SATELLITE SYSTEMS, SATCOM AND SPACE SYSTEMS UPDATE

Sponsored By Viasat

www.viasat.com/gov-uk

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01 Mar 21. ViaSat makes inroads in advanced satcom with UK, US armed forces. Satellite communications (satcom) company ViaSat has made significant inroads in supporting space-based networked communication capabilities within the UK and US armed forces.

ViaSat officials secured a USD9.4m (GBP6.7m) contract with European aeronautics giant Airbus to upgrade the company’s Ultra High Frequency (UHF) satcom network control stations, which support Airbus’ Skynet UHF geostationary transit orbit satellite constellation fielded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The upgrade work by ViaSat will focus on the integration of the company’s Visual Integrated Satellite communications Information, Operation and Networking (VISION) software platform into the Skynet network control stations, according to a company statement.

The upgrades will allow MoD to bring the stations into compliance with the US Department of Defense’s Integrated Waveform Phase 2 (IW Phase 2) requirements, the statement added.

“The UHF upgrade, incorporating our VISION software, is key to providing increased mission effectiveness by rapidly expanding the Skynet capability to UK MoD and allied forces,” said Steve Beeching, managing director of ViaSat’s UK division. “With VISION, the network operators will gain more assured, reliable, real-time communications capabilities to reconfigure UHF satellite networks to meet new tactical profiles as battlefield and warfighter requirements dynamically expand and contract,” he added.

In support of the IW Phase 2 requirements, ViaSat’s VISION programme will upgrade both “pre-planned demand-assigned and ad-hoc service types” associated with the Skynet control stations to “increase channel efficiency to meet end-user requirements”, company officials said in the statement. The decision to integrate the VISION system into the ground control stations allows UK defence officials to forgo UHF upgrades to the actual Skynet satellite constellations in orbit, resulting in cost savings to the programme. (Source: Jane’s)

04 Mar 21. ‘Warfighter Council’ Guides Capability Development for Space Development Agency. As the Space Development Agency builds out the National Defense Space Architecture, it looks to a biannual ‘warfighter council’ to provide guidance about what is actually important to those who will use the systems, the agency’s director said today.

“We want to make sure that we address our customers,” Derek Tournear said. “The customers, in this case, are the combatant commanders.”

The warfighter council meets twice a year to ensure the agency is aligned with upcoming exercises that will provide SDA a chance to demonstrate its capabilities, he said.

“And then, most importantly … to make sure that everyone is aligned with what is included in our minimum viable product for the next tranche,” Tournear said.

National Defense Space Architecture

The National Defense Space Architecture will include hundreds of Earth-orbiting satellites that gather targeting and tracking information and instantly transmit it to warfighters and weapons systems. The architecture involves seven layers: transport, tracking, custody, deterrence, navigation, battle management and support.

As part of the SDA’s focus on proliferation of satellites and spiral development of the NDSA, officials have said, new tranches of satellites with improved capabilities are expected to be launched every two years.

Tournear said the NDSA will provide two capabilities to warfighters. The first, he said, is beyond-line-of-sight targeting for time-sensitive ground and maritime targets.

“We want to be able to detect, track and target anything that is a mobile missile launcher or ship and be able to send those targeting solutions directly down to a weapons platform,” he said.

The second capability is similar to the first, but it focuses on a different target: enemy missiles already in flight, such as cruise missiles or hypersonic glide vehicles.

“Everything we do is focused on these two capabilities,” he said. “How can we get these capabilities in the hands of the warfighter as rapidly as possible?”

Warfighter Immersion

Satellites for Tranche 0 of the NDSA are expected to launch in fiscal year 2022, Tournear said. For that, the “minimum viable product,” he said, is warfighter immersion.

“The whole goal there is to allow people — allow the warfighters — to see what the data are, to start to use those data in their exercises and have familiarity so that they can include that in their operational plans moving forward,” he said.

The warfighter council is tasked with ensuring that SDA is on target with what the minimum viable product should be for each tranche, Tournear said.

“We have a warfighter council coming up on March 31,” he said. “That warfighter council will essentially decide what the minimum viable product is for Tranche 1.”

“That’s how SDA works to ensure that we meet the needs of the warfighter,” Tournear added.

The Tranche 1 request for proposals will be released to industry in August, he said, and the plan is to have those satellites on contract for by the end of the calendar year.

“In other words, we are developing these products on the spiral mindset,” Tournear said. “And the product is then going to be used by the customer, which is the [combatant commanders]. So, we want to make sure that whatever we are doing aligns with their needs and [that] we can address those without following the standard requirements-based products that get you into that incremental innovation approach.” (Source: US DoD)

04 Mar 21. Space launch from British soil one step closer.

In a giant leap in British spaceflight history, government publishes response to commercial spaceflight consultation.

first-ever launch into space from British soil could have lift-off in the early 2020s
UK spaceflight plans would create high-skilled jobs in an industry worth £14.8bn, as we build back better from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

A giant leap in British spaceflight history is being made today (5 March 2021) as the government publishes its commercial spaceflight consultation response, paving the way for space launches from UK soil.

Over the past few months, the government has been inviting industry, stakeholders and the public to have their say on the rules that will govern our spaceflight programme – and the consultation has captured the imagination of people across the UK, including schoolchildren.

The resulting legislation will help to propel the development of commercial spaceflight technologies, from traditional rockets launched vertically into space to high-altitude balloons and spaceplanes, with launches potentially taking place within the next few years.

Spaceports could also be built in south-west England, Scotland and Wales, inspiring and exciting a new generation of scientists and engineers, creating high-skilled jobs and cementing the government’s aim for the UK to be the location of the first launches of this type in Europe.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said, “The sky is no longer the limit when it comes to the UK’s ambitions in this sector, and today we’re making a giant leap for growth and prosperity for the whole of Great Britain. I’m committed to growing the UK’s space industry and, with the most modern piece of space legislation in the world, we are cementing our leading role in this sector, unlocking a new era in commercial spaceflight for all 4 corners of our nation.”

The regulations to implement the Space Industry Act 2018 will drive research and innovation, feeding into our emerging national space strategy as we level up the UK and promote growth in this thriving sector.

They strike a balance between creating the conditions that will allow the space sector to flourish in the UK while ensuring that it’s also safe.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said, “The UK’s space sector is thriving, and we have bold ambitions to be the first country in Europe to launch small satellites while building space capabilities in every corner of the UK. Working with our space industry, regulators and across government, we will develop a modern, safe and flexible regulatory framework that will support a new era of sustainable commercial spaceflight across the UK.”

Already a global leader in commercial small satellite research and development, government and industry have set a target to grow the UK’s share of the global space market to 10% by 2030.

The government has already awarded grants totalling nearly £40m to establish commercial vertical and horizontal small satellite launches from UK spaceports.

Last month, the Department for Transport also published guidance on the environmental objectives around spaceflight. Access to space and the use of space-based tech will bring many benefits to the environment, allowing us to observe weather patterns, monitor climate change and harmful activities such as illegal deforestation, and manage natural resources. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)

04 Mar 21. Space Force launches experimental research payload. The U.S. Space Force launched an experimental research payload for the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Space and Missile Systems Center announced. The AFRL payload for undisclosed research was placed onto a preplanned suborbital trajectory following its launch March 3 aboard a sounding rocket, which took off from NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Terrier-Terrier-Oriole Sounding Rocket was built by the Space Vector Corp. and Kratos Space and Missile Defense, the latter of which provided integration, interface and mission planning for the launch. This was the first sounding rocket launch delivered under the Sounding Rocket Program-4 contract, designed to provide suborbital launches and support services for the Space and Missile Systems Center. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract worth up to $424m was awarded to two parties: OrbitalATK and a joint venture led by Space Vector Corp. in partnership with Kratos. The award covers a seven-year ordering period.

