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23 Jul 20. Russia Tests a Satellite That Rams Other Satellites, US Says. It’s the latest Russian weapon being developed to attack American spacecraft, Space Force leader says. Russia tested an anti-satellite weapon last week, launching a projectile from an orbiting satellite, U.S. military leaders said Thursday.
“The Russian satellite system used to conduct this on-orbit weapons test is the same satellite system that we raised concerns about earlier this year, when Russia maneuvered near a U.S. government satellite,” Gen. John Raymond, who leads U.S. Space Command, said in a statement. “This is further evidence of Russia’s continuing efforts to develop and test space-based systems, and consistent with the Kremlin’s published military doctrine to employ weapons that hold U.S. and allied space assets at risk.”
One space expert said open data backs up the Pentagon’s assessment.
“On July 15, Cosmos 2543 deployed a smaller object at a relatively high speed (roughly 200 m/s or about 400 mph) that is unusual for the typical satellite deployment,” Brian Wheeden, technical advisor for the Secure World Foundation. We saw something similar back in 2017 with Cosmos 2521 deploying Cosmos 2523. So far neither of those deployed satellites have struck anything, but their parent objects have done close approaches to other Russian satellites.”
U.S. military leaders have closely watched previous Russian orbital tests. In September 2014, Russia launched a satellite that performed a series of highly unusual maneuvers close to a pair of Intelsat communications satellites.
A top U.S. arms control official said the test showed Moscow’s hypocrisy.
”This event highlights Russia’s hypocritical advocacy of outer space arms control, with which Moscow aims to restrict the capabilities of the United States while clearly having no intention of halting its own counterspace program – both ground-based anti-satellite capabilities and what would appear to be actual in-orbit anti-satellite weaponry,” Christopher Ford, assistant Secretary of State currently performing the duties of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, said in a statement.
Russia also tests the Nudol anti-satellite ballistic missile, with nine launches from truck-mounted launchers since 2014, most recently in November, according to a running list by Weeden.
A less-remarked-upon threat, according to Laura Seward Forczyk, founder of space consulting and analysis firm Astralytical, is that provocative antisatellite tests pressure governments like the United States and others to keep pace with their own expensive experimentation.
“The problem isn’t only that Russia is continuing to test anti-satellite (#ASAT) systems, even nondestructively,” she wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “It pressures/encourages US leadership & others that the US & other space powers should also be considering or testing ASAT systems. It’s a dangerous feedback cycle.” (Source: Defense One)
24 Jul 20. Kleos Space Continues to Build South & Latin American Presence.
- Strategic Channel Partner/Integrator Appointed in Mexico – RCM Telecom
- Delivering Data-as-a-Service into Latin America and the Caribbean
- South and Latin American engagement includes Brazil, Chile and Mexico
- Delivering maritime geolocation Data-as-a-Service in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Kleos targeting planned Latin American investments over EUR 45bn
- Post Launch revenues continue to grow
Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1), (Kleos or Company) a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data provider, advises that it has appointed a further South & Latin American Channel Partner (value added reseller) – RCM Telecom (RCM Telecom) as a Mexican Channel Partner & Integrator to support the roll out of the Kleos data suite.
RCM Telecom is a Mexican company, delivering solutions for Security and terrestrial, maritime and air communications.
Kleos radio transmission reconnaissance data will improve the surveillance and security of the seas and coasts of Mexico, as well as to oversee ports and customs operations. Mexico has coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea as well as oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Pete Round: Kleos Chairman & Executive Director for Group Business Development said: “Mexico presents strong marketing opportunities. Kleos space reconnaissance data will address the significant challenges for conventional maritime surveillance faced by Mexico.”
In 2018 imports via Port Tampa Bay from Mexico doubled to over 25,000 TEU and reached 15,000 TEU through Port Miami. Kleos will optimise Mexican efforts at wide area surveillance.
Rodrigo Márquez Castillo; RCM Telecom, SA de CV Executive Operational Director and Business said: “Kleos Space reconnaissance data can be integrated with surveillance solutions using mapping systems, local capabilities and communications here in Mexico.”
As a Channel Partner RCM Telecom will sell Kleos data products to their clients. RCM Telecom will receive a discount off end user list prices based on revenue generated from its customers.
According to The Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF), the Latin American Development bank, the outlook by 2040 for the maritime and port sector in Latin America and the Caribbean suggests an attractive environment for growth with planned investments over 45bn euros in the coming decade.
Kleos Guardian LOCATE Fixed Pricing Model
Kleos data Products
- Guardian RF – raw data from Kleos satellites suitable for customers with their own geo-location analysis / signals intelligence capability
- Guardian LOCATE – processed data delivering geo-located RF activity for further analytics within GEOINT and data fusion programs
- Guardian UDT – user defined, customised data set allowing selection of specific areas of interest, ground station, level of security. and level of processing by the customer
22 Jul 20. US Army to begin satcom field testing for expeditionary signals units. The US Army is poised to begin field tests on a new suite of satellite communication (satcom) equipment for the service’s Expeditionary Signals Battalion-Enhanced (ESB-E) units, which will result in those units receiving organic communications capability for the first time. The three communications systems being fast-tracked for experimentation focus on the ESB-E programme’s satellite baseband hardware and mobile expeditionary satcom terminals, said Paul Mehney, director of public communications at Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T).
Programme officials with the army’s Program Manager Tactical Network (PM Tactical Network), in conjunction with the US Army Futures Command’s Network Cross-Functional Team (N-CFT), in June awarded PacStar, Klas, and Dtech Labs support contracts, to provide network and mobile communication hardware for the three ESB-S systems slated for field tests. Army officials plan to field a total of 24 new network communication systems, one for each of the service’s ESB-E units.
Overall, the ESB-E programme represents “a modular, scalable, more agile version” of the current ESB systems, updated to support the service’s Integrated Tactical Network (ITN) initiative, an army fact sheet said. The new ESB-E programme also provides alternative organic networking capability “that reduces the reliance on legacy Warfighter Information Network Tactical (WIN-T) equipment,” it added. (Source: Jane’s)
22 Jul 20. US, UK launch military-space competition for startups. The U.K. and U.S. governments have turned to startups and inventors in a competition to adapt commercial technology solutions to answer pressing challenges in the military space sector.
