Sponsored By Viasat
www.viasat.com/gov-uk
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24 Jul 18. Viasat Inc. (Nasdaq: VSAT), a global communications company, announced today it was awarded a six-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract in May 2018 from the U.S. Government valued at up to $85.5m for Block Upgrade 2 (BU2) hardware and software upgrades and support services to their Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) Link 16 radio sets. The order is the result of a sole source procurement through the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), San Diego, Calif. The order adds modernized Link 16 communications capability for U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and selected Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Customers. Initial delivery orders under the contract total $22m.
“Viasat is extremely pleased to receive this sole source award to deliver enhanced Link 16 capability to U.S. and allied forces,” said Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat. “This order reflects the U.S. Government’s commitment to maintaining the long-term viability of MIDS-LVT radios deployed worldwide, which will ensure continued tactical data link capability and interoperability with Link 16 equipped platforms and warfighters into the future.”
Link 16 provides real-time situational awareness and jam-resistant communications across hundreds of air, sea, and ground platforms in nearly fifty coalition countries; offering true interoperability and real-time exchange of battlespace information, increasing mission effectiveness and warfighter safety. MIDS-LVT forms the backbone of the Link 16 network across the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the international coalition. BU2 capabilities ensure that MIDS-LVT terminals remain interoperable with platforms that utilize other modernized Link 16 terminals, such as the MIDS Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) family of terminals and Viasat’s Small Tactical Terminal and Handheld Link 16 radios which are enabling new concepts of operation and warfighter tactics throughout the U.S. DoD and International Coalition Defense Forces.
27 Jul 18. Nanosatellite mission control station launched in South Australia. The ground station, opened today at Pinkerton Plains, 80km north of Adelaide, completes the mission control centre built at Fleet’s headquarters in South Australia’s capital. Fleet plans to link up the Internet of Things with its satellites and LoRaWAN™ hub technology. Fleet CEO Flavia Tata Nardini said the ground station would allow space startups across Australia and the world to monitor their own nanosatellites and payloads at a fraction of the cost of larger operators. She said it was the first piece of commercial space infrastructure built in Australia since the Federal Government announced earlier in the year it would create a national space agency.
“The ground station will break barriers for space startups locally and abroad, creating opportunities that were previously only available to large organisations,” said Nardini.
“We’re democratising space and advancing global collaboration.
“We knew it was ambitious to build and operate a world-class ground station in less than six months. It’s a huge achievement for a small startup to receive leasing rights, let alone build a fully functioning mission control centre within this short timeframe.
The misson control centre will track Fleet’s first two nanosatellites — Centauri I and II — that will launch later this year aboard Indian Space Agency and SpaceX rockets after Fleet received its Overseas Launch Certificate (OLC) under the Australian Space Activities Act this week.
“We’re proud that we can start working on this – owning and operating a ground station in Australia is a key part of ensuring we can deliver world class service with our satellites for our customers,” said Nardini. “The ground station launch cements our commitment to driving quicker access to data to help transform billion-dollar industries, from precision agriculture on isolated rural farms in Tasmania, maritime monitoring in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and food supply chain management in Asia.”
The ground station, below, and mission control centre have been built in collaboration with Italian satellite ground segment service provider Leaf Space, which engineered and supplied a turn key satellite dish integrated with monitoring and control systems critical to receiving radio waves from nanosatellites orbiting Earth. The 3-metre dish has two frequencies and is part of the first ground station built by the Italian company outside of Europe. The autonomous ground station will be operated from the mission control centre in Adelaide and Italy
“The proliferation of nanosatellites in recent years has created enormous demand for new ground stations across the globe for tracking, uplink and downlink operations.” said Giovanni Pandolfi, co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Leaf Space. “South Australia is emerging as a space hub with ambitious startups, incredible talent and innovative technologies, we’re pleased to extend our installation of ground stations to Australia and increase operational efficiency for local and international satellite operators.”
The government of South Australia is pursuing the downstream space segment, looking to develop activities that employ data and knowledge that are derived from the space for Earth-related objectives. South Australian Premier Steven Marshall is also the state’s Minister for Space Industries.