“This mission is a great example of the innovation in SMC contracting and using small launch contracts to expand our capability and provide support in launching experimental missions,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Rose, chief of SMC Launch Enterprise’s small launch and targets division, in a statement.

“Congratulations to the entire government and industry team on successfully executing this important mission, and launching in only 16 months from contract award during the challenging conditions presented this past year,” she added. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)

03 Mar 21. Space Force chief says he’s working on a declassification strategy, but offers scant details. The head of the U.S. Space Force said the nascent service is developing a declassification strategy for space, but he could not share many details on what a new classification would look like or when it would be implemented broadly.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond acknowledged in a speech Wednesday that the classification regime impedes parts of the Space Force’s mission.

“The main mission of the United States Space Force is to deter conflict from beginning or extending into space, and I’m convinced that if you want to change the deterrence calculus, if you will, of an adversary, you have to be able to communicate. If you have everything classified, that really limits your ability to deter conflict,” Raymond said at a virtual event with the National Press Club.

The general also noted that reducing classification allows for better integration with international partners, as well as across the joint forces.

“And so for a bunch of reasons, we view that there is a requirement to reduce classification. We’re doing that as we speak, and I’m excited for where that’s headed,” said Raymond.

The Space Force is working on the declassification strategy, he said, but he didn’t elaborate on when that plan would be done or acted upon.

“You don’t want to just make decisions one piece at a time — you’d like to have an overarching strategy that helps guide those decisions. And so there’s been a lot of work done, put on to develop that strategy,” said Raymond.

Air Force and Space Force officials have voiced support for declassification in the past, but there’s been little transparency about what the services are actually doing to address overclassification.

“Declassifying some of what is currently held in secure vaults would be a good idea,” then-Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said in December 2019, days before the establishment of the Space Force. “You would have to be careful about what we declassify, but there is much more classified than what needs to be.”

Barrett pledged that addressing overclassification would be a focus for her office moving forward, but it’s not clear whether anything has fundamentally changed in the year since.

U.S. Space Command head Gen. John Dickinson also voiced support for declassifying space during his July 2020 nomination hearing. At the time, he said progress was already being made and called for “a comprehensive review of classification for collection data.”

For now, Raymond said the Space Force is working to give commercial partners more access to classified information to enable more effective integration.

“You’ll see us as we develop new programs and review older programs, review it with a lens of deterrence and a lens of integration. And so you’ll see us continue to make classification decisions that will enable that deterrence and that integration,” said Raymond. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)

04 Mar 21. Starship SN10 High-Altitude Flight Test. On Wednesday, March 3, Starship serial number (SN10) successfully completed SpaceX’s third high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in Cameron County, Texas. Similar to the high-altitude flight tests of Starship SN8 and SN9, SN10 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee – approximately 10 km in altitude. SN10 performed a propellant transition to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent.

The Starship prototype descended under active aerodynamic control, accomplished by independent movement of two forward and two aft flaps on the vehicle. All four flaps were actuated by an onboard flight computer to control Starship’s attitude during flight and enabled a precise landing at the intended location. SN10’s Raptor engines reignited as the vehicle performed the landing flip maneuver immediately before successfully touching down on the landing pad!

As if the flight test was not exciting enough, SN10 experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly shortly after landing. All in all a great day for the Starship teams – these test flights are all about improving our understanding and development of a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo on long-duration interplanetary flights, and help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond. (Source: ASD Network)

04 Mar 21. Thales Alenia Space Will Play a Major Role On-board Galileo 2nd Generation and Will Boost Performances and Cybersecurity for the Constellation. Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) has signed a 772m EUR contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), acting in the name and on behalf of the European Union represented by the European Commission, to provide 6 satellites part of the 2nd Generation of Galileo constellation. The first satellites of this second generation will be placed in orbit by the end of 2024. With their new capabilities relying on high innovative technologies (digitally configurable antennas, inter-satellites links, use of full electric propulsion systems), these satellites will improve the accuracy of Galileo as well as the robustness to interference and jamming and resilience of its signal. This will be key for the upcoming digital decade and will support more security & defense usages. Among its objectives, the Galileo 2nd Generation satellites will boost the EU industry competitiveness in the highly strategic domain of technologies for EU sovereignty.

Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space declared: “I warmly thank both the European Commission and ESA for the trust they put in our company to be onboard this important flagship program for Europe. This success emphasizes the capacity of Thales Alenia Space to address complex space systems. Galileo 2nd Generation will benefit from the company’s unique legacy in constellations and from its strong long-standing know-how in space navigation solutions, in particular with Galileo and EGNOS”.

This second generation is fitted with a more robust and reliable solution, cyberattacks protected for an enhanced service availability and a 15 years operational lifetime.

“More robust, more reliable, cyber secured, the 2nd Generation of Galileo satellites will provide users with an increased service availability”, Massimo Claudio Comparini, Deputy CEO and SEVP Exploration, Observation and Navigation at Thales Alenia Space said. “Thales Alenia Space will achieve the objectives of this challenging program, leveraging on its design capabilities as well as its digital and state-of-art up-stream technologies coming from our competence centers in Italy, in France, in Spain and in Belgium as well as the long standing expertise and assets for the Assembly Integration and Testing of satellite constellations in Rome”.

Thales Alenia Space in Italy, prime contractor for the satellites and the space segment related activities, will lead a multi-national team from Europe’s Space Community including Thales Alenia Space entities, Thales, Spaceopal, Leonardo and other partners with proven capacity coming from 14 European Countries: Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, Romania, Poland, Greece. The Full Operational Capability phase of the Galileo programme is managed and fully funded by the European Union. The Commission and ESA have signed a delegation agreement by which ESA acts as design and procurement agent on behalf of the Commission. The views expressed in this Press Release can in no way be taken to reflect the opinion of the European Union and/or ESA. “Galileo”is a trademark subject to OHIM application number 002742237 by EU and ESA.(Source: ASD Network)

03 Mar 21. Rocket Lab unveils new launch vehicle. The space company has announced plans to build a new eight-tonne reusable rocket for “mega-constellation” deployment.

Rocket Lab has unveiled plans to develop ‘Neutron’ — an eight-tonne payload-class launch vehicle designed for satellite mega-constellation deployment, deep space missions, and human spaceflight.

The reusable rocket is expected to build on the company’s Electron launch vehicle, which supports access to orbit for small satellites of up to 300 kilograms, and to provide a high-flight-rate dedicated launch solution for larger commercial and government payloads.

“Rocket Lab solved small launch with Electron. Now we’re unlocking a new category with Neutron,” Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO, said.

“We’ve listened to our customers and the message is clear — biggest doesn’t always mean best when it comes to constellation deployment.

“Efficiently building the mega constellations of the future requires launching multiple satellites in batches to different orbital planes. It’s a requirement that all too often sees large launch vehicles fly with payloads well below their full lift capacity, which is an incredibly expensive and inefficient way to build out a satellite constellation.”

