Key supplier to the space industry

OMNISYS

Omnisys develops and manufactures customised scientific instruments for advanced science applications, and specialises in development and production of high performance electronics hardware for the space industry.

In 2007, Omnisys was awarded the contract as main supplier for detailed design and production of the Water Vapour Radiometers for the ALMA telescope that ESO was constructing in Chile. Omnisys designed the systems almost from scratch, to make them suitable for serial production and to ensure the systems could endure the harsh desert environment at high altitude.

Corrective maintenance and replacement of obsolete components

The contacts with ESO have continued, and in 2017 Omnisys signed a five-year agreement on corrective maintenance and development of spare parts that had become obsolete. Maintenance agreements are vital for end users when they concern very specialised technology intended for long-term operation.

“Due to the rapid technological development, components to certain subsystems are no longer available, so new replacement systems must be developed after approximately ten years,” explains Martin Kores, Managing Director Omnisys.

New receiver components and spare parts for harsh environments

“Here, we’re talking about systems installed in an extremely harsh environment, in a desert in Chile at a height of 5000 metres, with limited opportunities for maintenance and repair on-site,” continues Martin Kores. “We don’t just carry out traditional maintenance work like troubleshooting and repair – we also identify subsystems that need updating, and we develop and supply new receiver components and spare parts.”

Martin Kores is very optimistic about an extension to the five-year contract. Few other companies in Europe have the capacity for this type of contract, and ESO are very satisfied with the equipment that Omnisys has supplied so far. The agreement with ESO also gives the company valuable contacts in the radioastronomy market.

Omnisys wins big order through consortium

Omnisys is part of the industrial consortium that won an extensive order to develop an Arctic Weather Satellite for ESA (The European Space Agency).

A prototype for a new weather satellite will be developed. The prototype will demonstrate the opportunities afforded by a constellation of smaller weather satellites with a dedicated payload of microwave instruments. These will provide an almost continual flow of data for measurement of temperature and precipitation, with global coverage.

The industrial consortium is led by OHB Sweden, and Omnisys Instruments is the prime contractor of the microwave radiometer. The agreement runs over three years, and is worth over SEK 100 million for Omnisys.

Publishing year 2021

Last edited 2021