The two countries have jointly put up £1m, or $1.3m, to tap into potential new ideas in six technology areas from small companies, innovators and others around the world.
The finalists will face a beauty parade in front of senior British, American and NATO military officials at a space conference scheduled to take place in London in November.
Up to 15 proposals will be selected to go forward with further work on what is being called International Space Pitch Day.
Launching the scheme, the U.K.’s first-ever, recently appointed director for space matters, Air Vice-Marshal Harv Smyth, said the initiative is “all about fast-tracking innovation and cutting-edge technology to the front line quicker than ever before, and fresh ways of working with industry to make sure we stay ahead of our shared adversaries and the threats they pose.”
Smyth will be one of the judges at the conference, which will be held virtually if the live event is cancelled.
The format will be the first international collaboration of its kind between two allies, the Ministry of Defence said.
Organizations who make it through to the space conference final will be in contention to secure a $66,000 contract from the judges to speed up development of what is expected to be mainly commercial innovations and technology.
The effort, run by Britain’s Defence and Security Accelerator organization, is funded by the U.K. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Royal Air Force and the US Air Force.
The aim is to find, fund and fast track innovations by tech startups and other experts in order to accelerate the development of commercial space technology s to solve problems in the defense space sector.
This year’s competition is seeking solutions to six challenges set by the U.K. and U.S. space teams:
- Visualization of key events and information for combined space operations with allies and commercial partners.
- Understanding current satellite systems relevant to the operations of a particular commander.
- Understanding the present and potential impact of space weather on users across all domains.
- Provision of training against realistic threats and opportunities, incorporating live data, and integrating space across multiple domains.
- Enabling common and user-defined operational pictures to support multinational space domain awareness and command and control.
- A verification and comparison tool for space domain awareness, which can take orbital observation data from a variety of sources and in a variety of formats and produce a single, reliable operational picture. (Source: Defense News)
22 Jul 20. UK ministers were warned of financial risk to $500m OneWeb deal. The FT reported tonight that UK ministers were warned of financial risk to $500m OneWeb deal. Downing Street pushed ahead with an investment in a bankrupt satellite operator as part of its post-Brexit independent space strategy despite a top civil servant warning the “unusual” deal could see taxpayers losing the entire $500m with “no wider benefits accrued”. The UK won the auction for satellite broadband operator OneWeb with a joint $1bn bid with India’s Bharti Enterprises earlier this month. Under the deal the British government will invest $500m for an initial stake of about 45 per cent in the unprofitable company, which is building out a low-earth orbit satellite broadband network.
Ministers pursued the deal despite Sam Beckett, the then acting permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, questioning the wisdom of the move in a letter sent on June 26 and made public on Wednesday. It is rare for mandarins to issue “ministerial directions” of this nature which require ministers to overrule objections from the civil service before proceeding with a spending proposal. Government departments are required to make ministerial directions public. I have been informed that even with substantial haircuts to OneWeb’s base case financial projections the investment would have a positive return Alok Sharma, business secretary Ms Beckett wrote that she understood the enthusiasm of prime minister Boris Johnson for the wider benefits of the scheme, including “long-term geopolitical advantages” and the boost to soft power, alongside the potential to connect millions of people in rural locations without broadband access. But she said there were “stark” risks with the spending given it was a large single investment. “While in one scenario we could get a 20 per cent return, the central case is marginal and there are significant downside risks, including that venture capital investments of this sort can fail, with the consequence that all the value of the equity can be lost.” As such the investment did not meet the value-for-money requirements set out by the government.
The letter reveals that the Treasury did not give the investment its usual “full Green Book-compliant business case” analysis, which would have examined whether other alternative investments might have delivered a better return. Separately the UK Space Agency also carried out a separate independent technical assessment, according to the letter. This highlighted “substantial technical and operational hurdles” that OneWeb would need to overcome in order to become a viable, profitable business. UKSA also warned of the “high likelihood” that taxpayers could need to put more investment into the business in the future. Alok Sharma, business secretary, wrote in a reply that he had taken advice from officials in the Treasury, his own department, the Cabinet Office and UKSA. “I have been informed that even with substantial haircuts to OneWeb’s base case financial projections the investment would have a positive return,” he replied. Mr Sharma added that the deal had been authorised by Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer. “The fact that any investment would also be alongside other private commercial investors as part of a wider consortium, and as you say, one large and trusted investor already on board, indicates a rational commercial case for investing,” he said. Recommended Space industry UK gamble on OneWeb signals more interventionist space policy Under the terms of the deal Bharti Global, a subsidiary of the conglomerate run by billionaire telecoms tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal, will also hold 45 per cent of OneWeb and the rest will be held by existing creditors, including SoftBank, which has loans outstanding of $913m, according to bankruptcy documents filed in the US.
The investment came as the government backed away from a plan launched two years ago to develop its own sovereign satellite navigation system after being forced out of the European Galileo system, which the UK had helped finance and develop, as a result of the Brexit vote. Costs for that proposal had soared to £5bn, from an initial estimate of £3bn to £4bn. Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s chief adviser, has been instrumental in pushing the case for the UK government to invest in OneWeb in the face of fierce opposition from supporters of the original satellite navigation project.
Darren Jones, chair of the Commons business select committee, questioned the accountability and “lack of transparency” of the investment. He said the committee would hold an inquiry into why the decision was taken. “This near half-a-billion-pound investment using taxpayers’ money seems to have been purely a commercial decision by Downing Street without any assessment of value for taxpayers’ money or agreement from experts about the technical capability that OneWeb offers the UK now that we’ve lost access to European Union satellites.”
BATTLESPACE Comment: What’s £500m between friends! Beware the dangers of amateur space engineers! When the Dominic Cummings inspired OneWeb deal was touted by the UK Government, the plan envisaged was to use the OneWeb constellation for military and civil usage. This always seemed to be a problem given that the UK was in a minority partnership with other organisations and companies. This week Defense News seemed to suggest that it’s all systems go for OneWeb to form part of the Skynet 6 BVLOS requirement with Airbus in the driving seat. However a PQ we published last week seems to suggest otherwise.