According to Beck, Neutron’s eight-tonne lift capacity would make it “ideally sized” to deploy satellites in batches to specific orbital planes, creating a “more targeted and streamlined” approach to building out mega constellations.

The new launch vehicle is also expected to provide a dedicated service to orbit for larger civil, defence and commercial payloads, which require a level of schedule control and high-flight cadence, currently unavailable on large and heavy lift rockets.

Rocket Lab has claimed that Neutron would be capable of lifting 98 per cent of all satellites forecast to launch through 2029 and would be capable of introducing highly disruptive lower costs by leveraging Electron’s heritage, launch sites and architecture.

The medium-lift Neutron rocket is set to be designed as a two-stage launch vehicle, 40 metres in height and 4.5 metres in diameter, with a lift capacity of up to eight tonnes to low-Earth orbit, two tonnes to the moon, and one and half a tonne to Mars and Venus.

Neutron is also expected to feature a reusable first stage designed to land on an ocean platform, enabling a high launch cadence and decreased launch costs for customers.

While initially designed for satellite payloads, the rocket is expected to be capable of International Space Station (ISS) resupply and human spaceflight missions.

Launches of the Neutron rocket are set to take place from Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, which, according to the firm, would eliminate the need to build a new pad, accelerating the timeline to first launch, expected in 2024. (Source: Space Connect)

02 Mar 21. Kleos completes satellite development milestone for mid-year SpaceX launch.

Highlights:

Polar Vigilance Mission (KSF1) 4 satellites have passed a hardware critical design review milestone with satellite builder ISISPACE
Satellites now enter Assembly Phase with ISISPACE for a mid-2021 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle
Kleos’ Scouting Mission satellites (KSM1) in commission and test phase

Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1,) a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS) company, confirms its second 4 satellite cluster, the Polar Vigilance Mission (KSF1), has successfully completed a hardware critical design review milestone for a launch mid-year onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.

Conducted, in the Netherlands, by satellite developer ISISPACE, passing the milestone ensures that Kleos’ Polar Vigilance Mission satellites can enter the assembly and verification phase – an exciting stage leads to final integration, testing and delivery of the satellites for launch.

The KSF1 Polar Vigilance Mission satellites are scheduled for a mid-2021 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, under a rideshare contract with Spaceflight Inc. The satellites will be launched into a 500-600km Sun Synchronous Orbit, complementing Kleos’ Scouting Mission 37o orbit, which successfully launched in early November 2020 and are in the commission and test phase.

Kleos’ satellites will detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions to provide global activity-based intelligence, enhancing the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities when tracking systems are defeated, imagery unclear or targets out of patrol range.

Kleos Space CEO Andy Bowyer said: “We are excited to be progressing our second satellite cluster with ISISPACE – a leader in the small satellite market. Entering the assembly and verification phase of the satellites is a crucial developmental milestone and ensures we are on schedule to launch in mid-2021. The KSF1 satellite cluster will complement our Scouting Mission satellites, improving the value of our geolocation maritime intelligence data.”

ISISPACE’s CEO Jeroen Rotteveel states: “We are pleased to design and build this second satellite cluster for Kleos, to be completed on a fast-track schedule made possible by building on our extensive nanosatellite expertise and heritage. Despite the challenging timeline given the current global situation, we are keen to enter this next crucial phase of satellite assembly and validation and bringing our design to reality.” As a strategic partner, ISISPACE further supports Kleos with its knowledge and experience to provide review and inputs for Kleos’ future needs and capabilities.

03 Mar 21. Elon Musk-led SpaceX’s job ad shows plan for Starlink factory in Texas. SpaceX is building a new factory in Texas for its satellite-based broadband service Starlink, according to a job posting from the company, as billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk continues to invest in the southern U.S. state. Musk, who leads several futuristic companies, including Tesla Inc, Neuralink and Boring Co, moved to the Lone Star State from California in December to focus on the electric-car maker’s new plant in the state and his SpaceX venture.

Earlier on Tuesday, Musk tweeted, “Creating the city of Starbase, Texas,” without elaborating further.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, the company’s job posting for a Starlink engineer said it was breaking ground on a “new, state-of-the-art” manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas to keep up with global demand.

The Starlink venture, a planned network of tens of thousands of satellites in low-earth orbit, aims to offer fast internet speeds globally.

The Tesla CEO had said earlier that Starlink, currently based in Redmond, Washington, will be a crucial source of funding for his broader plans like developing the Starship rocket to fly paying customers to the moon and eventually trying to colonize Mars. (Source: Reuters)

02 Mar 21. UK ‘delusional’ about Russian and Chinese space threat and must ‘redouble efforts’ to protect itself. Both the UK and the US needed to accept that the ‘age has already past’ where space will remain ‘pristine’ MPs have been warned. The UK is ‘delusional’ about the Russian and Chinese space threat and must ‘redouble its efforts’ to protect itself, MPs have been warned.

Dr Rob Johnson, defence expert at the Oxford Changing Character of War Centre, said both the UK and the US needed to accept that the “age has already past” where space will remain “pristine” and “un-militarised like the Arctic”, and said that the UK was “deluding itself” if it believed it would remain peaceful.

While space is international, signatories agree to a set of protocols prescribed by the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs.

The UN Register of Objects in Space dates back to 1962 as a mechanism to aid peaceful uses in space.

The Telegraph revealed last August that the UK is consulting with other countries on a new initiative called Reducing Space Threats through Responsible Behaviours, which will seek to increase knowledge of space threats while reducing the risk of conflict through miscalculation of distance around satellites, in order to avoid collisions.

However, Dr Johnson hailed the fact that as of September 2020, China had completed its own satellite navigation system, which means it no longer requires American GPS, as “an absolute gamechanger”.

He told the Defence Select Committee on Tuesday: “I really hope the UK realises how serious that is. What it means is China has the ability to maneuver space vehicles, as has Russia, that could easily interdict Western space assets.”

Dr Johnson said this could be done “either by electronic means or physical means”.

“They could continue to operate their own GPS system without any reference to any western damage points putting the western world at significant military disadvantage,” he said.

“I would urge a redoubling of efforts by the United Kingdom to examine how we protect ourselves from space.”

His comments come ahead of the highly anticipated defence review, which is expected to have a strong focus on cyber and space as the threat from this realm increase.

Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, previously wrote in The Telegraph that as Russia and China are developing offensive space weapons “such behaviour only underlines the importance of the (defence) review”.

He said: “The MoD that emerges from this review will be a much more threat-lead organisation, pivoting away from what we have become used to in recent decades, and reshaped to operate much more in the newest domains of space, cyber and sub-sea.” (Source: Daily Telegraph)

02 Mar 21. Kleos completes satellite development milestone for mid-year SpaceX launch. Highlights:

Polar Vigilance Mission (KSF1) 4 satellites have passed a hardware critical design review milestone with satellite builder ISISPACE
Satellites now enter Assembly Phase with ISISPACE for a mid-2021 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle
Kleos’ Scouting Mission satellites (KSM1) in commission and test phase

02 Mar 21. NASA announces new round of NIAC grants. NASA has committed to funding 16 new ground-breaking research and development projects as part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program.

NASA has approved a new round of research and development grants for 16 ground-breaking technological concepts as part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, each of which will allow NASA to broaden the scope of future missions if successful.

Of the 16 successful submissions for the NIAC, they include a space cargo transportation system, a power generation and distribution system and a soil manufacturing process.

