Sponsored By Viasat
www.viasat.com/gov-uk
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01 June 21. Viasat to Deliver Enhanced Military-Grade Encryption on the First-Ever Link 16-Capable Low Earth Orbit Spacecraft. Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced it will integrate its In-line Network Encryptor (INE) into the world’s first Link 16-capable low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, which Viasat is developing for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles XVI program.
Viasat’s INE will be the first crypto deployment on a Link 16-capable LEO satellite, and will provide communications security (COMSEC) and additional enhanced cybersecurity capabilities initially associated with mission data transfer, with future evolutions expected to simultaneously secure user data; telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) management; and inter-satellite communications—at multiple security levels.
Viasat’s INE, which was designed for a very low Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) constrained system, is expected to provide radiation-tolerant network encryption aligned with the LEO space environment and will be capable of supporting speeds exceeding 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) aggregate throughput, which makes it an outstanding encryptor to secure Link 16-to-LEO communications. The INE will also be able to secure the data flow between an unclassified spacecraft bus and the classified processing domain.
“In addition to building and testing the first-ever Link 16-capable LEO satellite prototype, Viasat is also focused on delivering the first high assurance, fully-programmable crypto deployed in space,” said Craig Miller, president, Government Systems, Viasat. “Our focus is on revolutionizing space-based cryptographic and cybersecurity solutions by moving away from embedded, fixed single-application ASICs and moving to ‘plug and play,’ fully-programmable, multi-functional and highly-efficient military-grade cryptos that can be rapidly deployed by supporting commercial off the shelf technology enhancements for small satellites.”
Over the past two decades, Viasat’s information assurance business has achieved a number of industry milestones. The Company’s PSIAM-based rugged, compact Type-1 cryptographic product portfolio already includes a ground-based satellite TT&C crypto (the KS-252)—which is currently deployed in the U.S. Air Force’s satellite communications ground station architectures. This crypto is the foundation for providing the same innovative, multi-functional, programmable value proposition to the space segment.
03 June 21. Viasat phased array antenna takes flight. Viasat recently completed its demo flight of the phased array antenna. The phased array antenna was installed on a Cessna Citation 2 aircraft and flown from the Netherlands to Lausanne, Switzerland. The Viasat Switzerland and Netherlands teams worked on the development of the flat panel antenna in collaboration with the European Space Agency, Swiss Space Office and Netherlands Space Office. The demo flight was captured on video and in a recent webinar. Viasat’s flat panel antenna represents significant advancements within scalable phased array terminal technologies. The phased array flat antenna is designed to leverage a multi-orbit, multi-beam, high-throughput, flexible and open architecture satcom system. It’s the latest satellite technology that can dynamically steer beams for rapid, accurate satellite position tracking and seamless handover between satellites in the network; and can perform on-the-fly reconfiguration of antenna characteristics to enable end-terminals to communicate in a hybrid LEO (Low Earth Orbit) to MEO (Middle Earth Orbit) to GEO (Geostationary) environment. This core technology is a building block to connect fixed and mobile platforms in the air, on land, and at sea, to enable superior broadband experiences worldwide.
03 June 21. Viasat Ramps Satellite Services in the Middle East and Western Europe Ahead of ViaSat-3 Launch; Signs Ka-Band Capacity Lease Deal with Avanti Communications. Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced it signed a Ka-band capacity lease agreement with Avanti Communications Group plc (Avanti) to provide additional coverage and capacity across the Middle East and Western Europe—ahead of its ViaSat-3 global constellation—to support Viasat’s expanding global mobility and enterprise businesses, specifically across aviation, maritime and energy.
Viasat and Avanti have a long-standing relationship, having signed prior Ka-band capacity lease agreements. This new agreement augments Viasat’s KA-SAT satellite coverage and capacity and will initially be leveraged to serve new mobility customers in the region.
Avanti’s CEO, Kyle Whitehill said, “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Viasat and provide them support in the delivery of broadband connectivity across Europe and the Middle East. In-flight connectivity, in particular, is a high growth segment for satellite connectivity, and will serve Viasat well, enabling them to offer seamless connectivity capabilities across geographies.”
