 7 researchers were absorbed into the European space sector at the end of the project (4 in large integrators and 3 in SMEs).

The explosive demand for truly global fixed and mobile connectivity, navigation services, and climate monitoring, has in the past decade transformed our day to day use of space. Nowadays, a combination of recent technological innovations enabling higher level of digitisation, miniaturisation and reusability coupled with regulatory reform and the rapid commercialisation of space missions - a development often referred to as New Space - are driving rapid changes in the space sector. As the space infrastructure rapidly rumps up, the next disruptive evolution will manifestly come from the seamless and flexible integration of heterogenous spaceborne assets. A central piece of the 6G vision aims at integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks in a single access architecture with sufficient flexibility, smartness and capacity to ensure truly global and reliable coverage as well as cost efficient rollout of services in the absence of costly optical fibres. Space systems have also unique features and heritage for numerous other services with transformative potential, e.g. Earth observation as well as position navigation and timing (PNT) that have traditionally been dominated by governmental investments and presently largely remain in silos. A primary driver of HARMONY is the removal of barriers across different space missions, services and actors in order to enable disruptive services that reach widely across societal needs and thereby complement the current 6G roadmaps. With the vision of fulfilling the New Space potential across diverse use cases, the aim of HARMONY is to underpin the broad harmonisation of spaceborne assets in a sustainable multi-mission ecosystem that will propel transformative innovation in services by exploiting the unique advantages of the space environment.

Harmony project presentation video

System Engineering, Signal Processing and Antenna Technologies: that's what our researchers are focusing on in the HARMONY project!
We are thrilled to present the introduction video of our Horizon Europe industrial doctoral network!

An ambitious industrial doctoral network

To accomplish its mission, HARMONY brings to fore a vertically integrated research programme in an industrial doctoral network for 9 PhD candidates structured around two innovative architectural satellite system concepts, namely; Fractionation, where the functions traditionally performed by a single monolithic satellite are distributed among a cluster of modules interconnected by inter-satellite links (ISLs), and; Federation, where a cluster of satellites, each with full functional capabilities, exploit ISLs to dynamically share unused and available resources (e.g. memory, data processors or downlink capacity) to improve performance and efficiency. Some of the objectives and research challenges of HARMONY are illustrated in the following figure:

In addition to the conduction of a well-defined project for each HARMONY researcher, the PhD training programme is complemented by traditional academic training as well as a variety of personalised and network-wide initiatives.

Consortium

Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately €2.2 billion in 2022 and has around 8,500 employees in 10 countries with 17 sites in Europe and a plant in the US.

CNRS is the main organisation for research and science in France and one of the largest in the world. IETR is a public research laboratory with expertise in antenna design, microwave and RF architectures and systems, digital communications, remote sensing, image/signal processing, etc. IETR is organized into 10 research teams and includes 377 persons including 150 PhD students, 40 post-doc fellows. In this project, CNRS is the legal entity representing IETR also involving INSA and UR1 as academic entities delivering PhD degrees.

The Chair of Signal Processing from the Bundeswehr University Munich is among the leading German research institutes setting their focus on satellite and space communications and signal processing technologies. It has a proven track record in the design and development of resilient and secure waveforms for satellite systems. Interference mitigation and MIMO communication solutions for future space systems also belong to its core competencies. With a current staff size of about 20 full-time equivalents, the institute’s annual turnover in external research project volume and funding has been about 2M€ in recent years.

Heriot-Watt is a research intense University in Edinburgh. The Institute of Sensors, Signals and Systems (ISSS) is a multidisciplinary institute within the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences of Heriot-Watt University comprising research groups in microwaves, microengineering, signal processing and ocean systems. With a research turnover of approximately £2M p.a. ISSS places particular emphasis at the interface between classical disciplines of electrical engineering and applied physics. ISSS holds strong two-way links to industry and has a series of success stories with knowledge transfer. The group of Microwave and Antenna Engineering at Heriot-Watt is 40 research staff (including 8 faculty) strong and actively engages on R&D on areas that include space communications, 5G, IoT, radar systems.

The company Large Space Structures UG (haftungsbeschränkt), LSS, has been founded as a spin-off company of the Institute of Lightweight Structures (LLB) of the Technische Universität München (TUM) in order to focus efforts on creation of large deployable space reflectors, other large space lightweight structures and reconfigurable surface reflectors. Having collected long-term experience in working on deployables at different institutes of TUM and Georgian Technical University (GTU), LSS creates a strong competitive base in this field. Working experience with the European Space Agency and European industrial partners in different projects is a valuable asset of the LSS staff.

MBI was founded in 2001 with a mission to create innovative IT services and telecommunications systems. MBI uses the most advanced information and telecommunications technologies to develop its business, mostly in overseas markets. Over time it has become an international reference of different areas, a member of some international standardization forums and has been involved in European Union and European Space Agency projects (ESA). The technical and practical knowledge and expertise of MBI’s staff are enhanced by close contact with the prestigious Pisa universities, including the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, as well as the National Research council (CNR) and other academic institutions. This, together with the multi-sectorial knowledge gained within MBI, means that technology transfer and training are continuous processes, resulting in high caliber staff. The key ingredients for the success of MBI can be identified as continuous research and development into innovative solutions, its choice of partners and customers which help it grow.