Clearly once again the government message seems once again to have gone awry! Ben Wallace didn’t mention OneWeb in his Air League conference brief last week and the MoD hasn’t made a statement either which suggest that this information is coming straight from Dominic Cummings without MoD verification.
Q
Asked by Lord Tunnicliffe
Asked on: 08 July 2020
Ministry of Defence
Satellites
HL6644
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice the Ministry of Defence has provided to other Government departments on the military capability of the OneWeb satellite system.
A
Answered by: Baroness Goldie
Answered on: 14 July 2020
The investment in OneWeb is not a Defence matter. The SKYNET satellite programme will provide for global military communications and no formal assessment has been made of the military use of OneWeb.
Grouped Questions: HL6645
We have to ask what the final cost will be if the Government has to pump more capital into OneWeb and then spend the estimated £6bn to procure the Galileo replacement. One solution would be to go back to Europe cap in hand and negotiate a way back into Galileo.
21 Jul 20. The US needs to take action to deter near-peer rivals in space. Earlier this June, the Department of Defense released the unclassified summary of its 2020 Defense Space Strategy, which openly designates space as a “distinct warfighting domain,” a distinction that only recently gained national policy acceptance. With this document, the DoD now has the authorization to begin preparing to deter potential space adversaries, and should deterrence fail, to win a conflict that extends into space.
This important update to the near-decade-old National Security Space Strategy follows an April announcement by U.S. Space Command that Russia conducted a direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missile test that is purportedly capable of destroying low-Earth orbit satellites. This test stands in stark contrast to Russia’s frequent claims that it has tried to prevent an arms race and avoided introducing weapons into space.
Unlike its 2011 predecessor, the 2020 Defense Space Strategy explicitly calls out Russia and China as representing the “greatest strategic threat due to their development, testing, and deployment of counterspace capabilities.”
The addition of the Russian threat is a crucial distinction. In the last decade, Russia has reactivated some of its Soviet-era counter-space weapons programs. Meanwhile, China has continued to refine and develop its own counter-space capabilities.
Russia is reportedly developing three DA-ASAT systems that could target low-earth orbit assets: Nudol, a ground-launched ballistic missile; Kontakt, an air-launched interceptor; and the S-500, the latest iteration of its exoatmospheric ballistic missile defense system. At this point in time, none are believed to be fully operational.
China, however, possesses at least three DA-ASAT programs and demonstrated its satellite-killing abilities in 2007 by destroying one of its own weather satellites. We observed this test in real time, and we were incredulous that China would imperil all space-faring nations by producing a large quantity of debris in LEO that still represents a hazard to satellites, including the International Space Station.
While China has since refrained from conducting subsequent DA-ASAT tests that produce orbital debris, it has continued refining its kinetic kill vehicle capabilities to initiate these attacks from mobile launch platforms as well as to potentially target satellites located in either medium Earth orbit or even higher in geosynchronous orbit. In short, satellites in all Earth orbits are now threatened by China’s weapons.
Even more concerning are Russian and Chinese advances in co-orbital systems that are supposedly peaceful systems with benign capabilities such as on-orbit servicing and active debris removal. These same systems can be used for more nefarious purposes, such as performing surveillance on a rival nation’s satellite and then maneuvering closer to either damage or disable it.
While China thus far has confined its near approaches to its own satellites, Russia has deliberately maneuvered a few of its own satellites close to American ones as well as those belonging to our European allies. One such incident occurred in January when the Russian satellites Cosmos-2542 and Cosmos-2543 repeatedly approached one of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s primary satellites.
At the time, Gen. John Raymond, commander of U.S. Space Command and the chief of the U.S. Space Force, rightly described Russia’s actions as irresponsible with the “potential to create a dangerous situation.” These continuing aggressive actions have prompted the United States and many other space-faring nations to call for “rules of the road” for satellite operators of all nations.
Other ways to degrade or destroy satellites include electronic warfare, ground and/or spacecraft computer intrusions, and lasers attacks. While the unclassified summary of the Defense Space Strategy doesn’t go into specific detail on these various types of threats, their use is certainly conceivable given the threats the same types of systems pose to our air, land and sea forces.
The Defense Space Strategy does highlight a critical point: Both China and Russia consider denying access to space assets to be critical aspects of their strategy. Accordingly, they are developing extensive counter-space systems that will at least degrade and possibly eliminate the space capabilities that have enabled our air, land and sea forces to be dominant in every conflict since Desert Storm.
The United States must resolve to make its space assets more resilient to interference or attack. In addition, the U.S. must build the capability to deny potential adversaries the use of their space assets to accomplish their war-fighting objectives. During the Cold War, in response to the Soviet Union deploying an ASAT system, the United States developed its own DA-ASAT systems. One of these used a modified F-15A fighter aircraft to fire a specially designed missile that would strike LEO targets. Following a successful test of the missile, the Soviet Union and the U.S. tacitly agreed that the use of such weapons was not in either nations’ best interests.
The point here is that defensive systems alone are not adequate. Successful deterrence in space requires the development of both offensive and defensive capabilities that will force adversaries to question the wisdom of interfering with U.S. space systems.
Looking ahead, it is prudent military planning to anticipate that our vital space-based infrastructure will be targeted in future conflicts. To deter these attacks and, if necessary, defeat them, the United States must develop and field both offensive and defensive capabilities that will make it clear to Russia and China that we will prevail in any conflict that extends into the space domain. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
21 Jul 20. Ball Aerospace Selected by Defense Innovation Unit to Develop Prototype Antenna for U.S. Navy Ships. The antenna prototype will leverage Ball Aerospace’s phased-array antenna capabilities for integration onto U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers. Ball Aerospace was selected by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to develop a prototype of a new multi-band, low-observable satellite communications antenna to be installed on the U.S. Navy’s newest stealth ships, the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers. Ball is leveraging its portfolios of electronically steerable phased array antenna technologies and high-performance stealth technologies to design a solution that can operate over multiple frequency bands, meet existing signature requirements and integrate into the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer.
“We are pleased to partner with DIU and the U.S. Navy to explore ways to quickly and cost-effectively increase the capabilities of the DDG 1000,” said Dr. Jake Sauer, vice president and general manager, Tactical Solutions, Ball Aerospace. “Our multi-band, multi-beam phased array heritage and conformal antenna expertise directly supports the warfighter by addressing emerging threats and taking on new missions.”