Jimmy Dodd, president, Viasat Global Enterprise and Mobility added, “In working with Avanti, we can bring additional short-term capacity to the mobility and enterprise markets, enabling us to serve more customers, win new business and establish deeper market presence and penetration ahead of our ViaSat-3 satellite launch aimed over Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).”
Viasat plans to leverage Avanti’s HYLAS 4 and HYLAS 2 satellites beginning in October 2021. (Source: PR Newswire)
03 June 21. Government fund will support new ideas for cleaning up space. Space firms are being invited to apply for a share of up to £800,000 in funding from the UK Space Agency to develop ideas for space debris removal missions. One of the biggest global challenges facing the space sector is orbital congestion and space debris. There are currently an estimated 900,000 pieces of space debris including old satellites, spent rocket bodies and even tools dropped by astronauts orbiting Earth. Space debris can stay in orbit for hundreds of years and present a real danger to the rapidly increasing number of new satellites being launched each year. The UK Space Agency is looking to fund two active debris removal feasibility studies through its Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) programme, which aims to make space safer and more sustainable. The feasibility studies will develop a debris removal mission concept and system design. The deadline for applications is the 13 July 2021 and the opportunity is open to businesses, non-profits and academics.
Jacob Geer, Head of Space Surveillance and Tracking at the UK Space Agency, said, “Space debris is a growing issue but there are real opportunities for the UK to lead the world in developing and marketing technologies to solve the problem. This funding could give space firms the scope and support to make real breakthroughs. As we progress further into this new age of space mega-constellations, the UK Space Agency will work with the industry and international partners to ensure humanity can utilise space safely and sustainably. The surge in new missions to refuel, repair or reposition old spacecraft in orbit could present a real opportunity for the UK.”
This is the latest investment the UK Space Agency is making in cleaning up space. In 2020 it awarded seven UK companies a share of over £1m to help track debris in space. It also recently awarded £2.5m to Astroscale to develop the technology to remove communication satellites. The UK is also the leading contributor to the European Space Agency’s Space Safety programme which provides collaboration and funding opportunities for UK scientists and industry.
One collision with space debris could create thousands of small, fast-moving fragments which can damage the satellites that provide everyday services such as communications, weather forecasting or satellite navigation.
Today’s announcement follows a new publication by UKSpace highlighting the importance of In-orbit servicing (IOS) capabilities for national security and economic growth. The report acknowledges the UK is ahead of the curve in important areas like close proximity operations, as demonstrated by Astroscale’s recent ELSA-d mission. It predicts that technologies and skills developed through IOS, including debris removal, could deliver massive benefits to society, with revenues worth tens of billions of pounds to the UK.
New figures released by the UK Space Agency this month show strong growth in the UK space sector. Income rising from £14.8bn in 2016/17o £16.4bn in 2018/19, representing a growth of 5.7 per cent in real terms, while employment is up by 3,200 from 41,900 to 45,100. Research and development spending rose 18 per cent in real terms from £595m in 2016/17 to £702m in 2018/19. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
02 June 21. USAF wants rocket deliveries to anywhere on Earth in under an hour. The Air Force Research Laboratory boosted the prominence of its Rocket Cargo initiative to deliver freight on commercial rockets to anywhere on Earth in under an hour, naming it the lab’s fourth Vanguard program.
AFRL, which noted the designation in the Air Force fiscal 2022 budget request released last week, uses its Vanguard programs to pursue transformational technologies, including next-generation navigation satellites or a swarm of networked munitions that can autonomously attack multiple targets simultaneously. The Air Force spent $9.7m on Rocket Cargo in FY21. For FY22, the Air Force asked for $47.9m.
In February, AFRL’s commander said the lab was looking to accelerate development of its three Vanguard programs while adding more in the coming years — and now Rocket Cargo has taken that first new Vanguard spot.
Essentially, AFRL wants to leverage the development of large, reusable commercial rockets for cargo transport, with the stated goal of delivering 100 tons of material anywhere on the planet in 60 minutes or less.
“Rocket Cargo will demonstrate new trajectories and ways to fly large rockets, the ability to land rockets at austere locations, and design and test an ejectable pod for air drop,” the budget proposal read.
