Projects

ESA has recently completed the replacement of all X-band cryo LNAs in its Deep Space Antennas with upgraded models. The original cryo LNAs which were all built and delivered by Callisto in the period 2000 to 2009 are being offered for refurbishment and re-sale. The refurbishment activity will be undertaken by Callisto and will include the replacement of the cryogenic components (cold head, compressor and gas lines), renewal of all vacuum seals and completed RF retest. The systems will be supplied with LNA power supplies, data logging unit and monitoring software. The RF circuits include bandpass filters which could be removed for customers requiring extended RF bandwidth e.g. for radio-astronomy or VLBI. Outline technical details of the equipment are provided in the attached data sheet.

Callisto has started a project in collaboration with Sysméca (Colomiers) to develop Ka band LNAs for Satcom applications. This LNA will operate at 20GHz and will be ruggedized for outdoor use.The aim of Callisto is to develop this LNA with competitive performance compared to those currently available on the market and also to provide a European source for this kind of LNA.
This project has been awarded a grant by the “Région Midi-Pyrénées” via the European Union FEDER 2007-2013 Program.

Callisto is pleased to announce that the project GRACY in collaboration with IEMS ( University of Lille) and IMS ( University of Bordeaux ) has been selected by the Agence Nationale de Recherche in a frame program for Nanotechnologies and Nanosytems.

This month Callisto is celebrating its 20th birthday. In 1993 our company was originally founded in the UK by Steve and Béatrice Rawson and we won our first consultancy contract with EUMETSAT.

The BKG (Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie) staff has received a training from Callisto on operation and maintenance of the Triband X,S,Ka cryo-LNA system recently delivered by Callisto. Four people attended this 2-days training course, mainly electrical and mechanical engineers and managers.

At the end of August 2012, Callisto will welcome nine visitors from China to their offices in the South of France for a 7 day training course in Cryogenic Low Noise Systems

Callisto has delivered the critical cryo-LNA sub-system comprising three X-Band amplifiers three Ka-Band amplifiers to SED Systems, the prime contractor for the DSA3 project. Callisto had already supplied the cryo-LNAs sub-systems for the previous two deep space stations, the first (DSA1) located in Western Australia and the second (DSA2) located in Spain. DSA3 is being built near the small town of Malargüe in Mendoza province about 1000 km west of Buenos Aires.

Callisto recently carried out a study on the cryogenics options for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Organization, which aims to develop the largest radio telescope in the World (see www.skatelescope.org) in order to study a wide range of scientific phenomena, including many related to the origins and early development of the Universe.

Dans le but de proposer de nouveaux services et un nouveau produit à ses clients, Callisto recherche une personne pour un travail de développement d’alimentations électriques pour des systèmes cryogéniques.

Callisto is pleased to announce that it has recently been awarded a new contract to provide a Multi-Band cryogenic Dewar for installation on a VLBI telescope located at Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und Geodaesie (BKG), Fundamentalstation, Wettzell.