The selection of Ball to produce the new antenna prototype is part of DIU’s Multi-Domain Tactical Communications (MDTC) program. Under the MDTC effort, Ball will develop the antenna architecture, beamforming approach and prototype.
Ball has five decades of experience designing and building electronically steerable phased array antenna systems for the U.S. military, enabling mission-critical communications for the warfighter. The company’s experience covers a variety of frequencies (including L, S, X, Ku, K, and Ka-band) and applications, from aviation and maritime to land and space. Lightweight, low profile and with no moving parts, Ball’s phased array antennas provide numerous benefits over traditional dish antennas, including a modular design to enable scalable solutions and fast, seamless and accurate steering and tracking between satellites for reliable connectivity. (Source: PR Newswire)
21 Jul 20. Loft Orbital Selects LeoStella to Manufacture Multiple Satellites and Address Increased Demand for Space Infrastructure-as-a-Service. Loft Orbital Solutions Inc. (Loft Orbital), a Space Infrastructure-as-a-Service company, has signed a contract with LeoStella, a specialized satellite constellation design and manufacturing company, to build and integrate satellite buses for several upcoming Loft Orbital missions.
Under the contract, Seattle-area LeoStella will use its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which opened in 2019, to produce multiple satellites based on ESPA-class buses for use in Loft Orbital’s upcoming missions, including its YAM-3 and YAM-5 satellites. YAM stands for “Yet Another Mission.” These buses will be nearly identical in design to the LeoStella satellite bus product line it has developed for other customers.
Loft Orbital flies customer payloads as a service, handling the entire mission on behalf of its customers while ensuring that the customer remains in control of payload operations. Loft Orbital has developed the hardware and software technologies needed to fly multiple payloads on a common bus design without mission-specific customization. These technologies allow it to procure satellite buses in advance of knowing the payload configuration of the mission, supporting imagers and cameras, radio frequency sensors, scientific payloads for geophysical research or space science, weather and climate sensors, and specialized sensors focused on national security missions. This approach results in a service that provides unparalleled speed to orbit and reliability for Loft customers.
Loft Orbital’s upcoming missions will fly a variety of customer payloads, including a demonstration for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Blackjack program, multiple Internet of Things payloads for Eutelsat, and a hyperspectral imager for the United Arab Emirates government. Loft Orbital is currently executing several YAM missions scheduled to launch throughout the next 24 months.
“Loft has developed the hardware and software product stack that enables us to fly a wide range of payloads on a standard bus design,” said Pierre-Damien Vaujour, co-CEO of Loft Orbital. “Leveraging LeoStella’s existing bus architecture and its flexible production facility provides us with a reliable satellite bus twice as fast as any other vendor. That translates into massive value for our customers in the form of a faster schedule and lower program risk because we procure satellites well in advance of manifesting our missions. We couldn’t be more excited for this partnership.”
“Loft’s innovative approach to payload configuration coupled with LeoStella’s rapid manufacturing of high-quality satellites reduces the barrier of access to space,” said Brian Rider, chief technology officer of LeoStella. “We are excited about this program with Loft as it demonstrates our ability to minimize the cost and reduce the time required to manufacture satellites. The road to space has never been shorter.”
Both LeoStella and Loft Orbital are approaching the increasing industry demand with a similar mindset. LeoStella is leveraging its new facility, outfitted with intelligent workstations, connected tools, and unique automated integration and test approaches combined with a robust supply chain to introduce newfound flexibility and efficiency into satellite production. Loft Orbital has developed the Payload Hub, a modular, hardware and software payload interface unit that enables it to rideshare any payload configuration on a standard satellite bus. Loft Orbital has also developed the highly automated Cockpit Mission Control System, which enables customers to task their payload without the burden of conducting mission operations.
About LeoStella
LeoStella is a state-of-the-art satellite design and manufacturing company transforming constellation construction by building smallsats cost-effectively and at scale. Based in Tukwila, Wash., LeoStella is a joint venture between Thales Alenia Space and BlackSky. The company was founded to meet the growing demand for efficient satellite development and manufacturing arising from the increasing number of constellations. For more information, visit https://www.leostella.com/.
About Loft Orbital
Loft Orbital is a space infrastructure company that flies customer payloads as a service. Based in San Francisco, California, with offices in Boulder, Colorado, and Toulouse, France, Loft provides a one-stop shop for deploying and operating any kind of payload or sensor in space, including imagers and cameras, radio frequency sensors, scientific payloads for geophysical research or space science, weather and climate sensors, and sensors focused on national security missions. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
22 Jul 20. UWA researchers support global hunt to detect collisions in space. Researchers from The University of Western Australia have supported a global collaboration to detect the collision of compact objects in the universe.
The collaboration allowed researchers to perform a targeted search for the sources of gravitational waves detected by the world’s largest gravitational wave observatory, the Laser Interferometric Observatory.
The search revealed that all of the sources targeted are most likely optically “dark”, suggesting most cosmic collisions between black holes remain hidden to conventional telescopes.
UWA and the University of Paris coordinated an approach to control multiple facilities and observatories around the world, which allowed for the continuous scanning of the sky, and published the results in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Dr Bruce Gendre from UWA’s Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery said the initiative highlighted the importance of having a network of dedicated telescopes that could contribute to global knowledge.
The collaboration, named GRANDMA, is a multinational network of 25 robotic telescopes from 12 countries with the electromagnetic capability to follow up gravitational waves.
“Australia, like several other countries, is focused on studying the sources of gravitational waves; however, most communities are working solo,” Dr Gendre said.
The ability to detect sources of gravitational waves is relatively new, and while several have now been detected, only one has been observed through an optical telescope.
Dr Gendre added, “The problem is that everyone is currently trying to find a needle in the same incredibly large haystack. GRANDMA is the first collaboration to split the haystack into small piles and focus resources on time-domain astronomy.”
The elusiveness of these objects is due to the uncertainty of their exact location, which can have a difference of thousands of square degrees in space, similar to searching for a boat somewhere in the middle of the ocean.
The researchers also established the program Amateur Kilonova Catcher that allowed anyone with a telescope to report their observations.