A robotics engineer from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory received funding for the moon-based cargo transportation concept, which would allow cargo to be transported using a system of “magnetic robots that would levitate over a flexible track”.

Meanwhile, the power transportation system – dubbed the “light bender” – will “capture, concentrate and focus sunlight using telescope optics” and will be overseen by Charles Taylor of NASA’s Langley Research Centre.

Further, Jane Shevstov, a researcher from Trans Astronautica Corporation, received funding to research the soil production process in space by combining fungi with asteroid material, with the long-term goal of growing food.

“NIAC Fellows are known to dream big, proposing technologies that may appear to border science fiction and are unlike research being funded by other agency programs,” said Jenn Gustetic, director of early-stage innovations and partnerships at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

“We don’t expect them all to come to fruition but recognise that providing a small amount of seed-funding for early research could benefit NASA greatly in the long run.” (Source: Space Connect)

02 Mar 21. Astra Space wins launch services contract. The space company has secured a contract to launch six CubeSats as part of NASA’s TROPICS mission. Astra Space Inc has been selected to provide launch services, valued at US$7.9m ($10.3m), for NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of SmallSats (TROPICS) mission. The mission involves the delivery of a constellation of six CubeSats, designed to increase the scientific community’s understanding of storm processes. Specifically, the shoebox-sized CubeSats have been built to provide rapid-refresh microwave measurements that can be used to determine temperature, pressure, and humidity inside hurricanes as they form and evolve.

According to NASA, the TROPICS mission’s high-revisit imaging and sounding observations, enabled by microwave technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory, would “profoundly improve” scientists’ understanding of processes driving high-impact storms.

Astra Space is expected to launch the CubeSats on its ‘Rocket 3’ platform from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, with three separate launches over a 120-day period. The contract is set to be managed from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA aims to launch the TROPICS mission on 8 January and 31 July 2022 under a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launch licence. (Source: Space Connect)

01 Mar 21. Space jam: why the military is prioritising cybersecurity for space. As military and civilian capabilities increasing rely on space-based assets, Berenice Healey asks space and cybersecurity experts about the potential effects of a cyberattack against them and how to offer protection.

For 100 years there were three military domains – land, sea and air – each led by, but not exclusive to, its respective military branch. In recent decades all three have come to rely on cyber and space capabilities and have recognised them as domains in their own right through the establishment of specialist military commands.

Cyber and space have a unique interdependence, as evinced by cyber being at the heart of the mission of the US Space Force and the upcoming UK Space Command. Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), the defence industry event held every two years in London, launched a Space Hub in 2019 to recognise its increasing cross-domain importance. It aims to grow its space presence in 2021 under the auspices of its newly appointed space advisor Dr Michael Holden.

“Space-based assets are critical to the modern military’s capability and form part of the critical national infrastructure of a modern economy,” Holden explains. “Being able to protect and defend the assets is critical to both military and to the day-to-day running of the modern economy.”

An estimated £1bn of UK economic activity every day is supported by space-based assets. Given this number, the potential impact to the economy of losing space assets becomes clear – and cyber threats are just one risk.

Holden explains: “To put these cyber threats in in context, the US defence space strategy listed the threats that they see to space-based systems on a continuum from denial and deception, electronic warfare, directed energy weapons, cyberspace threats, orbital threats, kinetic energy threats, ground site attacks and nuclear detonation in space.”

The US space strategy also categorises threats on a scale of fully reversible to irreversible and, depending on its nature, a cyberattack could sit anywhere between the two extremes.

Protecting space-based assets from cyber threats

Holden identifies three factors that are essential to protecting space-based assets from cyberattack.

First, governments are adopting a risk and systems-based approach, identifying all the risks to a system rather addressing cyber threats separately and simply putting a firewall around a system.

“This also needs to look at the personnel, the doctrine, the processes, the policy, the legislation, and the physical security as well as the technical considerations,” he says. “The design of the protection needs to consider all these issues and pull together a coherent design and plan in terms of that risk-based approach.”

Second, there needs to be assessment of the risks and threats to any system, including identifying them and assessing the severity of impact if they occur.

“Crucially, fallback plans need to be thought of at this stage, so if something does happen then you know what you would do in that situation in terms of reacting to it and recovering from it. It is about risk management and not risk avoidance these days.”

Finally, it is important to recognise it is not a one-off event to secure the system.

“The risks and threats to the system are constantly evolving as is the impact of risks occurring, as is the severity, based on what you’re trying to do with the things,” Holden says. “The risks issues and the fallback need to come together in a coherent plan and that needs a resource and cost-risk, cost-benefit trade-off to come up with an overarching scheme.”

Where could attacks originate?

CybelAngel vice-president of cyber operations and former FBI executive Todd Carroll explains that while physical attacks are likely being developed, cyber presents the most likely risk.

“Why make it complicated to disable a, let’s say, communication satellite or a GPS synchronous military device when cyber is the easiest way?” he asks. “If you can deny the communications or throw it out of orbit, you can manipulate it to make it look like an accident or collided with something else. It’s getting crowded up there.”

Carroll says that while the military used to rely on an “air gap” to ensure a secure environment, the number of parties and systems involved in creating and operating space systems introduces vulnerabilities.

“Take US Space Command; they are not doing this on their own. I can only guess and how many hundreds and probably thousands of different vendors touch and support their systems,” he says.

“Something small is going to be a vulnerability that someone’s going to find, whether it’s an adversary or criminal group. They’re going to see a device that is not configured properly or has a vulnerability because it’s not been patched properly, and it hasn’t been secured and it’s just going to be another gateway to entry.

“As long as humans have their index finger clicking on stuff, we’re going to have phishing attacks, because humans can’t help themselves.”

Why target military space capabilities?

Cyber Security Associates founder and technical director James Griffiths says that a key aim of cyberattacks against military space systems is to disrupt communications, command and control and satellite imagery for intelligence gathering.

“In some scenarios, this could have life-and-death consequences,” says Griffiths. “If they are to take over control of the satellite, they could use the satellite itself as a weapon to target other space assets or even crash the satellite into the atmosphere, which will either burn up on re-entry or, potentially if larger, cause damage to an area on the ground.”

KnowBe4 security awareness advocate Javvad Malik adds: “At a nation level, space-based cyber espionage is a real threat, with many spy satellites having been in orbit since the Cold War. On a more individual level, GPS is heavily reliant on satellites, which, if compromised, could have a massive impact on systems which rely on GPS, not to mention the millions of people which rely on it to navigate on a day-to-day basis.”

SentinelOne chief security advisor Morgan Wright also emphasises the importance of GPS, saying: “The military heavily relies on accurate GPS data for data-to-day operations and offensive/defensive missions. The targeting of the actual satellites is one issue. Jamming them is another. Cyberwarfare will rapidly expand into space and cyberspace.”

Mounting a defence

Trusted Computing Group marketing workgroup chair Thorsten Stremlau says that security must be designed into satellite systems, so a level of trust is established between earthbound devices and satellites.

“Trusted computing technology ensures the trustworthiness of devices, device identity and security validity, such as through the use of cryptographic keys,” he says. “Practical security solutions are automated and rely on cryptography as well as a component within a device called a root of trust. A root of trust is secured for a defined range of applications and undergo in-depth security validation. Once deployed, they remain trusted throughout device lifetime.

