Filenews 26 March 2024 - by Despina Psilou
A newly established company based in Nicosia arrives by the wayside. This is Ecliptic Defence and Space, which charts a trajectory in the field of space and defence through the innovative and advanced systems it designs and produces. As the company's business development manager, Maria Constantinou, told "F", they returned to Cyprus together with the technical director, Andreas Papanastasiou, out of nostalgia and concern for their homeland and have already achieved great collaborations, while soon their equipment will participate in the next space missions.
Ecliptic Defence and Space was founded in 2020 and started its activities in the summer of 2021, signing contracts with the European Space Agency (ESA). "Our team consists of highly skilled engineers with many years of industry experience abroad focused on next-generation radio frequency and microwave technologies. The rich engineering experience of the team provides the opportunity to transform emerging knowledge into industrial products for the highly demanding sectors of defense and space," Constantinou said.
The technologies they develop are intended for the needs of European troops and International Space Agencies. "We are focused on designing and developing innovative systems for next-generation satellites, solar exploration spacecraft and planet landers. These are systems concerning telecommunications equipment on satellites, satellite radar systems, radio measurement, telemetry, remote detection, landing as well as telecommunications equipment."
Ecliptic's innovations, he explains, do not exist anywhere today in Europe and probably in the world. "By using our own technologies, end products can have specifications far superior to systems offered until now."
This is because the technologies they develop have achieved a drastic reduction in equipment weight, a feature that is of paramount importance for satellites, as it translates into the need for less energy at launch and therefore a reduction in costs. They also achieved a significant reduction in size and at the same time increased the durability of the products to which these technologies are applied, thus reducing shipping costs. At the same time, they succeeded in transferring higher energy of the radio frequency signal from space to earth, while offering the possibility of easier assembly and manufacture of products using these technologies.
Ecliptic, in a short period of time since the beginning of its activities, managed to secure contracts for multiple developments of space and defense products, developing cooperation with two giants in the space sector, Thales Alenia Space and Airbus.
"Our equipment will soon be used for the needs of the next space missions, carries great technological innovations and added value compared to products currently available in the global space market, as they significantly increase the capabilities of the satellites on which they are installed," he noted.
In the coming months, Constantinou added, Ecliptic will proceed with the certification of its first space products, which means that our country will sell its first space products, entirely designed and manufactured in Cyprus.
In addition to the space market, radio frequency and microwave technologies can be applied to the design, development and manufacture of advanced systems of a defence nature to protect states and their critical infrastructure. "The solutions offered by Ecliptic can be installed on land, air and sea platforms," Constantinou said.
As Cyprus, he said, we are behind technologically and in terms of space, but also in the even more crucial field of defence. "It doesn't matter if a country is small. It is important to have capabilities to develop and possess force multiplier technologies that can shield Cyprus from any hostile threats. These technologies would equate Cyprus' capabilities with those of a much larger country. Such a development would be extremely important as it would be possible to bring about deterrent defense capabilities and upset the balance of forces which is largely to the detriment of our country."
"Since we can accurately anticipate and identify the threats we are likely to face in the future, we can methodically shift our efforts to strengthen research, technological development and production capacities. When we put this data on the table, we will be allowed to respond more accurately to the development of systems of the next generations that are necessary for the protection and survival of our country, its critical infrastructure and the protection of its citizens," he noted.
I want to believe that we are opening a door for the specialty of high engineering in our country, he said, as he finds that it is inferior compared to developed countries abroad. "That we inspire next-generation engineers to contribute. It is important to develop relevant disciplines in our universities, similar to those abroad, so that children stay here or return."
However, he notes, Ecliptic's involvement in cutting-edge technologies, combined with the installation of a strong domestic technological infrastructure, is expected to attract great interest and repatriate a number of scientists who excel abroad.
Nostalgia spurred the leap of their faith
After many years abroad, Constantinou says, nostalgia and concern for their island led them back to Cyprus and the decision to found Ecliptic in their homeland.
"We had the desire to return and we knew the capabilities of the technologies we are dealing with, after first training abroad. We said it was time to return," Constantinou said. "It is, at the same time, our concern for Cyprus as, beyond space, our technologies concern defense," he underlined.
We also estimate that soon Ecliptic's space and defense developments will push the opening of dozens of jobs, a significant increase in the number of engineers in high-tech posts, the solution of technological challenges, the undertaking of larger projects of national and European importance and in particular the strengthening of the position of the Republic of Cyprus on a technological and diplomatic level.
At the same time, it benefits both the environment and humans, since pioneering research and technology are fuelled, promoting actions that enhance public safety and land, oceans, atmosphere and facilitate the management of national natural resources.
Ecliptic's goal, noted Constantinou, is "the installation of state-of-the-art large-scale research, testing, industrial certification and development infrastructure, which will be used to implement ambitious research and development projects and will lead it to scientific and engineering successes to address complex technological challenges at domestic and European level."