Rocket-powered cargo delivery isn’t a new concept, and the Air Force confirmed that it was flirting with the idea in 2018. At the time, officials acknowledged that the service was in talks about the concept with multiple businesses, including SpaceX, a company at the forefront in developing reusable rockets that can take off and land.
Then in October, U.S. Transportation Command revealed that it would test the concept with SpaceX — possibly as early as 2021. TRANSCOM acknowledged that it had entered into a cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, with SpaceX in March 2020, and had entered another agreement with commercial space architecture firm xArc in April 2020. Those agreements did not come with federal funding.
The Air Force noted in its budget request that if successful, Rocket Cargo would replace the existing TRANSCOM Strategic Airlift mission as a cheaper, faster alternative.
As part of this Vanguard program, AFRL will not build, design or develop the actual rockets. Rather, the lab will work on the enabling technologies that will integrate reusable commercial rockets with DoD logistics. That effort includes developing new designs for quickly loading and unloading rockets, creating new ways to take off from unusual locations, designing novel trajectories and investigating the potential of air-dropped payloads. Those efforts will largely take place through modeling, simulation and analysis.
If approved, the requested funding would help the AFRL demonstrate an initial one-way transport capability to an austere location with a commercial rocket. AFRL also expects to issue a solicitation and award contracts in FY22. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
04 June 21. Rocket Lab given green light to launch as investigations into ‘complex failure’ continue. The Federal Aviation Administration has given Rocket Lab authorisation to resume space launches, despite the company continuing to investigate the cause of the “complex failure” that occurred on its most recent Electron launch last month.
Rocket Lab downplayed the extent of its failed 20th launch, which saw the loss of two BlackSky Earth-observing satellites after a second stage ignition fault just minutes after take-off on 15 May 2021.
The company consistently referred to the incident as an “anomaly”, and said it was “leading the mishap investigation” with oversight from the FAA.
“While the FAA has confirmed that Rocket Lab’s launch licence remains active, Rocket Lab will continue with a rigorous internal review into the anomaly,” the company said in a press statement.
“The review team is working through an extensive fault tree analysis to exhaust all potential causes for the anomaly and the full review is expected to be complete in the coming weeks, following which Rocket Lab anticipates a swift return to flight.”
Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck said that “any anomaly was always going to be a complex failure and this one is turning out to be an intricate and layered failure analysis”.
Last month, Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket experienced the unknown “anomaly” about 200 seconds into flight, and had successfully completed lift-off, first stage burn, and stage separation.
Shortly after the stage two ignition, the engine computer detected that conditions for flight were not met and performed “a safe shut down”, according to Rocket Lab.
The failed launch following separation resulted in the loss of BlackSky’s payload.
Rocket Lab said that the rocket remained within the predetermined safety corridor at all times and all safety procedures performed as expected.
“Launch Complex 1 was unaffected by the anomaly and the site remains ready to support the next Electron launch,” it added.
The data from the failed launch is still being examined, over three weeks later.
However, Beck did specify that the company “successfully replicated the failure in testing and determined it required multiple conditions to occur in flight”.
“We are now piecing together the sequence of events and preparing corrective actions for a safe and swift return to flight,” he said.
Rocket Lab expects to complete its investigation within the coming weeks.
(Source: Space Connect)
02 June 21. Honeywell’s (NASDAQ: HON) industry-leading JetWave product family of broadband satcom solutions has a new offering specifically designed for military and governmental aircraft. Officially known as JetWave MCX, the solution expands on the success of earlier JetWave products and features technical improvements specifically intended for military customers around the world.
Since launching in 2017, Honeywell’s JetWave high-speed, in-flight Wi-Fi has provided commercial and business jet passengers with the ultimate in-flight productivity and entertainment experience. JetWave MCX will build upon these capabilities to provide improved situational awareness throughout an airborne mission, secure communications and the capability to connect to various Ka-band satcom networks depending on the needs of the mission.
“In the past, when the warfighter’s mission has required high-bandwidth connectivity, their choices were limited to proprietary hardware terminals that connect to a vendor-locked network,” said Steven Williams, vice president, Defense Americas, Honeywell Aerospace. “JetWave MCX provides operators with broadband, multi-network capability and resiliency that ensures the warfighter has high-speed connectivity available anytime around the globe.”