The next round of observations will commence in 2021. (Source: Space Connect)
21 Jul 20. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has delivered three of its 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM 63) for United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The three motors were shipped from the Northrop Grumman facility in Magna to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and will be used as strap-on boosters to augment thrust on Atlas V.
Northrop Grumman delivered its GEM 63 rocket motors from Magna, Utah to Florida for United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V.
The GEM 63 rocket motors were developed under a cooperative agreement with ULA for the Atlas V vehicle. Each motor contributes a maximum thrust of 373,000 pounds to the launch with up to five GEM 63 motors being able to support a single Atlas V launch.
“Designing a drop-in solution for an existing vehicle is no easy feat,” said Charlie Precourt, vice president, propulsion systems, Northrop Grumman. “As ULA’s largest legacy supplier, we have been providing rocket propulsion to ULA and its heritage companies since 1964 and we are pleased to continue our partnership with this new generation motor.”
A series of motor ground tests beginning in September 2018 satisfied requirements for certification by the United States Air Force and ULA. The first flight of Atlas V that will utilize three GEM 63 rocket motors is expected to launch later this year.
The GEM family of strap-on motors was developed starting in the early 1980s with the GEM 40, supporting 132 Delta II launches. The company also developed the GEM 46, which used 54 motors to support six successful missions of the Delta II Heavy. Northrop Grumman later developed the GEM 60, which retired with 100 percent success in August 2019 with 86 motors flown over 26 Delta IV launches.
Northrop Grumman is once again evolving the GEM family with the development of the GEM 63XL variation to support ULA’s Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle.
21 Jul 20. RoK Anasis-II Mission. On Monday, July 20 at 5:00 p.m., SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched the ANASIS-II mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Falcon 9’s first stage previously launched Crew Dragon to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The ANASIS-II spacecraft deployed about 32 minutes after liftoff. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/Space X)
21 Jul 20. Raytheon to develop advanced GNSS anti-jamming technologies. Raytheon UK was selected by the MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support office to develop a prototype system to exploit assured and resilient position navigation and timing information derived from Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
Under the contract, Raytheon UK’s Assured Positioning Navigation and Timing business will deliver a Technology Demonstrator Programme, with advanced multi-element Anti-Jam technology, to prove the integration of the A-J with a next-generation multi-GNSS receiver to both accelerate and de-risk the availability of such systems to end users.
“As a world-leader in the development, production and supply of analogue and digital anti-jamming systems to many of the world’s military forces, we are ideal partners to develop and evolve this critical technology with DE&S,” said John Gallagher, Managing Director Weapons and Sensors, Raytheon UK.
“GNSS signals are used by many critical infrastructure organizations and the technology has transformed the way we live our everyday lives; however, the GNSS signals are susceptible to interference, both intentional and unintentional,” Gallagher said. “The availability of low-cost jamming devices has meant that jamming is a constant threat.”
The Technology Demonstrator Programme will take advantage of Raytheon UK’s extensive A-J heritage and established capability in the development of reduced size weight and power technologies, including Landshield® and Landshield® Plus, to enable the fitment of GNSS A-J to a wider range of platforms. It will help mitigate the real, significant and increasing threat of satellite signal interference and provide a future solution that will protect our Front-Line Commands and Critical National Infrastructure.
“UK industry has well established world-leader credentials in the design and development of small and compact anti-jam antenna systems. This initiative helps to maintain the UK at the cutting-edge of technology,” said Rob Linham, Chief Engineer PNT at the Ministry of Defence. “This technology demonstrator programme will help ensure our forces are able to operate effectively within challenging electromagnetic environments.”
20 Jul 20. Maxar Renews Four Multi-Million Dollar International Defense and Intelligence Contracts. Fifth International Defense and Intelligence Contract Expanded for Greater Access to Maxar’s Industry-Leading Constellation. Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR) (TSX:MAXR), a trusted partner and innovator in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure, today announced it renewed four contracts and expanded a fifth contract in the second quarter of 2020–together valued at more than $120m–with international defense and intelligence customers for uninterrupted access to Maxar’s current satellite constellation. These contracts, including a one-year agreement and four multi-year agreements, will allow the customers to continue serving their countries’ national security and domestic missions, natural disaster responses and maritime surveillance. One customer has also contracted Maxar to upgrade its satellite ground station and antenna.
These customers in the Middle East and Asia utilize Maxar’s Direct Access Program, which provides guaranteed access via a ground station to Maxar’s world-class Earth imaging satellites. The Maxar constellation, consisting of WorldView-1, GeoEye-1, WorldView-2 and WorldView-3, collect the highest resolution and most accurate satellite imagery commercially available. The upcoming six WorldView Legion satellites, which will start launching in the first half of 2021, will triple Maxar’s 30 cm and multispectral imagery and will enable the company to increase its revisit to up to 15 times per day. WorldView Legion will maintain Maxar’s industry-leading geometric accuracy, enabling entirely new use cases for satellite imagery and near-real time detection of change on the Earth’s surface.
“Maxar is committed to serving our strategic international defense and intelligence customers with access to mission-critical satellite imagery through the Direct Access Program,” said Tony Frazier, Maxar’s Executive Vice President of Global Field Operations. “We are proud of our 20-plus year track record supporting these United States allies and our continued role delivering Maxar capabilities as an essential part of their national security architectures.” (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
18 Jul 20. Airbus gets $630m deal under UK military’s Skynet 6 push. A ground station of the British Skynet 5 satellite-communications network is shown in Adelaide, Australia. The first element of a likely $7.5bn upgrade of the British armed forces’ satellite-telecommunications capabilities has finally been signed by the Ministry of Defence and Airbus Defence and Space.
The deal, worth more than $630m, will see Airbus build a new telecommunications satellite as a stop gap to bolster military capabilities ahead of the introduction of a new generation of space craft scheduled to start entering service towards the end of the decade.
Airbus and the MoD have been locked in negotiation over the deal to construct the satellite, known as Skynet 6A, since the company was nominated in 2017, without a competition, as the preferred supplier.
Under the terms of the deal the satellite, based on Airbus’ Eurostar Neo spacecraft, will be developed, assembled and tested in the UK. Planned launch date is 2025.