“It’s a very special day for South Australia and in fact the whole country as we move to the establishment of the National Space Agency,” he said.
A report released by the South Australian Space Industry Centre (SASIC) has determined that almost 1.5 million Australian companies need these space-derived applications. SASIC director Nicola Sasanelli said South Australian companies like Fleet Space Technologies and Myriota were examples of businesses driving the downstream sector. Myriota, a spinoff technology company from the University of South Australia, this year raised $1 m to further its IoT network of sensors, attracting investment from Boeing.
“South Australia is involved in this fantastic journey to the knowledge economy and space activities are very important to this,” Sasanelli said.
Sasanelli said Morgan Stanley expected the space economy to hit US$1.1trn by 2040, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimated it would grow eight-fold in the next 30 years, reaching US$2.7trn in 2045.
“At the moment we (Australia) take 0.8 per cent of the (US)$300 billion global space economy that is growing at 9 per cent a year, so there is still an opportunity for us to be active in this area,” he said. “Other countries with space agencies, like Canada, manage $500 million per year and they are part of the big, global program. It’s an ambition for our industries and our research centres to be involved in these global programs.”
Sasanelli said South Australia had 30 organisations involved in the space industry just 12 months ago.
“Now it is 60, with more than 800 jobs in these South Australian organisations,” he said. “Growing Australia’s space industry to realise its full potential will take a truly national approach and this is something which South Australia has consistently worked towards.”
Head of the new Australian Space Agency Dr Megan Clark AC said Fleet’s ground station was an example of some of the great space-related activities underway in Australia. (Source: http://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/)
27 Jul 18. Satellite collaboration helps WA industry says Curtin Uni. Curtin University researchers have found that the recent launch of new Japanese satellites has boosted satellite positioning capabilities in Western Australia, offering huge potential benefits across numerous industries including mining, surveying and navigation. New research, published in the journal GPS Solutions, found signals from the recently launched Japanese QZSS satellites provide centimetre-level positioning accuracy, and thus significantly enhanced positioning capabilities in WA, thereby improving accuracy, reliability and availability. Lead researcher Professor Peter Teunissen, of Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said these results will improve further when the QZSS signals are combined with those from other satellite systems such as the Indian NavIC system.
“Such improved positioning, accuracy and reliability would offer great benefits when applied in fields such as open-pit mining, surveying, hydrography, automated navigation, structural health monitoring, and subsidence and tectonic deformation monitoring used in the geospatial industry,” Professor Teunissen said.
Professor Teunissen said the analyses done by Curtin’s Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Research Centre demonstrated the highly accurate centimetre-level positioning capabilities that can now be achieved. The results bode well for the future, with the Japanese system being further developed from the current four-satellite system into a mature seven-satellite system that is expected to be operational by 2020.
“The United States of America, for example, can’t use these signals the way we can in Australia, so this places us in a position of great advantage when it comes to the understanding, modelling and analyses of these satellite signals and their many practical applications,” Professor Teunissen said.
The report, Australia-First High-Precision Positioning Results with New Japanese QZSS Regional Satellite System,can be found online here. Curtin University is Western Australia’s largest university, with more than 56,000 students. Of these, over 14,000 are international students. The University’s main campus is in Bentley near the Perth CBD. Curtin has five other campuses across WA, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai and Mauritius. Curtin also has a presence at a number of other global locations. To improve Australia’s capability in utilising the next-generation GNSS and to come to a fullest exploitation of the opportunities created, Curtin University established the new GNSS Research Centre. The group’s research program aims at developing theory, models and methods that will enable future GNSSs to fulfil the high accuracy and high-integrity requirements of tomorrow’s geospatial information needs in the Earth-, atmospheric- and space-sciences. This GNSS program is also timely because of the forthcoming GNSS CORS network across Australia as part of the AuScope geospatial program. This will provide a large-area ‘field laboratory’ in which to first test, then implement, the results generated by this program. The GNSS Research Centre will use state-of-the-art equipment and software, and involve close collaborative links with other universities, industry and government, both in Australia and overseas. (Source: Defence Connect)
26 Jul 18. Leonardo DRS, Inc. announced today it has been awarded a contract worth up to $10m to produce mobile Shipboard Carry-On/Off Satellite Communication Systems (SCOSS) for U.S. Navy ships. The contract was awarded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division for a single system with up to ten systems acquired in future years. Designed and manufactured by Leonardo DRS’s Airborne & Intelligence Systems business unit, SCOSS provides a secure network connection from stem-to-stern on large and small naval vessels. It provides continuous service on wideband satellite networks that compensates for blocked shipboard network issues. The system can be moved off-ship for use on ground vehicles to provide continuous high bandwidth communication in the most demanding environments.