Honeywell’s JetWave MCX terminal is globally available and tailored to the heightened needs of the defense segment. It is specifically designed for military or government aircraft used for surveillance, combat or humanitarian missions like search and rescue operations.
JetWave MCX currently delivers critical technology to Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) advanced Airborne Mission Networking (AbMN) secure communications suite, designed to ensure critical mission data is always available to the warfighter — whether onboard or in a command center thousands of miles away. SNC has equipped Air Force Special Operations Command’s MC-130J Commando II aircraft with Honeywell’s JetWave MCX as part of the AbMN suite for ongoing system performance evaluation. The AbMN suite improves interoperability between special operations platforms as well as other U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine and coalition platforms.
“There are already more than 2,000 JetWave systems being used across business aviation, air transport and defense,” said John Peterson, vice president and general manager, Software and Services, Honeywell Aerospace. “With the release of JetWave MCX, we’ve built upon this success and further developed the technology to create a more customized solution that addresses the unique needs of military and defense customers.”
Honeywell’s satellite communications systems provide operators, passengers and crew with reliable, consistent connectivity throughout the world. They serve a range of needs, including in-flight connectivity for voice and data-streaming in the cockpit and the cabin, as well as fleet tracking and aircraft management.
02 June 21. Honeywell to provide world’s smallest SATCOM system in Australia. Honeywell has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Carbonix, a leading Australian drone manufacturer, to provide its smallest and lightest satellite communications solution for its long-range fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle. The MOU agreement marks a significant milestone for Honeywell, as Carbonix is the first customer in the Asia-Pacific region to leverage Honeywell’s expertise and knowledge transfer in SATCOM solutions for UAVs.
Powered by Inmarsat’s global satellite communications network, the Honeywell Small UAV SATCOM system enables beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) command and control, real-time video streaming, and communication for defence and civilian missions.
Carbonix CEO Stephen Pearce said he was thrilled with the partnership with the industry leader in SATCOM solutions.
“Installing Honeywell’s Small UAV SATCOM solution provides our customers with the ability to capture high-quality data during long-endurance flights over remote locations,” Pearce added.
“Our vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing drones are in the air for up to 10 hours, allowing for efficient, accurate and reliable large-scale data capture.”
Traditionally, satellite communications systems have been available only for larger aircraft due to the size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements. Now, with a customisable design that’s 30 per cent lighter than competing systems, Honeywell’s Small UAV SATCOM system can be installed in different locations on the vehicle to accommodate a wider range of platforms while ensuring safety of flight and avoiding unnecessary bulk.
Honeywell’s Small UAV SATCOM system is only one kilogram and was designed specifically to bring some of the connectivity capabilities enjoyed by larger aircraft to smaller UAVs in the air, at sea or on land.
Tim Van Luven, vice president of defense aftermarket sales at Honeywell Aerospace Asia Pacific, has welcomed the opportunity to work with Carbonix to enhance its platform capabilities with a high-performing, long-range, reliable and secure satellite communications solution for UAVs.
“This SWaP design combined with the comprehensive high-speed broadband coverage worldwide will provide the necessary capabilities for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAVs to fly longer, safer and connected, even when they fly beyond line of sight,” Van Luven said.
The seamless connectivity delivered through Inmarsat’s satellite network enables BVLOS capabilities that allow unmanned aircraft to be operated remotely at scale, beyond the pilot’s field of view.
This technology can be used for a variety of applications, including long-range UAV inspections of linear infrastructure, where it is estimated to double or triple daily inspection capacity.
The combination of the Honeywell Small UAV SATCOM system and Inmarsat’s satellite connectivity can keep vehicles connected even in remote areas or over water where other ground-based communications systems, such as 4G, are not available.