“Network satellite architecture enables communications to be authenticated at every stage of data transmission before it reaches the satellite, with encryption protecting data even as it moves across the satellite ecosystem. In an age when military usage is ever-increasing, trusted computing technology is essential in protecting top-secret data.”

OneLogin global data protection officer Niamh Muldoon explains that, like any other information asset, space-based assets need people-related, process-related and technological controls.

“The success of their protection is based on defining and implementing a cybersecurity programme that incorporates and balances controls across its people, processes and technologies,” she says.

“These controls should be defined from a risk assessment of the threat landscape from both space and earth perspectives. While the threat landscape for the space domain is unknown, the assets used to discover space, if unlawfully accessed, could be misused or abused to attack vulnerable targets on earth.”

Hardened attack surfaces

Synopsys director for government and critical infrastructure programmes Joe Jarzombek says the US Space Force and UK Space Command need a strong focus on prevention.

“In an era of asymmetric cyberattacks, space force capabilities must have systems with hardened attack surfaces,” he says. “In space operations, seconds matter, so cyber assets must be highly reliable and have near-continuous availability.

“Relying primarily on microelectronics and software, space assets must be hardened, not just against the effects of radiation and electronic jamming, but primarily against the risk exposures attributable to exploitable software and flaws in component design that represent source vectors for attack.”

He adds that DevSecOps (development, security and operations) practices must focus on prevention by mitigating exploitable weaknesses in software before deployment and before threat actors discover the weaknesses in ground control and on-orbit assets.

Fragile networks

The focus should not be on the satellites alone but the networks they form, argues RedSeal CTO Dr Mike Lloyd, and protecting them requires humans and computers working together.

“Satellites themselves are often used in a mesh – consider GPS as one example, where each satellite alone is not enough, and it takes the power of multiple satellites working together to solve the problem,” he says. “Pilots rely on an even more precise system called WAAS, which adds a second network to the existing GPS network to increase accuracy.

“All networks share key properties: they are fragile, hard for humans to think about, and prone to lateral movement where an attacker breaches one node then spreads. Defending networks involves understanding networks, and we already struggle with this in terrestrial cyber warfare. It only gets harder as the networks extend off the planet’s surface.

“As the network increases in scale, it gets further and further beyond human comprehension – too many interacting parts, any one of which could be breached by an attacker and used as a foothold for further spread.

“The only way to defend a more-than-global network is to combine human strategy with machine reasoning. It’s impossible for humans to understand and map out every possible attack pathway – that requires inexhaustible attention to detail, which is something computers are good at. Computers, however, do not understand the human motivations, psychological factors or economics – humans are far better at the strategic meaning of the game.” (Source: airforce-technology.com)

27 Feb 21. Report broadens conversation on space militarization and Space Force satellite defense. Now more than ever, American war fighters depend on space-based capabilities for their missions. In response, adversaries have developed counter space weapons meant to degrade or deny those capabilities. Even before the U.S. Space Force was established, the Pentagon pivoted to describing space as a war-fighting domain, claiming it reflects a change in the environment led by American adversaries. U.S. officials have laid the blame for the militarization of space squarely at the feet of nations, including China and Russia, that have developed, tested and fielded various weapons capable of destroying or disabling satellites on orbit.

Gen. James Dickinson, head of U.S. Space Command, said a common question he gets asked is, “So why have we militarized space? Well, the answer is we really haven’t. Our competitors have.”

That narrative, which he shared Feb. 26 at the virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium, was a major part of the messaging put out by Pentagon officials and the Trump administration to justify creating the Space Force. Some, however, question the characterization that the militarization of space is a recent development.

“Space is not a sanctuary, and really it never was a sanctuary. As soon as we were able to use space for military purposes, nations — including the United States — started developing counter space weapons,” said Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Space has been militarized from the beginning. There’s no question of that.”

By nearly every definition, space has already been weaponized, he added.

“The cat’s out of the bag,” said Harrison.

And while the Space Force doesn’t often talk about counter space weapons publicly, it is developing and fielding its own.

who initiated the militarization of space or when it happened, the fact remains that America relies on space systems for military operations, and its adversaries have developed counter space weapons to deny those space-enabled capabilities.

“This is a war-fighting domain. It is contested. That’s just the fact of life,” said Harrison.

So how can the Space Force and other space operators defend space systems?

A new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies outlines the various threats posed to space systems and the strategies the Space Force and others can adopt to counter them.

Titled “Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space” and peppered with Harry Potter references, the report categorizes the different types of threats, the various defense strategies and their efficacy, and makes several recommendations for the Department of Defense and Congress.

“What we wanted to do with this report is look at the other side of the equation. So yes, you see all of these threats to space systems, but what do you do about it? How can you defend against all of these different forms of attack?” said Harrison.

The report examines passive and active defenses. Passive defenses are efforts to mitigate the effect of counter space weapons. Those defenses could include architectural changes, such as adopting distributed architectures, as the Space Development Agency has done, in which the loss of a single satellite will not disable a space-based capability. Other examples are technical defenses such as jam-resistant waveforms, antenna nulling, and using filtering or shuttering for sensors. Passive approaches also include operational defenses such as stealth, maneuvering satellites away from threats, and rapidly deploying new satellites to replace damaged or disabled ones on orbit.

Active defenses are kinetic or nonkinetic options that attack a counter space threat. That could mean a satellite-mounted laser used to blind an incoming missile, or some mechanism that could grab and remove enemy satellites positioned to attack. Such defenses also include strikes on ground systems or enemy satellites in response to an attack.

Harrison said one challenge with active defenses is making sure they are seen as defenses and not on orbit offensive weapons.

The report lays out the objectives of attacking and defending in space, and runs through some hypothetical scenarios. It concludes with several recommendations, including increasing space domain awareness, the development of new distributed architectures and the addition of non-kinetic active defenses such as lasers and jamming devices to high-value satellites. Though the report makes recommendations for the Pentagon and Congress, Harrison noted that CSIS’ analysis could be applied to other nations and organizations.

“The reason we did this study is there has not been a lot of public discussion made about these issues. And so what that’s lead to is that we’ve seen folks at other think tanks and in government and even other parts of government have started to act and behave as if space is not defendable,” said Harrison. “That’s not the right answer. That’s not a plausible answer, either. We can’t just do without space.”

“What we’re trying to do is open up the public dialogue and give nonspace experts and space experts alike a tool, an ability, to have that discussion in open forums,” he said. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)

01 Mar 21. Aussie consortium breaks ground on new propulsion technology. An Australian research consortium has successfully tested a new propulsion system, designed to enhance flight and space launch capability. DefendTex — a research consortium made up of RMIT University, the University of Sydney and Universität der Bundeswehr in Germany — has developed a rotating detonation engine (RDE), a new propulsion system designed to support high-speed flight and space launch services.

Unlike conventional rocket engines, which burn fuel at constant pressure, RDEs have been built to produce thrust by rapidly detonating their propellant in a ring-shaped combustor.

The engine then enters a self-sustaining cycle of detonation waves that travel around the combustor at supersonic speeds greater than 2.5 kilometres a second.

According to DefendTex, this technology has the potential to “significantly increase” engine efficiency and performance, with applications in rocket propulsion and high-speed airbreathing engines.

The group also claims that the RDE has better fuel efficiency, simpler flight systems and a more compact engine, which supports larger payloads and reduced launch costs.

“To succeed in such an exceptionally challenging project means a lot to everyone involved,” project technical lead and RMIT University aerospace engineer, Dr Adrian Pudsey, said.

