South African high-data-rate satellite communication subsystems manufacturer CUBECOM, which specialised in the nanosatellite (“CubeSat”) and microsatellite markets, was celebrating the fact that the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) had identified its products as some of the fastest commercially available transmitters for these categories of satellites. It did so in the latest edition of the “Nasa State-of-the-Art Report”.

“We are in the boom now,” highlighted CUBECOM chief technology officer Sampie Booysen. Over the past 12 months the company, part of the Alphawave Group, has increased its workforce by 100%. With expanded production capacity it has widened its product range and can now offer a wide selection of Ka-band, S-band and X-band antennas, transmitters and downconverters for the commercial space sector. Its flagship product is its Microsatellite High Data Rate Transmitter (µHDRTX).

“Our recent inclusion in the global state-of-the-art index validates the quality of our engineering,” affirmed CUBECOM CEO Johann de Swardt. “It reflects not only on our product, but the decades of cumulative engineering excellence this region represents. In an industry racing toward higher data rates and reliable downlinks, the µHDRTX has carved out its place as the go-to communications system for data-intensive missions, offering one of the fastest [radio frequency] transmission speeds commercially available.”

Further, the company’s K/Ka-band transmitter systems completed a fully-integrated compatibility test programme at Kongsberg Satellite Services’ ground station, in Tromsø, Norway, earlier this year. It is now the market leader in the segment.

“The differentiator with South African engineers is their rare blend of theory and practical skill. At CUBECOM, we have to design lean, test hard, and deliver fast,” explained Booysen. “That edge shows in how quickly and reliably we bring space-ready subsystems to market.”

The company is one of several South African space companies, based in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, that were the offspring of the Stellenbosch University Satellite (SunSat) project. That was designed, developed and assembled by post-graduate engineering students of the university, at the end of the 1990s, and was launched into space, from the US, in early 1999. CUBECOM was acquired by Alphawave in 2015.

“South Africa is full of brilliant engineers, but turning technical brilliance into commercial success takes investment, structure and market understanding,” pointed out Alphawave CEO Frans Meyer. “Our role at Alphawave has been to back the right people with the right product focus and help them scale into global markets.”