Honeywell’s suite of satellite communications systems can provide operators, passengers and crew with reliable, consistent connectivity throughout the world. They serve a range of needs, including onboard connectivity for command and control and data, as well as fleet tracking and aircraft management. (Source: Defence Connect)
03 June 21. Space Force will set up one office for commercial services, including SATCOM and satellite imagery. The U.S. Space Force will set up a single office to assess and secure commercial services, ranging from traditional satellite communications to satellite imagery, the service’s No. 2 official said June 2. The change will occur with the establishment of Space Systems Command, or SSC, a new field command designed to replace the Space and Missile Systems Center as the Space Force’s main organization for acquiring and fielding space systems, Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson said during the MilSat Symposium. When that change takes place, the office that oversees commercial satellite communications will expand to cover most space-related commercial services for the service, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Historically, the military’s use of commercial space services has largely been limited to satellite communications, with providers filling a significant share of the DoD’s day-to-day needs. That’s changed in recent years, said Thompson, as the Space Force has increasingly looked to commercial services for data relay and space situational awareness data. And as Thompson acknowledged, the intelligence community has been a long-time user of commercial satellite imagery, with the National Reconnaissance Office working to expand its relationship with commercial providers in recent years.
Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond has repeatedly said that he wants to further integrate with industry, stating that there is no mission area where commercial services can’t contribute.
Under the SSC setup, the Commercial Satellite Communications Office — the organization in charge of securing commercial satellite services — will transition into a “commercial services office” with much broader responsibilities, explained Thomas. The general had noted that SMC was considering such a change during the C4ISRNET Conference in April. The new office will acquire a vast array of services from industry, including commercial satellite imagery, space situational awareness data and more. The office will be in charge of determining the military efficacy of acquiring new commercial capabilities as well as their cost effectiveness. SSC is expected to get started later this summer, once Congress has approved a commander to oversee the new organization. (Source: Defense News)
27 May 21. Quantum Communication in Space Moves Ahead. Keeping information secure in today’s interconnected world is becoming ever more important, so ESA is supporting efforts to ensure that future communications are kept confidential. A new generation of supercomputing power, delivered by quantum computers, is currently being developed that will be almost unimaginably powerful at cracking the most complex problems upon which encryption is based.
ESA has formed a Partnership Project with Arqit – a leader in the quantum encryption field, based in the UK – to keep information safe in a world where quantum computers are becoming commonplace.
ArQit recently announced that it was merging with a subsidiary of Centricus, a global investment firm, in a transaction expected to provide Arqit with up to €330m in gross proceeds.
The deal fully finances Arqit’s endeavours to develop state-of-the-art satellites for quantum key distribution – dubbed QKDSat – through its key provision platform.
Most of the world’s communications systems rely on public key infrastructure to establish keys that are used to encrypt communications between two distant points. These encryption keys are intended to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of the information – but the infrastructure will become vulnerable to hackers using quantum computers.
QKDSat distributes symmetric keys through a cloud-based system to end-use devices, with a tiny computational load of less than 200 lines of code, leveraging the laws of quantum physics to prevent any eavesdropper from gaining access to the encryption key.
A series of QKDSat satellites will enable the exchange and distribution of secure encryption keys to countless locations and billions of devices anywhere in the world, thanks to their optical quantum space-to-ground link. This improves resilience to future hacking threats because the quantum keys are generated from high-quality random sources and distributed across the cloud network.
QKDSat is being developed as an ESA Partnership Project, which brings together the skills, expertise and resources of the agency to support the development of commercial applications of space technology in a public-private partnership.
In 2019 ESA has placed a contract with Arqit co-funding the development of the first QKDSat satellite. The development is progressing well and the satellite is due for launch in 2023.
Under UK-based Arqit’s leadership, QKDSat is being developed by a pan-European team from a number of other ESA member states including Austria, Belgium, Canada and the Czech Republic.
David Williams, chief executive of Arqit, said: “Our technology solves the most challenging security threats of modern times and, with the deployment of QKDSats, we will be able to hyperscale our distribution capabilities and geographical reach.”
Elodie Viau, ESA’s Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, said: “I am proud to see our industrial partner ArQit making a decisive step to move the QKDSat project forward and to raise the required funding on the market. This is proof of the competitiveness of our industry and the willingness of private players to partner with us and invest in the future. It confirms that the public support is well invested.
“Quantum key distribution is crucial for many security-critical services such as finance, and key to ensuring our commercial digital sovereignty. We are witnessing the power NewSpace can bring to the commercialisation of space, with telecommunications as the leading service market of the space economy.” (Source: ASD Network)
27 May 21. ESA Signs Contract for New Generation of Galileo. Acting on behalf of the European Commission, ESA has signed two contracts for an overall amount of €1.47bn, to design and build the first batch of the second generation of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites.