“Through strong collaboration over the past two years we now have a truly unique capability and have demonstrated the know-how and science required to push the boundaries of this technology even further.”

Dr Pudsey acknowledged that the team would need to overcome challenges, which include keeping the engine from overheating, and identifying a fully 3D-printed, actively cooled version of the prototype.

Other challenges include developing advanced modelling of the engine’s behaviour and integration of the engine into a functioning flight vehicle.

The University of Sydney’s deputy head of the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, associate professor Matthew Cleary, said computational fluid dynamics simulations, a mathematical method that models the movement of liquids and gases, would be an important element to the improved design of the engine and its testing.

“The rotating detonation engine combustor is an extreme environment that cannot easily be tested. Experimental measurements cannot provide all the information we need to optimise these engines,” Cleary said.

“Not only did the simulations complement the experiments, but at the same time, the new models that we are developing will be validated from the experimental data and then used for future design work.”

Universität der Bundeswehr’s Professor Christian Mundt, who helped configure ratios of fuel and oxidiser in the propellant and its precision injection into the combustor, added, “I am glad and proud to be the international partner on this important program.”

DefendTex noted that further developments in the technology could support satellite launches from Australia, creating commercial opportunities for the local industry, while indirectly supporting telecommunications, agriculture, transport, logistics and other industries.

“A few years ago, little funding and support was available for early-stage research in space technology, and through the Cooperative Research Centre Program the opportunity for collaborative engagement between academia, industry and defence has been made possible,” DefendTex chief executive Travis Reddy said.

“This is allowing Australia to rapidly strengthen capability and expertise in this field to achieve game changing breakthroughs, future-proofing our economy and capturing a greater share of the space launch market.” (Source: Space Connect)

21 Feb 21. Optical Comms Network Intro’d By Xensis. Xenesis, Inc. has announced their first, all optical ,communication service from space to ground, dubbed “Xen-link,” reaching anywhere on the Earth that can connect to the terrestrial internet backbone. Xen-Link services consist of the Xen-Hub (space terminal) and a Xen-Node (dedicated ground terminal) and offers a 10Gb/s full-duplex high data rate link, which to put it in perspective would give the ability to download an entire 2 hour 4k HD movie in less than 30 seconds. Xen-Link can also transport 2,600 Gigabits or 2.6 Terabits of data in just over 4 minutes. This is the average time a LEO satellite is in view of a single ground Xen-Node during an orbit, which is about 100 times more data than a 100 Mbps RF data link.

The real barriers Xen-Link addresses are two-fold: the high cost of data acquisition for a satellite operator and the high cap-ex of converting to optical versus RF. Xenesis removes these barriers completely, as Xen-Link is a zero CAPEX solution that delivers a >50x increase in throughput, thereby reducing the actual cost of acquiring any kind of data by a factor of >20x.

In addition, Xen-Link would be set to lower the barrier entry to space by allowing more accessibility for other companies in the industry that may have been previously met with the challenges of the high costs in acquiring data and limited bandwidth that is associated with RF.

“There was a massive hole in the market in providing low-Earth orbiting satellite operators and constellation operators a healthy amount of low-latency bandwidth at a low cost,” added Mark LaPenna, CEO of Xenesis. “Our plan is to begin filling that hole with an optical communications service called Xen-Link, which has unique and marketable capabilities that RF communications simply can’t offer.”

Eric Butte, CTO of Xenesis, said, “With our key technology partners Space Micro, Inc., Geost, and Planewave…Xenesis has put together a working space to ground, full-duplex laser communication link for any future LEO satellites that require very high-speed data rate communications to scale up their product offering.” (Source: Satnews)

24 Feb 21. Spaceflight Celebrating Ten Years Of Smallsat Launch Accomplishments. Spaceflight Inc. is celebrating their 10th anniversary. Since the company’s founding, the company has launched more than 300 satellites across 36 missions on eight different launch vehicles.

During Spaceflight’s 10 years in business, the company has evolved from launch brokerage to providing comprehensive launch and mission management services for payloads of all sizes, across a wide range of launch vehicles, with integration and logistics services, a portfolio of propulsive orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), and the widest variety of orbital destinations.

Highlights: 10 Years of Launch Experience

After founding the company in 2011, Spaceflight executed its first launch in 2013 aboard a Soyuz vehicle. In 2015, it purchased its first Falcon 9 rideshare mission, and in 2016, its first PSLV launch. More significant stats include:

36 total missions executed in the last 10 years with half occurring in the last two and a half years

327 spacecraft deployed with nearly 70% launching in the last two and a half years

Serving 79 unique customers, 75% of those commercial organizations

Customers from 29 different countries, with more than 24 countries represented in each of the last three years

More than 4,000 kilograms of total spacecraft mass launched

Fifty percent of launches have occurred on foreign launch vehicles

Launches on eight launch vehicles, including Falcon 9, Electron, Vega, Soyuz, Antares and PSLV with agreements to fly on new vehicles including Virgin Orbit, Relativity, Firefly, and SSLV, when available

“This is a monumental milestone for our company,” said Curt Blake, CEO and President of Spaceflight. “Ten years ago, rideshare was just a concept. We founded the company to serve the growing need for frequent and affordable launch options for the burgeoning smallsat industry. Since then, we’ve innovated new services, global launch practices, and OTV technology as well as executed several industry-first missions. We’re very proud of our pioneering spirit to provide the most flexible launch options for customers, helping them get their spacecraft on orbit when and where they want.”

“Spaceflight has been a trusted partner and our go-to launch service provider for years,” said Kjell Karlsen, Chief Financial Officer at Astrocast. “The team’s expertise provides us with the peace of mind that our mission will be expertly managed. This coupled with the flexibility enabled by the company’s diverse portfolio of launch options makes Spaceflight a preferred provider for us. Congratulations on the 10-year milestone; it’ll be exciting to see what innovations they pioneer and bring to market in the next 10 years.”

Spaceflight has also…

Pioneered the Sherpa-NG program, which includes three ESPA-class space vehicles complete with electric and chemical propulsion for last-mile delivery in space; the first OTV (Sherpa-FX) flew on record-breaking SpaceX Transporter-1 launch.
Executed the historic SSO-A mission, the first Falcon 9 dedicated rideshare mission, which launched 64 satellites from 34 customers from 17 countries. At the time, it was the largest number of satellites to ever launch from a U.S.-based vehicle.
Orchestrated the first-ever rideshare mission to GTO, launching the first privately funded lunar lander.
Opened a new state-of-the-art integration facility in Auburn, Washington, where the team conducts end-to-end spacecraft testing, integration and engineering services.
Secured a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) contract to offer cost-effective launch services for U.S. government organizations.
Unveiled the first online booking site for customers to reserve launches and a mission management portal for easy online launch campaign coordination.
Acquired by Mitsui & Co., Ltd., in partnership with Yamasa Co., Ltd., enabling deep resources to propel innovation and expand service offerings.

In January 2021, Spaceflight completed the successful launch of Sherpa-FX (pictured above), which carried 15 spacecraft on the record-setting SpaceX Transporter-1 mission. The company plans to launch approximately 10 missions across its global launch vehicle portfolio in 2021. (Source: Satnews)

24 Feb 21. Israeli flight trials demonstrate resilience to GNSS jamming scenarios, supporting BVLOS operation. An Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) flight trial carried out by Israel’s Ministry of Transportation, Innovation Authority and Civil Aviation Authority (CAAI) successfully demonstrated resilience to GNSS jamming scenarios, according to a report in The GPS Times. The test flight was part of the NA’AMA initiative, a project to push the boundaries of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operation and accelerate the adoption of UAS in urban environments. During the tests, cyber security company infiniDome is reported to increase GNSS resiliency by 400% in the hostile jamming environment.