Kongsberg NanoAvionics is a smallsat bus manufacturer and mission integrator currently based in four locations across the USA, UK and Lithuania. The company’s efforts are focused on enabling critical satellite functions and optimizing their hardware, launch and satellite operation costs by providing end-to-end small satellite solutions – ranging from single missions to constellations. Its core engineering team has implemented over 120 successful satellite missions and commercial projects during the past several years. With modularity as the fundamental principle of NanoAvionics system architecture, the company provides economic viability to a wide range of small satellite constellation-based missions, businesses and organisations worldwide.

PhD students

Oscar Martínez

Nationality : Colombian

Ground and space system co-design

Oscar’s PhD work focuses on the design of next generation ground segment infrastructures for NGSO services, utilizing strategically coordinated gateways equipped with novel 1D electronic steering antenna arrays. The optimization of the antennas’ distribution combined with advanced MIMO processing solutions aims to simplify hardware requirements while still making full use of limited resources such as power and spectrum. Additionally, the MIMO approach envisions to relax antenna specifications and eliminate moving parts, which results in faster and more reliable connectivity.

Giulio Orlando

Nationality : Italian

Fractionated and Federated Satellite Systems For Telecom

Giulio's doctoral research centers on the study of fractionation and federation systems for telecommunication within expansive constellations in low Earth orbit. The primary focus involves analyzing the distribution of signals among antennas using inter-satellite links, employing advanced MIMO processing and multi-satellite diversity solutions. This analysis encompasses an evaluation of performance under various traffic scenarios. Furthermore, the optimization of Formation Flying, which involves physically disconnected orbital elements, is being conducted to assess the influence of fractionation on attitude control. Lastly, the research will explore the study of in-orbit deployment or assembly of pre-manufactured modules.

Dorian Chenet

Nationality : French

Edge Processing and Algorithm Distribution for Satellite Constellations

Dorian Chenet is conducting a PhD focused on edge processing and algorithm distribution for satellite constellations. While the satellite industry tries to create ever bigger satellite constellations, it is crucial to achieve the optimal use of hardware resources to provide a better service at a lower cost. Edge computing allows for hardware resources sharing and task dispatching between satellites to make the most use of the resources available within a constellation. We believe that distributed data processing in orbit can help lightening the communication expenses as well as reduce the ground infrastructure requirements and improve the quality of service.

Alex EVRARD

Nationality : French

mm-Wave quasi-optical antennas for intersatellite links

With the recent decrease in launch costs, primarily due to companies like SpaceX, the deployment of megaconstellations—constellations comprising numerous satellites—has become more feasible. These constellations will facilitate the transfer of an extensive amount of data in space. To improve data transfer efficiency, reduce reliance on ground stations, and enable more flexible communications, inter-satellite links (ISL) will be required.Alex's research aims to develop new types of antennas capable of facilitating high data rate, long-distance ISLs spanning thousands of kilometers. These antennas must also adhere to satellite constraints such as size, mass, shape, power consumption, and the ability to aim as satellites move relative to one another.

Aymeric Cailleux

Nationality : French

Satellite communications - Modelling Active Antennas for Optimal Piloting

Large-scale multi-antenna systems like Active Phased Arrays / massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) comprise up to several hundreds of transmit paths, and each transmit path has its own power amplifier (PA) and antenna element. Therefore, integrated system designs are used where expensive and bulky components like isolators between PAs and antennas are avoided to reduce system complexity and cost. However, such systems are vulnerable to antenna crosstalk due to mutual coupling and antenna mismatches and then suffer from nonlinear distortion due to the mixing of the antenna crosstalk and mismatch with the PA output, in addition to the nonlinear distortion caused by the behavior of the PAs. Aymeric's doctoral research centers on models and then compensation techniques that are needed to mitigate this distortion at the transmitter, and then to avoid violating spectrum regulations and communication standard requirements.

Alessandro Mastropietro

Nationality : Italian

Model-Based System Engineering for Small Satellites

In his PhD research, Alessandro explores the integration of model-based system engineering (MBSE) and concurrent engineering for small satellite development within a constellation framework. The primary goals are the research, design, implementation, and validation of a satellite design tool that enables rapid strategic design decisions. In a growing space market, it is critical to reduce satellite development costs and improve satellite services offering. For this reason, the outcomes have meaningful implications for the space industry by improving the efficiency of small-satellite mission design in a constellation context.

Azra Batool

Nationality : Indian

Air-interface design for IoT over Satellites

Azra's thesis will be focused on developing innovative waveform design techniques tailored to the specific requirements of IoT applications over satellite Networks. The aim is to improve spectral efficiency, mitigate interference, and enhance overall performance for seamless and reliable IoT connectivity.

Dany Mestas

Nationality : French

Low-complexity processing for multi antenna-based architectures

Dany's PhD research focuses on addressing significant challenges faced by small satellites due to restricted on-board processing capabilities and limited capacity for highly directive beams by developing innovative distributed signal processing techniques. The core innovation is to leverage reconfigurable payloads, known as Software-Defined Satellites (SDS), which allows the functions traditionally performed by a single satellite are distributed across a cluster of modules. The project emphasizes on leveraging high-resolution data collected from multiple distributed satellite systems for various applications such as to significantly improve satellite communications capacity along with positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), and remote sensing (SAR/GNSS-R). Given the unique constraints of implementing such algorithms in the space segment, the project will explore methods to enhance transmission efficiency such as low-complexity precoding and ML for simplified on-board processing.

WELCOME TO HARMONY PROJECT

HARMONY : Innovating New Space Frontiers: Harmonised
Federated And Fractionated Systems Unlocking Fresh
Perspectives For Satellite Services

About Harmony

Harmony project presentation video

An ambitious industrial doctoral network

Consortium

PhD students