Following an intense process of open competition, these contracts have been awarded to Thales Alenia Space (Italy) and Airbus Defence & Space (Germany) to create two independent families of satellites amounting to 12 Galileo Second Generation satellites in total.
“Galileo is a major success for Europe, and these contracts ensure that it is going to be around for a long time to come,” comments Paul Verhoef, ESA Director of Navigation. “The Galileo Second Generation will represent a further step forward with the use of many innovative technologies to guarantee unprecedented precision, robustness and flexibility of the system for the benefit of users worldwide.”
Galileo is Europe’s civil global satellite navigation constellation, currently the world’s most precise satnav system, offering metre-scale accuracy to more than 2 billion users around the globe. With improved accuracy, the new generation should be able to offer decimetre-scale precision positioning to all.
These Galileo Second Generation (G2) satellites will revolutionise the Galileo fleet, joining the 26 first generation Galileo satellites in orbit today plus the 12 ‘Batch 3’ satellites currently in production and testing. The first launch of these Batch 3 satellites will take place later this year.
The new G2 satellites will be constructed in a short time scale with their first launch expected in less than four years, allowing them to commence operations in space as soon as possible.
The G2 satellites will gradually join the existing constellation, but will be much larger than existing satellites. Using electric propulsion for the first time, and hosting an enhanced navigation antenna, their fully digital payloads are being designed to be easily reconfigured in orbit, enabling them to actively respond to the evolving needs of users with novel signals and services.
New on-board technologies include electric propulsion to propel the satellites from the orbit in which they will be launched to the final operational orbits, allowing two satellites to be launched at once despite their increased mass. Inter-satellite links between the satellites will let them routinely cross-check their performance and reduce their dependency on the availability of ground installations.
The satellites will also feature a more powerful navigation antenna and advanced jamming and spoofing protection mechanisms to safeguard Galileo signals.
Thanks to G2, it will be possible for navigation devices such as smartphones to acquire the signal faster and access services more quickly upon switching on their devices, with lower power consumption. This will open up new perspectives for many new devices to offer positioning capabilities, a true revolution for emerging self-driving cars, autonomous drones and the whole ‘Internet of things’.
G2 will also offer enhanced services for search and rescue, including two-way communications to the person in trouble. And a new emergency communications capability will enable authorities to warn users in affected regions of imminent dangers such as tsunamis or earthquakes. Such warnings could be sent anywhere on Earth, independently of telecommunication providers, by using Galileo navigation signals as a one-way messaging service.
Overall, the G2 satellites will incorporate numerous technology upgrades, developed through EU and ESA research and development programmes. But the Galileo G2 system will result from a series of seamless upgrades and changes to the G1 system currently in place, without interruption to any of its services.
The Galileo system will be operated by the EU Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, based in Prague. ESA and EUSPA are partnering on the development and operations of Galileo.
ESA is in charge of the design, development, procurement, qualification of Galileo satellites and the associated ground infrastructure on behalf of the European Union, the system owner. (Source: ASD Network/European Space Agency (ESA))
27 May 21. 2 companies to build digital models of new Space Force missile warning sensors. The U.S. Space Force picked two companies to design digital models of infrared sensors for the service’s next constellation of missile warning satellites, the service announced May 27.
Raytheon Technologies and Millennium Space Systems secured contracts for the Missile Track Custody Prototype effort, which will evaluate whether sensors for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared satellites can effectively detect and track ballistic missiles.
The Space Force is building Next-Gen OPIR to succeed the Space Based Infrared System as the nation’s premier missile warning satellite constellation, detecting and tracking ballistic missile threats all over the world 24/7. There will be five satellites in the initial constellation: Three in geosynchronous orbit with another two providing coverage of the Earth’s polar regions. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor on the first three Next-Gen OPIR GEO satellites, awarded $2.9bn in 2018 to design them and another $4.9bn in 2021 to build them. Northrop Grumman was awarded $2.4bn in 2020 to begin design work on the polar satellites.