The drone’s GPS receiver overcame GPS jamming scenarios using infiniDome’s GPSdome protection which locked on and maintained the GNSS signals throughout the jamming tests.

InfiniDome’s GPSdome anti-jamming solution is designed as an affordable add-on module that protects GNSS/GPS receivers. The patented system uses two off-the-shelf antennas to interface with the GNSS receiver at the RF level, adding anti-jamming capabilities in real-time. GPSdome maintains the receiver’s GPS signal throughout jamming attacks or in the presence of unintentional RF interference. Attenuating the RF interference signal in real time allows for continuity of normal operation by maintaining availability of the drone’ s autonomous and semi-autonomous modes which are GNSS-dependent, according to The GPS Times.

For more information visit:

www.thegpstimes.com

www.infinidome.com

(Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)

25 Feb 21. Airbus D&S Successfully Completes A Key Mfg. Milestone For First Eurostar Neo Satellite. Recently, Airbus Defence and Space successfully completed a key milestone in the manufacturing of the first Eurostar Neo satellite, with the successful integration of the Service and Communication Modules of EUTELSAT HOTBIRD 13F.

Airbus’ Portsmouth team delivered the EUTELSAT HOTBIRD 13F Communications Module to Toulouse where it joined the Stevenage and Toulouse produced Service Module. The EUTELSAT HOTBIRD 13F satellite is now starting the final series of tests in preparation for launch.

With the new Eurostar Neo platform, the payload capacity can be greatly increased, with the Communication Module able to accommodate up to 2 tons of payload and provide payload power of more than 25kW. EUTELSAT HOTBIRD 13F and 13G will both have spacecraft power of 22 kW and a launch mass of only 4,500 kg.

Airbus’ Eurostar Neo platform has been developed in the frame of the European Space Agency‘s (ESA) Partnership Projects, together with the French space agency CNES, and strongly supported by the UK Space Agency and other agencies across Europe.

François Gaullier, Head of Telecom Systems at Airbus Space Systems, said, “This is an important milestone for our new generation Eurostar Neo program, and is all the more remarkable having been achieved despite the COVID pandemic. With increased payload capacity and more efficient power and thermal control systems Eurostar Neo combines major innovations with tried-and-tested technologies, resulting in a product line that will be as reliable as ever while delivering the best performance in the market.”

The HOTBIRD family at 13° East forms one of the largest broadcasting systems in Europe, delivering 1000 television channels to more than 135 million TV homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. These two new satellites are set to be launched in 2021. (Source: Satnews)

25 Feb 21. Momentus + Xona Space Systems Sign Service Agreement For Alpha Mission. Earlier this month, Momentus Inc. and Xona Space Systems have signed a service agreement to advance the latter’s 2022 Alpha mission.

Xona’s patent-pending, system architecture is combining the efficiency and innovation of the new space era with the world of satellite navigation to help enable modern intelligent systems to operate safely in any conditions, anywhere on the planet. Once complete, their LEO smallsat constellation will provide a resilient alternative to Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) with more than 10x better accuracy.

“Xona is developing a truly innovative system to enhance the reliability and precision of global PNT and GNSS. As an infrastructure company, Momentus is excited to partner with other like-minded pioneers to help build out the future services needed to enable human presence in space while improving life on earth,” said Dawn Harms, Momentus CEO.

“We have been very impressed with the capabilities and services that Momentus offers with their Vigoride spacecraft,” said Xona CEO Brian Manning. “There is a rapidly growing demand for higher performance navigation and timing services as well as alternatives to GNSS. Forming this partnership with Momentus represents a key milestone in our technology development roadmap as we work towards our on-orbit demonstration and deployment of the full constellation to meet these needs.” (Source: Satnews)

23 Feb 21. Orbit Fab + Benchmark Space Systems Team Up For In-Space, High-Test, Peroxide-based Refueling, Servicing Infrastructure. Orbit Fab, the Gas Stations in Space™ company, and Benchmark Space Systems (BSS), a provider of in-space mobility solutions, announced a green, hydrogen-peroxide-based refueling and servicing infrastructure partnership to extend satellite missions and provide the essential fuel for the evolving ecosystem in space.

As part of the teaming, Orbit Fab will bundle their RAFTI fluid transfer interface with Benchmark’s Halcyon thruster system to offer an integrated refillable, non-toxic propulsion package. The innovative refueling solution is set for a technical demonstration at the SpaceX launch pad and in space aboard Orbit Fab’s first operational fuel depot to be lifted into orbit on a Falcon 9 later this year.

Benchmark Space Systems will use Orbit Fab’s Satellite Gas Cap™ fluid transfer interface, known as RAFTI, to fuel Orbit Fab’s Tanker-001 Tenzing on the ground. Benchmark will also offer the RAFTI interface as an option with its Halcyon and Peregrine propulsion solutions for on-orbit refueling.

Benchmark’s Halcyon propulsion system.

Benchmark recently announced an exclusive services agreement with Spaceflight to provide a full range of non-toxic chemical propulsion solutions designed to accelerate satellite rideshare deployments to prime orbital locations aboard the firm’s next-generation Sherpa OTVs.

Astro Digital is integrating Orbit Fab’s fuel tanker — including Benchmark’s Halcyon system — for positioning and steering along with other customer payloads being hosted by Astro Digital on an AD Corvus Micro Satellite bus launching to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Orbit Fab intends to operate many satellite tankers with HTP and has agreed to use Benchmark as their propulsion system provider for these future missions.

Orbit Fab’s Tanker-001 Tenzing will store HTP propellant in SSO where it will be available to satellite servicing vehicles and other spacecraft as they need to be refueled. Hydrogen peroxide is an environmentally friendly and cost-effective fuel that is particularly effective for in-space thrust and maneuverability. When compared to electric propulsion systems, non-toxic chemical propulsion, such as HTP-based systems, deliver spacecraft to their orbital locations much faster.

“We expect the bundled high-test peroxide-based propulsion package will become an essential building block for the in-orbit ecosystem for satellite servicing, national security, and space commercialization,” said Daniel Faber, CEO of Orbit Fab. “Together with Benchmark Space Systems, we share a long-term perspective and commitment in order to establish a sustainable in-space infrastructure that enables spacecraft to ‘maneuver without regret.’ And we benefit tremendously from the maturity of the Benchmark propulsion system, which is already flight qualified.”

“Our non-toxic, hydrogen-peroxide fueled propulsion systems provide the thrust levels, precision and control required for a broad range of rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), and our integration with Orbit Fab’s RAFTI fuel port opens the door to a safe, sustainable infrastructure for in-space mobility,” said Ryan McDevitt, Benchmark Space Systems CEO. “Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa Orbital Transfer Vehicle is a great example of the immediate and fielded customer base we see for Orbit Fab’s refueling depots and our HTP propulsion package that opens the door to an exciting new ecosystem in space.” (Source: Satnews)

23 Feb 21. Sateliot’s IoT Constellation To Be Developed By The Space Alliance. Sateliot will rely on The Space Alliance formed by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) and Telespazio for the development of a constellation of smallsats to ensure the company’s IoT connectivity is compatible with the 5G standard.

