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SPACE / Mission payload / REVIEWED 2026-09-11

A01Phased-array antennas

Steer radio beams without moving the antenna.

Manufacturers & products

The spacecraft payload aperture creates and steers user or feeder-link beams. Complete electronically steered arrays, custom radiating apertures, and beamforming chips sit at different supply-chain levels; the examples below keep those boundaries explicit.

These are sourcing candidates, not a confirmed Starlink supply chain.

manufacturer

CesiumAstro

Vireo Ka288 space communications payload

Integrated spacecraft Ka-band transmit/receive electronically steered arrays and a reconfigurable processor provide a more complete procurement boundary than an antenna aperture alone. [1][2]

Manufacturer inquiry

Request a technical quotation through the manufacturer; current configuration and availability require confirmation.

Product scope & qualifications

Published values describe Vireo Ka288; other Vireo configurations are not interchangeable.

View product & inquiry route

manufacturer

MDA Space

AURORA direct-radiating array payloads

Digital beamforming spacecraft payload systems combine direct-radiating arrays with processing; programme antenna supply is also documented for the OneWeb constellation extension. [3][4][6][5]

Published manufacturing site: Montréal, Canada (documented antenna programme)

Custom program inquiry

Request a technical quotation through the manufacturer; current configuration and availability require confirmation.

Product scope & qualifications

Programme-level configuration; do not equate Prime 2.0 chips with a complete antenna.
SatixFy acquisition completed July 2025; avoid counting the acquired operation as an independent vendor.

View product & inquiry route

manufacturer

Airbus Defence and Space

ELSA+ and active satellite antenna programmes

Custom space active antennas include the Eutelsat Quantum Ku receive array and subsequent Spanish satellite antenna programmes; this is a mission-engineered payload offering. [7][8]

Company location: Spain (active-antenna programme)

Custom program inquiry

Request a technical quotation through the manufacturer; current configuration and availability require confirmation.

Product scope & qualifications

ELSA+ is a historical flight-programme reference, not a standardized LEO catalogue array.

View product & inquiry route

manufacturer

SWISSto12

HummingLink space AESAs

Space-specific electronically steered antennas integrate printed radiating structures with active RF and beamforming functions; the vendor separately markets ground antenna systems. [9]

Custom program inquiry

Request a technical quotation through the manufacturer; current configuration and availability require confirmation.

Product scope & qualifications

Specify space variant and delivered electronics; flight maturity and configuration are programme-dependent.

View product & inquiry route

manufacturer

Anywaves

Custom Ku/Ka direct-radiating array

Custom low-profile payload apertures are designed around mission gain, frequency and power-handling requirements, with mechanical, thermal-vacuum and RF qualification campaigns defined for the project. [10][11]

Published manufacturing site: France

Custom program inquiry

Request a technical quotation through the manufacturer; current configuration and availability require confirmation.

Product scope & qualifications

Public page does not establish the complete beamformer, scan-control electronics or modem boundary.
Published values are design targets, not guaranteed specifications for every delivered antenna.

View product & inquiry route

manufacturer

Anteral

X-band SAT DRA feed assembly

Space array feed hardware combines horns, filters and polarizers. It is useful below the active-array system level when mapping the aperture and RF distribution supply chain. [12]

Custom program inquiry

Request a technical quotation through the manufacturer; current configuration and availability require confirmation.

Product scope & qualifications

Passive feed assembly; public evidence does not establish an electronically steered complete array.

View product & inquiry route

manufacturer

Frontgrade

Custom space antenna apertures

Space antenna engineering spans printed patches, dipoles, horns and slotted-waveguide arrays. Treat it as custom aperture capability to investigate against a defined payload architecture. [13]

Company location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States

Custom program inquiry

Request a technical quotation through the manufacturer; current configuration and availability require confirmation.

Product scope & qualifications

No specific complete LEO multi-beam active-array product was verified in the consulted source.

View product & inquiry route

What remains unverified

Only four entries here have direct evidence for space active-array/system capability; three are deliberately labeled aperture or antenna engineering suppliers.
Public complete-array data are sparse. No sourced claim identifies who supplies the arrays on Starlink V2 Mini.
Element counts, pricing, delivery capacity, edge-of-scan EIRP and qualification reports generally require direct vendor evaluation.

Where it comes from

A company address is shown separately from a published factory location. Request the manufacturing site and lot traceability for the exact part when sourcing.

