Rohde & Schwarz, Connektica Develop Automated RF Test Systems for Satellite and Radar Applications
Rohde & Schwarz and Connektica will showcase a joint demonstration of automated testing solutions for passive and active RF components, including low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), and satellite payloads at Space Tech Expo Europe 2026. The demonstration will take place at the Connektica booth (D9-05, Hall 5) in the Occitanie Region pavilion.
The demonstration highlights the results of several projects that Rohde & Schwarz and Connektica have worked on over the past year to test satellite payloads and radar systems during qualification and production. The system combines Rohde & Schwarz’s R&S SMW vector signal generator, FSW signal and spectrum analyser, and R&S NGP power supply with Connektica’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES) platform for automated Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT). This integrated solution helps space and NewSpace manufacturers automate testing across a wide range of products, from passive and active RF components to complete satellite payloads.
The joint demonstration builds on the partnership between Rohde & Schwarz and Connektica, following their earlier demonstration at the Rohde & Schwarz booth in Salt Lake City. The system was integrated by Rohde & Schwarz’s team in Madrid, while Connektica’s team in Toulouse remotely prepared the complete software setup. This shows how teams working from different locations can collaborate to set up and operate automated test systems.
Bridging the Gap Between Lab and Production
In the lab, engineers typically set up each instrument individually, export measurements one instrument at a time and manually copy results into spreadsheets or report templates. When the first working unit is ready and production scaling begins, industrialisation teams look for complete test systems rather than individual instruments. Lab setups that were never capitalised on then make the transition slow and risky, especially when teams lack internal RF automation resources or are under pressure to decide quickly.
Rohde & Schwarz and Connektica address this gap with a joint approach, first presented at the Rohde & Schwarz annual event in Munich earlier this year:
- Start together at the lab phase: both companies engage from the first instrument sale, before production procurement is shaped.
- Off-the-shelf software test sets: pre-built test sequences, instrument drivers and report templates, so every new customer starts from a proven foundation rather than a blank page.
- COTS test systems: pre-characterised configurations that shorten decision cycles and give customers a complete solution.
Building manufacturing readiness and quality from day one
The two companies encourage space manufacturers to engage Rohde & Schwarz and Connektica early, already in low-TRL development phases. Test engineers organise their data from day one, automate their own scripts and build modular test blocks. As the product matures, these blocks are reused and assembled like a Lego set into a complete AIT flow, allowing the Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) to rise alongside the TRL rather than after it. Because quality is built in from the ground up, with traceable test data from the earliest phases, manufacturers are also better prepared for EN9100 compliance later on.
Jeremy Perrin, CEO of Connektica, said: “Most test benches are rebuilt from scratch when a product moves from the lab into production. With Rohde & Schwarz, we help engineers capture their lab work as reusable test blocks from the earliest development phases. By the time they scale, their production test flow is already largely built, and the quality foundations needed for EN9100 compliance are already in place.”
Ralph Kirchhoff, Global Business Development Manager Space at Rohde & Schwarz, added: “As satellite manufacturers scale from prototype AIT to qualification and series production, they need reproducible RF tests with shorter throughput and higher efficiency. Early integration of Rohde & Schwarz instrumentation with Connektica’s AIT automation lets programmes grow test capacity in step with manufacturing volume and deliver qualified satellite payloads and subsystems to market faster.”
The demonstration will be shown at Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen from November 17 to 19, 2026, at the Connektica booth in the Occitanie Region pavilion, stand D9-05 in Hall 5.
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