Acting as telecommunications cell towers in space, the plan envisages 16 satellites by 2025 with an investment of around 100m euros will enable the deployment of IoT services in sectors such as maritime, logistics, energy, agri-food, infrastructures and environmental monitoring.

Sateliot has reached an agreement with Thales Alenia Space in Spain and France to coordinate the design and development of the technologies required to offer the envisaged IoT services with 5G coverage starting in 2022.

TAS will ensure the viability of the entire technical phase, including engineering activities and the definition of the mission and end-user needs, with the objective of guaranteeing coverage extension services to European, American, South American and even African telecommunications operators from 2022.

The agreement between Sateliot and Telespazio will promote the development of the IoT market. In particular, Sateliot will leverage Telespazio’s experience and penetration in the international space services market to assess the main needs of customers in different sectors. Telespazio will use Sateliot’s capabilities to boost its offering in an IoT sector that already includes global hybrid coverage based on the integration of LTE/WiFi/Lora/Satellite technologies.

This agreement will allow Telespazio and Sateliot to develop new IoT services in sectors such as seaborne freight, agriculture, infrastructure management and telecommunications. In the freight sector, for example, IoT sensors connected via satellite are able to offer information about the load status, allowing transport monitoring and enhanced security, while in the agricultural sector, they can provide real-time data to promote sustainable crop management. IoT sensors are also one of the most promising solutions for infrastructure monitoring and management, maintenance management, traffic status control and rescue operations management after accidents.

According to Jaume Sanpera, the Founder and CEO of Sateliot, “This strategic agreement with The Space Alliance, formed by Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio, underpins our business plan focused on two growth paths. On the one hand, through a transversal strategy with telecommunications operators. And, on the other, through a vertical business line, aimed at end customers, to whom we will facilitate the monitoring of different variables in real time for profitable decision making for their businesses.”

The objective of Sateliot’s business plan is to close 2025 with a turnover of around 236m euros and a total workforce of more than 100 people. To make this possible, Sateliot has completed two capital increases and is negotiating a new round of financing with various international funds.

Sateliot is the first satellite telecommunications operator that will provide global and continuous connectivity to all the elements that will make up the universe of the Internet of Things (IoT) -such as the connected car or home- under the 5G protocol. Thanks to a constellation of state-of-the-art nanosatellites, located at low altitude that act as mobile cell towers, Sateliot is the perfect complement to large telecommunications companies by providing the necessary infrastructure where terrestrial technologies do not reach. More information in our web, Twitter and LinkedIn. (Source: Satnews)

22 Feb 21. France OK’s Starlink, SES Has More Capacity Agreements + Geely Set To Mfg 500+ Satellites Per Year. The French communications regulator, ARCEP (l’Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques), has approved SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system for use and access to the nation. However, the residents of a small village near Mont Saint-Michel abbey on the English Channel are saying a very firm “no.”

The village, Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron, population 350, is fearful of the impact the 3 meter satellite ground station antennas and radomes might have. “This project is totally new. We don’t have any idea of the impact of these signals,” said Noemie Brault, the deputy mayor of the village. “As a precaution the municipal council said no.”

SpaceX has permission to erect nine domes at Saint-Senier and at three other sites throughout France. Starlink Internet Services can use frequencies 10.95-12.70 Ghz for space-to-Earth and 14-14.5 GHz for Earth-to-space transmissions and was confirmed by ARCEP on February 18th. France’s various regulators have stressed that the domes and transmissions present no risk to residents, and that there are similar Earth stations across France doing similar work.

The company handling the Starlink installation say they will be making a fresh submission for local permission.

In additional news, SES has confirmed the signing of multi-year capacity agreements totaling more than 66m euros in backlog with multiple public broadcasters in Europe throughout 2020, which it says will “enable millions of satellite TV households across Europe to continue watching SD and HD content delivered with world-class reliability.”

The public broadcasters who have signed contracts directly with SES include ARD and ZDF in Germany, BBC in the UK, BVN in the Netherlands, as well as TV5Monde and France 24 from France via its partner Globecast.

“With almost the entire global population being impacted by some form of Covid-19 containment measures throughout 2020, public broadcasters have seen a surge in viewers across all age groups relying on linear television programmes to get the latest, official and well-researched news about the pandemic. The increase in linear content in 2020 also reinforces satellite as the most reliable way to broadcast to the widest possible audience and in the best quality desired by the viewer,” stated SES.

The latest agreements signed between public broadcasters and SES illustrate how European broadcasters are leveraging SES’s satellites at the prime orbital slots of 19.2 degrees East and 28.2 degrees East to reach more than 89 million satellite TV homes, surpassing other satellite or terrestrial operators.

“Delivering TV programs with reliable information and quality entertainment is important, especially in times of crisis. We are very pleased to help ARD, ZDF, BBC, TV5Monde, France 24 and BVN — some of the biggest names in European broadcasting — reach as many people as possible with their public service offering,” said Steve Collar, CEO at SES. “Satellite is an invaluable distribution resource today and it will remain so in the future, providing broadcasters with the largest reach, unmatched reliability, bandwidth efficiency and the ability to deliver superior content quality to millions of TV households in Europe.”

Separately, SES has also announced that its Government Solutions division has been awarded a capacity ‘loopback’ access contract with “a key US government customer” covering Southwest Asia. “The awarded task order is against the single-award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with the US Department of Defense (DoD) for Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) low-latency High Throughput Satellite (HTS) services.”

Onto China, where Chinese vehicle manufacturing giant Geely Technology Group (and its satellite production division Taizhou Xingkong Zhilian) have been given formal approval to build more than 500 satellites annually.

The new enterprise, located in coastal Taizhou, eastern Zhejiang province, will carry out research and development, manufacture core components, test, operate and control satellites, said the company. Equipment is reportedly arriving and production scheduled to start in October.

The news is important in that this is the first ‘mass manufacturing’ facility for satellites in China and will bring together Geely’s industrialized output with the high-tech aerospace demands of satellite production. It is not yet know what the target uses are for the new satellites, or whether they are likely to be LEO craft or larger. (Source: Satnews)

23 Feb 21. Santander Teleport and Kymeta to Provide Tech and Customer Support Center. Santander Teleport and Kymeta Corporation will be partnering to open a technical and customer support center at the Santander Teleport facilities in Spain.

The new venture will extend Kymeta’s existing support operations to the other side of the Atlantic. The technical center will be operated by skilled multilingual engineers and will launch later this month. The agreement supports Kymeta’s goal to provide unmatched and world-class support that is available 24×7. Kymeta Support provides a first line of support and seamless workflow from order placement to delivery.

“We are delighted to reach this agreement with Kymeta and contribute to their continuous growth,” said Carlos Raba, Managing Director of Santander Teleport. “Their unique revolutionary technology and their focus on providing the best products, services and support to their clients are perfectly aligned with our own company DNA. We are very grateful for the trust that Kymeta is placing in us, and we hope that this will be one of many more successful collaborations between both companies.”

“In selecting Santander Teleport, we are aligning our support offering both geographically and linguistically with our customers in the European region and beyond. Santander is a best-in-class technical facility, and we look forward to providing 24×7 service across the Kymeta platform with their support” said Richard Hadsall, Vice President of Global Network Operations, Kymeta. (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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