What to compare

Flight side and integration boundary
Confirm spacecraft use and whether the delivery includes radiators, power amplifiers, receive electronics, beamformer, modem and controller.
Frequency and instantaneous bandwidth · GHz / MHz
Match transmit/receive allocations, channel bandwidth and duplexing; a ground-terminal array uses the opposite link direction.
EIRP and receive sensitivity · dBW / dB/K
Compare radiated power and G/T at the same scan angle, polarization, temperature and backoff.
Scan envelope and beam quality · degrees / dB
Obtain patterns across frequency, sidelobes, scan loss and grating-lobe limits; broadside gain alone is insufficient.
Simultaneous beams and beam hopping
Distinguish independent beams from channels or radiating elements; check retargeting and resource-sharing limits.
Polarization and isolation · dB
Verify circular/linear polarization, switching capability, axial ratio and cross-polar discrimination.
Power and thermal rejection · W
Compare system DC power at a defined operating mode, including processor and conversion losses.
Aperture and spacecraft accommodation · mm / kg
Check full envelope, deployed obstructions, structural mounting, radiation/TVAC qualification and calibration access.

Selection & integration notes

An array vendor is not evidence of a supply relationship with SpaceX. This is a comparative supplier map for an illustrative satellite, not a Starlink bill of materials.
CesiumAstro, MDA, Airbus and SWISSto12 have direct space active-array or integrated-payload evidence. Anywaves, Anteral and Frontgrade offer relevant custom apertures or antenna capability with a different integration boundary.
Compare complete-array cost and power only after matching how much of the RF chain and processor is included.
Request a controlled interface document and thermal/RF performance at edge of scan, not only a marketing peak gain.

Published product examples

3 REFERENCES

Specifications belong to the named product and configuration.

Vireo Ka288CesiumAstro

Transmit / receive bands: 20.2–21.2 / 30–31 GHz[1]Space payload Tx / Rx.
Channel count: Up to 4 Tx and 4 Rx[1]Ka288 configuration.
System mass: 24.1 kg[1]Integrated configuration on product page.
DC consumption: 361 W[1]Page does not specify duty cycle or thermal test point.
Data throughput: 800 Mbps[1]Page does not identify this as per-channel throughput.
Symbol rate: 400 Msps[1]Published product value.

Includes arrays and processing; verify configuration-specific interfaces before comparing with aperture-only products.

Example sources [1]

Direct-radiating array design targets, ASA-052026Anywaves

Realized gain: >30 dBi[10]Custom design target; mission-scalable.
Fractional bandwidth: Approximately 10%[10]Custom design target.
Profile thickness: <15 mm[10]Without connector; target design.
Frequency / polarization: Custom Ku–Ka; LHCP or RHCP[10]Selected per project.

Beam steering and active-electronics scope require quotation.

Example sources [10]

ELSA+ Eutelsat Quantum referenceAirbus Defence and Space

Independent beams: 8[7]Reconfigurable Ku-band receive antenna; 2019 mission announcement.

Historical architecture example; public source supplies no comparable mass, DC-power or LEO merchant-product specification.

Example sources [7]

Sources & references

REVIEWED 2026-09-11

Manufacturer pages and technical documents support the linked claims. A review date is not a publication date or stock check.

Vireo Ka288 CesiumAstro · Publication date not stated
Integrated space payload architecture and Ka288 product parameters.
Accessed 2026-09-10
Space systems CesiumAstro · Publication date not stated
Spaceborne arrays, processors, radios and integrated payload offerings.
Accessed 2026-09-10
MDA AURORA MDA Space · Publication date not stated
Programmable satellite payload/platform architecture and direct inquiry route.
Accessed 2026-09-10
Industry first in satellite digital beam forming with MDA AURORA MDA Space · Published 2025-07-09
Direct-sampling digital beamforming antenna demonstration.
Accessed 2026-09-10
MDA Space completes acquisition of SatixFy Communications MDA Space · Published 2025-07-02
Completed acquisition and integration of SatixFy technology.
Accessed 2026-09-10
Repeat order of antennas for OneWeb constellation extension MDA Space · Published 2026-04-20
Space antenna supply and Montreal manufacturing/assembly/testing.
Accessed 2026-09-10
Airbus presents ground-breaking technology for EUTELSAT QUANTUM Airbus · Published 2019-11-21
ELSA+ mission-specific Ku-band receive antenna with eight independent beams.
Accessed 2026-09-10
Leading space technology made in Spain Airbus · Publication date not stated
Active satellite antenna capability and Spanish programme context.
Accessed 2026-09-10
Space products SWISSto12 · Publication date not stated
HummingLink space AESAs and additively manufactured passive RF hardware.
Accessed 2026-09-10
Direct Radiating Array Antenna Anywaves · Publication date not stated
ASA-052026 custom array design targets and qualification/inquiry scope.
Accessed 2026-09-10
FAQ: Anywaves antennas Anywaves · Publication date not stated
French antenna manufacturing and engineering-model/flight-model distinction.
Accessed 2026-09-10
X-band SAT DRA Anteral · Publication date not stated
Seven-feed spacecraft array comprising horns, filters and polarizers.
Accessed 2026-09-10
Antennas Frontgrade · Publication date not stated
Space antenna engineering capability, aperture families and company address.
Accessed 2026-09-10