In a statement Airbus said the contract also covers technology development programs, new secure telemetry, tracking and command systems, launch, in-orbit testing and ground segment updates to the current Skynet 5 system.
At one point defense officials here were sufficiently concerned about the drawn-out negotiations for Skynet 6A delaying the space crafts in-service date that they a contract with Airbus to start work on long-lead items ahead of the main deal being sealed.
The deal will supplement a fleet of existing spacecraft built by Airbus as part of the Skynet 5 space telecommunications network operated by the company under a private finance initiative (PFI) deal which has been in operation since 2003.
Operation of the Skynet ground stations was also included in the deal. The PFI, including ground station element, ends in 2022.
US and British armies eye technology collaboration
Government officials have signed an agreement that could lead to the joint modernization of the British and U.S. armies in key technology areas.
A competition to run the ground stations as part of the wider Skynet 6 program is already in play, with Airbus, Babcock, BT and Serco all bidding to secure the contract for what is called the Service Delivery Wrap.
The third main element of Skynet 6, known as Enduring Capability,will see industry compete to replace existing Skynet 5 satellites with a fleet of new generation beyond line of sight communication assets. The early stages of that competition is already underway.
In-service date for the first of the new communications assets is around 2028.
Announcing the satellite deal 24 hours ahead of the launch of the virtual Farnborough air show getting underway July 20, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the “newest contested frontier is space and so we need to provide resilience and better communications for our forces. Skynet 6A is one of many solutions we shall be investing in over the next decade. This government recognizes the urgent need to defend and promote space capabilities.”
“British defense must continue to innovate and transform, particularly in cyber and space,” Wallace said.
Confirmation of the satellite deal by Wallace comes just two weeks after the British government took a $503m stake alongside Indian company Bharti Global in the rescue of failed broadband constellation supplier OneWeb.
OneWeb is based in the UK but its satellites are built in Florida in a partnership between Airbus and OneWeb. So far, 74 satellites out of an initial requirement for 648 have been launched.
Having been denied access by the European Union to the precise military navigational signals provided by their Galileo satellites as a result of Brexit, the British are hoping they can develop the small spacecraft operated by OneWeb to provide military-grade positioning, navigation and timing data for the armed forces.
OneWeb satellites could also find themselves developed for use by the British military as part of Skynet 6′s Enduring Capability requirement, said an industry executive here, who asked not to be named.
Space is expected to have top billing alongside cyber, artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies in the upcoming integrated defense, security and foreign policy review being conducted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his advisors.
Creation of a Space Command is likely to figure in a space defense policy being pulled together by the MoD.
The bones of that policy could be presented to four-star-level officials in the next few weeks.
BATTLESPACE Comment: When the Dominic Cummings inspired OneWeb deal was touted by the UK Government, the plan envisaged was to use the OneWeb constellation for military and civil usage. This always seemed to be a problem given that the UK was in a minority partnership with other organisations and companies. This article seems to suggest that its all systems go for OneWeb to form part of the Skynet 6 BVLOS requirement with Airbus in the driving seat. However a PQ we published last week seems to suggest otherwise. Clearly once again the government message seems once again to have gone awry! Ben Wallace didn’t mention OneWeb in his Air League conference brief last week and the MoD hasn’t made a statement either which suggest that this information is coming straight from Dominic Cummings without MoD verification.
Q
Asked by Lord Tunnicliffe
Asked on: 08 July 2020
Ministry of Defence
Satellites
HL6644
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice the Ministry of Defence has provided to other Government departments on the military capability of the OneWeb satellite system.
A
Answered by: Baroness Goldie
Answered on: 14 July 2020
The investment in OneWeb is not a Defence matter. The SKYNET satellite programme will provide for global military communications and no formal assessment has been made of the military use of OneWeb.
Grouped Questions: HL6645
21 Jul 20. NASA announces new James Webb Space Telescope launch date. NASA has confirmed a new target of 31 October 2021 for the launch of the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana, due to impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as technical challenges.
The decision is based on a recently completed schedule risk assessment of the remaining integration and test activities prior to launch – previously, the Webb telescope was targeted to launch in March 2021.
As schedule margins grew tighter last fall, the agency planned to assess the progress of the project in April. This assessment was postponed due to the pandemic and was completed this week.
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington explained, “The perseverance and innovation of the entire Webb Telescope team has enabled us to work through challenging situations we could not have foreseen on our path to launch this unprecedented mission.”
Testing of the observatory continues to go well at Northrop Grumman, the mission’s main industry partner, in Redondo Beach, California, despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic’s associated delays, the team made significant progress in achieving important milestones to prepare for launch in 2021.
“Webb is the world’s most complex space observatory, and our top science priority, and we’ve worked hard to keep progress moving during the pandemic. The team continues to be focused on reaching milestones and arriving at the technical solutions that will see us through to this new launch date next year,” Zurbuchen said.
The factors contributing to the decision to move the launch date include the impacts of augmented safety precautions, reduced on-site personnel, disruption to shift work, and other technical challenges. Webb will use existing program funding to stay within its $8.8bn development cost cap.
Gregory Robinson, NASA Webb program director at the agency’s headquarters said, “Based on current projections, the program expects to complete the remaining work within the new schedule without requiring additional funds.
The project team will continue to complete a final set of extremely difficult environmental tests of the full observatory before it will be shipped to the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, situated on the north-eastern coast of South America.
Early next year, Webb will be will folded “origami-style” for shipment to the launch site and fitted compactly inside Arianespace’s Ariane 5 launch vehicle fairing, which is about five metres wide.
“Although efficiency has been affected and there are challenges ahead, we have retired significant risk through the achievements and good schedule performance over the past year. After resuming full operations to prepare for upcoming final observatory system-level environmental testing this summer, major progress continues towards preparing this highly complex observatory for launch,” Robinson added.
On its journey to space, Webb will be the first mission to complete an intricate and technically challenging series of deployments – a critical part of Webb’s journey to its orbit about 1 million miles from Earth.
Eric Smith, NASA Webb’s program scientist at the agency’s headquarters, added, “Webb is designed to build upon the incredible legacies of the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, by observing the infrared universe and exploring every phase of cosmic history.”