The U.S. Air Force used a series of reprogramming requests in 2019 to speed up development of Next-Gen OPIR. The Space and Missile Systems Center credits that effort with keeping the program on track for the first geosynchronous satellite to be delivered in 2025. It is expected to launch in 2026.
Under the May 27 awards, Raytheon and Millenium Space Systems “will deliver and validate missile tracking designs and verify predicted performance” of the infrared sensors, the announcement said.
“This effort is a key component of SMC’s Digital Engineering strategy, enabling the government to incorporate and connect multiple contractor models in an automated digital environment,” said Col. Timothy Sejba, SMC program executive officer for space development. “In addition, it will support U.S. Space Force’s architecture analysis by providing realistic cost, schedule, and performance predictions, essentially enabling a digital ‘try it before you buy it’ approach.”
Earlier this month, the Space Force declared that it wanted to be the world’s first fully digital service, unveiling a new cloud-based environment where the government can work with industry and share digital twins of various systems and platforms.
The awards were made under the new Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) Other Transaction Agreement, which was set up to oversee $12bn in contracts for space-related rapid prototyping over the next 10 years. SMC did not release the value of the awards issued to Raytheon and Millenium Space Systems or when they are expected to deliver products, only noting that the agreements will carry the contractors through a payload critical design review and delivery of digital models.
Raytheon is also one of two teams building candidate payloads for the first two Next-Gen OPIR GEO satellites, with Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace leading the other. Each is tasked with designing, manufacturing, assembling, integrating and delivering one payload. Lockheed Martin will choose which payload goes on which satellite and select one team to build and deliver another payload for the third satellite. Those payloads passed preliminary design review in May 2020. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
26 May 21. European space agency invites participants in testing campaign of Galileo high accuracy Signal in Space (SiS). Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) has launched a call for expression of interest to invite external stakeholders to participate in a testing campaign of the Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) Signal in Space (SiS) broadcasting. The deadline for submissions is 11 June 2021.
The call targets in particular the participation of receiver manufacturers developing Galileo E6-B/C receivers that will implement Precise Point Positioning (PPP) corrections based on the Galileo HAS in their devices. The campaign is an essential step towards the development of the HAS operational service phase.
Goal of the campaign
By providing access to the HAS SiS Interface Control Document (ICD) to interested parties, through this call EUSPA aims to enable the participation of relevant stakeholders to the incoming HAS SiS testing. Through this participation EUSPA will collect relevant feedback on the HAS SiS ICD structure and implementation at Receiver level. It is also interested in the participants’ results received during the HAS SiS testing and any relevant implementation aspects, and on receiving their inputs and suggestions concerning the HAS service-related aspects and specifications.
Access to the HAS SiS ICD will only be granted subject to the signature of a Non-Disclosure Undertaking by the interested parties complying with the conditions indicated in the call. The HAS SiS ICD will be published during 2021, after the conclusion of this testing campaign.
The tests carried out by the participants may cover tracking and processing of GPS and Galileo signals relevant for HAS, as well as decoding and processing of the HAS broadcast corrections, in addition to user positioning performance evaluation.
HAS SiS ICD call at a glance
- Reference: EUSPA-GAL-CFI-254439
- Launch of call – 18 May 2021
- Deadline for request of clarifications from EUSPA – 28 May 2021
- Last date on which clarifications are issued by EUSPA – 4 June 2021
- Deadline for submission of expression of interests – 11 June 2021
- End of evaluation process – end of June
- Signature of NDU – end of June
Galileo High Accuracy Service
The Galileo HAS will be an open access and free of charge service based on the provision of precise corrections (orbit, clock, biases, atmospheric) transmitted in the Galileo E6 signal (E6-B, data component) from a subset of the Galileo satellites, allowing the user to achieve improved positioning performance.
The precise corrections provided by the Galileo High Accuracy Service will allow users of the service to reduce the error associated with the orbit and clocks provided through the Galileo Open Service broadcast navigation messages and the GPS Standard Positioning Service navigation data. These corrections, together with the biases provided by the service, will enable users to perform decimetre-level precise positioning accuracy. Future evolutions of the service will include regional atmospheric corrections to improve convergence times.
For more information visit:
www.euspa.europa.eu (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
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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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