Once in orbit, Webb will unfold its delicate five-layered sunshield until it reaches the size of a tennis court. Webb will then deploy its iconic 6.5-metre primary mirror that will detect the faint light of far-away stars and galaxies.
“The observatory will detect light from the first generation of galaxies that formed in the early universe after the Big Bang and study the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets for possible signs of habitability,” Smith said.
Webb is NASA’s next great space science observatory, which will help in solving the mysteries of our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mystifying structures and origins of our universe. Webb is an international program led by NASA, along with its partners the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. (Source: Space Connect)
20 Jul 20. Southern Launch prepares for lift-off in South Australia. Adelaide-based Southern Launch is preparing for future launch missions with the development of a multi-user launch complex located at the tip of the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, to support growing demand for small satellite launches.
Southern Launch, founded in 2017, is developing a multi-user launch complex at the tip of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, offering a turn-key launch service solution to polar and sun-synchronous orbit.
Historically, launch sites have been constructed closer to the equator to support large satellite launches into equatorial orbit. However, direct launch to polar orbit is achieved most efficiently from launch sites nearer the poles, which have minimal interference from aviation and maritime traffic.
In addition to providing the complete launch infrastructure, Southern Launch has the ability to undertake flight and range safety, vehicle design, avionics componentry and assist with launch permitting and other support services.
The year-round temperate weather coupled with the highly skilled local workforce and a robust logistics supply network enables a launch site that offers high cadence launch operations at cost competitive prices.
CEO of Southern Launch, Lloyd Damp, said, “The space industry is in the midst of a rapid transition seeing increasing impact of the private sector providing services to Government agencies such as NASA. Small satellites, in the class of one to 500 kilograms, are a major part of this transition and need suitable locations to be launched from.”
The growing global demand for launch services and a world class launch location has attracted several early investors, with Southern Launch running an oversubscribed seed funding round at the end of 2019 with a larger Series A round to be finalised in coming months.
“Our Whalers Way site in South Australia meets this market demand and with the ongoing support from the Australian Space Agency and South Australian government, we are on track to realise this very real opportunity for Australia,” Damp said.
With a highly skilled team drawing on previous experience with the Australian Department of Defence, commercial launch providers, and global infrastructure companies, the Southern Launch team offers unique capabilities to enable safe, secure and efficient launch operations.
Southern Launch has signed a number of agreements with launch service providers and launch vehicle manufacturers from around the world, including companies based in South Korea, Singapore, Germany, the US, Canada, Poland and the Netherlands.
While some launch service providers are looking for a launch site for their maiden (test) flights, looking further ahead, all customers have recognised the incredible potential of the Whalers Way location for regular commercial launches, and the cost effective and efficient services offered them by Southern Launch’s complete launch service solution.
Construction of the Whaler’s Way Orbital Launch Complex is scheduled to be completed ahead of the first launch in 2021, with Southern Launch already contracted for flights.
Southern Launch provides a location for launching small satellites into polar orbit from its Orbital Launch Complex at Whalers Way, and sub-orbital launches at its Koonibba Test Range. (Source: Space Connect)
21 Jul 20. Kleos Space Strategic Channel Partner Appointed in Chile.
Highlights:
- Oriondata appointed Chilean Channel Partner to increase geospatial service offering
- Kleos space data to effectively monitor 6,000 km coastline
- Kleos has secured pre-orders with leading Chilean, GEOCIENCIAS E.I.R.L and
Brazilian HEX Geospatial Technologies.
- Hex Geospatial Technologies – part of Hexagon AB – STO:HEXA-B ($159B Market Cap)
- South American pre-Launch orders continue to grow leading to launch in India
Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1), (Kleos or Company) a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data provider, advises that it has appointed Oriondata Internacional SpA (Oriondata) as a Chilean Channel Partner (value added reseller) to support the local defence and security market.
Oriondata is a Chilean company, offering a wide range of satellite products and services to optimally respond to specific defence and security needs.
Chile defence expenditure is projected to rise to US$3.4bn by 2022, providing a strong environment for Oriondata to promote Kleos Earth reconnaissance data from space.
Pete Round; Kleos Chairman & Executive Director for Group Business Development said: “All of the team at Kleos are very excited about this tie up with Oriondata. Chile is a new market for us and presents opportunities in all the areas we are good at: big sea spaces and long coastlines need innovative ISR solutions at affordable prices.”
Oscar Letelier, CEO of Oriondata International SpA (ODI) said: “Our agreement with Kleos Space is an exciting opportunity and will deliver many new and innovative growth opportunities for the Geospatial industry in Chile”
As a Channel Partner Oriondata will sell Kleos data products to their clients. Oriondata will receive a discount off end user list prices based on revenue generated from its customers.
Chile has 6000km of pacific coastline to protect and monitor as Easter Island in Oceania and various Pacific Islands. This long coastline and massive sea area need advanced and wide ranging ISR capabilities which can only, cost effectively and practically, be delivered from Space.
According to The Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF), the Latin American Development bank, the outlook by 2040 for the maritime and port sector in Latin America and the Caribbean suggests an attractive environment for growth with planned investments over 45bn euros in the coming decade.
Kleos’ Data
Kleos’ satellites will detect and geolocate maritime radio frequency transmissions to provide global activity-based intelligence, enhancing the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities when Automatic Identification System (AIS) is defeated, imagery unclear or targets out of patrol range.
14 Jul 20. Thuraya Expands US Connectivity Ops with Ground Control Systems, Inc.. Thuraya has signed partnership agreement with the US-based Ground Control Systems Inc., owned by Wireless Innovations Ltd., to distribute their products and services within the country and the rest of the world.
Thuraya is already a well-established brand in the United States, working closely with leading enterprises such as Hughes, Boeing, Viasat and SRT Wireless. The new partnership helps Ground Control customers benefit from Thuraya’s technology as well as gives them access to its satellite communications services in more than 160 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia.
Thuraya’s IoT and M2M services are available in the US through the company’s FT2225 terminal, which works on both Thuraya and Viasat networks. According to the firm, they are the only satellite company to have more than 400 roaming agreements with mobile network operators (MNOs) that include AT&T and T-Mobile in 178 countries.
Executive Comments
Shawkat Ahmed, Thuraya’s CCO, said, “We are delighted to expand the parameters of our relationship with Ground Control to include distribution of products and services. This alliance is important to us as it will broaden our reach within specific verticals. Ground Control has a wealth of experience and understanding of the US market, which coupled with the strength and reliability of our services, will enhance the connectivity experience for customers in the region.”
Jeff Staples, CEO of Ground Control Systems Inc., added, “We have been working with Thuraya for many years now and share the same ethos and consulting approach to help our customers find the right satellite solution that works best for them. Our partnership with Thuraya will concentrate on offering broadband and voice products and services to the US customers operating within Thuraya coverage as well to International customers through our UK-based affiliates – Wireless Innovation, Rock7 and YB Tracking.”
For more than 18 years, Ground Control has provided specialized, end-to-end satellite communications solutions to government, energy, maritime and leisure sectors. (Source: Satnews)
12 Jul 20. UK Sees OneWeb System Offering “Resilience” + SES Continues to Discuss Cuts. Alok Sharma, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the man about to be responsible for running the UK’s arm of OneWeb, told a House of Commons all-party BEIS scrutiny committee that using OneWeb as a replacement for Europe’s Galileo GPS system was not key to the acquisition.
However, he did say that OneWeb could offer “resilience” as far as a satellite-based positioning system was concerned.
The UK is now in a 50/50 partnership with India’s Bharti Global in acquiring OneWeb out of bankruptcy.
Sharma was addressing the BEIS committee on July 9th, although the committee covered much other ground besides the OneWeb move.
“We looked at this from the perspective of a commercial case and a strategic case,” Sharma told MPs. “We have co-invested alongside Bharti. From the commercial case, this was looking at the provision of broadband to people in rural areas, and people in aviation and maritime.”
He added that in terms of the strategic case for OneWeb, the UK wanted to be a world leader in the space sector and that OneWeb presented geopolitical opportunities for the UK.
Sharma also made no commitment to move production of OneWeb’s satellites away from Florida and into the UK.
Additionally, satellite operator SES has reached an agreement with its personnel delegations to discontinue social plan talks for the firm’s Luxembourg-based employees, instead shifting gears to negotiate an employment safeguard plan.
In Luxembourg, SES management and its personnel delegation reports they have had multiple meetings in the last four weeks. Together, they have managed to reduce the number of impacted employees through a voluntary phased retirement program and redeployment of employees into positions in new growth areas. SES management and its personnel delegation will now work jointly on an employment safeguard plan to find the best solution for the remaining employees.
SES says this global restructuring exercise is part of its Simplify & Amplify program, which aims to position the company for future growth and deliver maximum value to current and potential customers and stakeholders in a highly-competitive satellite market.
SES adds it remains on track to generate EBITDA optimization ramping to €40-50m annually from 2021. (Source: Satnews)
14 Jul 20. Smallspark Space Systems and Leaf Space Initiate Partnership. Smallspark Space Systems has entered into an agreement with Leaf Space, an Italian provider of ground segment services to satellite operators and launchers, to bring ground station services to UK Government and private sector clients.
Smallspark and Leaf Space plan for a partnership that will deliver joint bids for projects with the UK Government and other commercial operators in the UK , with the aim of becoming the primary contractor for services related to supporting the UK governments ambitions with OneWeb, the proposed 650-satellite constellation that will provide worldwide satellite internet and broadband services to people across the globe.
This major proposed collaboration changes the landscape of UK aerospace, with both companies working together to provide UK-based services for OneWeb, including the development of new, low-cost, rapidly deployable ground stations, expansion of ground segment coverage to new geographies as well as operating and maintaining OneWeb’s existing ground station networks.
If successful, the bid will kickstart rapid development across the space value chain, creating new skilled jobs, providing massive opportunities for investment across the sector, with new sites proposed across the country, and exploring the potential of manufacturing opportunities in the UK.
Executive Comments
Commenting on this agreement, Joe Ward, CEO of Smallspark Space Systems said, “Working with Leaf Space is an exciting opportunity for both Smallspark and UK Space as a whole; with the UK’s goals of dramatically expanding its reach into space, we’re keen to help support the governments ambitions wherever possible. With both satellite constellations and native launch capabilities, it is essential the UK has reliable, agile ground station services to support applications requiring high bandwidth & low latency communications, driven by adoption of 5G technologies via terrestrial & satellite networks. Italy has always been a pioneer in the global space market, and we’re thrilled to lead the path to strengthen UK-Italy ties.”
Jai Dialani, Sr. Business Developer on behalf of Leaf Space, noted, “Partnership with Smallspark Space Systems is a valuable opportunity for our company to start a collaboration with a pioneering launch service provider. We will provide an immediately available ground segment service capability to broaden their portfolio. This will help potential customers find a complete solution for their missions, assuring a reliable and consistent end-to-end service. Thanks to the continuous work effort to expand and develop our products, customers will be able to find a ground segment solution in the early stages of the mission while choosing Smallspark Space Systems launch solutions, also providing an easier and quicker commissioning phase for their satellites.”
Dialani added, “Leaf Space has been offering tailored ground segment services to its customers, including Launch and Early Operations (LEOPS), daily passes, pass distribution and operational conditions, resulting in a perfect solution for in-orbit demonstrations (IOD) or other missions such as serving broadband constellations requiring high contact time and low latency, typical elements of our distributed ground station network.”, added Jai, “ The proprietary ground segment infrastructure provides redundancy and reliability during the LEOP mission phase, and the versatile service can be easily integrated into third-party service bundles. The two companies are planning to conduct integration and testing activities that will ensure the ground segment service provision is operational on a rapid schedule before OneWebs’ satellite launches.” (Source: Satnews)
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At Viasat, we’re driven to connect every warfighter, platform, and node on the battlefield. As a global communications company, we power millions of fast, resilient connections for military forces around the world – connections that have the capacity to revolutionize the mission – in the air, on the ground, and at sea. Our customers depend on us for connectivity that brings greater operational capabilities, whether we’re securing the U.S. Government’s networks, delivering satellite and wireless communications to the remote edges of the battlefield, or providing senior leaders with the ability to perform mission-critical communications while in flight. We’re a team of fearless innovators, driven to redefine what’s possible. And we’re not done – we’re just beginning.
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