“We are proud to provide this multi-domain satellite communications technology to customers with critical communications needs in the most austere operational conditions,” said Larry Ezell, vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS’s Airborne & Intelligence Systems business unit. “Leonardo DRS looks forward to continue its support with our U.S. Navy customer in the future,” Ezell said.
The SCOSS can transmit and receive at data rates up to 6 MB per second using both commercial Ku or X-band frequencies. The Leonardo DRS X-band variant is certified for operation on the Paradigm, XTAR and WGS satellite constellations. The system’s lightweight, compact, and easily transportable design allows for easy setup and operation within 30 minutes of boarding a ship. Its two terminals connect via an RF convergence box, which automatically manages the antenna while maintaining continuous modem lock on the move. The SCOSS is scheduled for customer delivery in 2019.
25 Jul 18. SpaceX launches 10 more Iridium Communications satellites. Ten more satellites for Iridium Communications have been successfully launched into orbit. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 4:39 a.m. Wednesday and released the satellites about an hour later. It was the seventh launch in Iridium’s $3bn campaign to replace its entire fleet of globe-circling satellites and brought the number in orbit to 65. One more launch will increase the number to 75, including 66 operational satellites and nine spares. Iridium is part of several Defense Department contracts, including a five-year, $400m contract to provide secure communication services, according to Defense Systems. SpaceX says that despite challenging weather and sea conditions, the Falcon’s first stage successfully returned to Earth and landed on a “droneship” stationed in the Pacific Ocean south of Vandenberg. (Source: Defense News)
25 Jul 18. New Satellite Launch Extends Galileo’s Global Reach. Four more Galileo satellites were launched today by an Ariane 5. Their arrival in orbit brings the Galileo constellation to 26 satellites, extending the global coverage of the constellation. Ariane 5 flight VA244, operated by Arianespace under contract to ESA, lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 11:25 GMT (13:25 CEST, 08:25 local time), carrying Galileo satellites 23–26. The first pair of 715 kg satellites was released almost 3 hours 36 minutes after liftoff, while the second pair separated 20 minutes later. They were released into their target 22 922 km-altitude orbit by the dispenser atop the Ariane 5 upper stage. In the coming days, this quartet will be steered into their final working orbits by the French space agency CNES, under contract to the Galileo operator SpaceOpal for the European Global Navigation Satellite System Agency (GSA). There, they will begin around six months of tests by SpaceOpal to verify their operational readiness so they can join the working Galileo constellation.
“Galileo is ESA’s largest ever satellite constellation, built up to its present size in rapid time, with 22 Full Operational Capability satellites added within just the last four years,” remarked Jan Wörner, ESA’s Director General. “We must thank our industrial partners OHB (DE) and SSTL (GB) for the satellites, as well as Thales Alenia Space (FR/IT) and Airbus Defence and Space (GB/FR) for the ground segment and all their subcontractors throughout Europe for their continued support to the programme. Together with ESA, the entire industrial team has worked hard for the point at which we now are and this cooperation have proven to be very successful, as we can show in the excellent performance of Galileo.”
Paul Verhoef, ESA’s Director of Navigation, added, “Galileo has been providing Initial Services on a worldwide basis since 15 December 2016, and today has more than 100 million users, and rapidly increasing. Today’s satellites will increase the global coverage of Galileo with a performance that is widely recognised as excellent. This is the end of the current phase of Galileo deployment, but our pace is not slacking. A further 12 Galileo ‘Batch 3’ satellites are in preparation as in-orbit spares and as replacements for the oldest Galileo satellites, first launched in 2011, in order to keep the system working seamlessly into the future. Then a new generation of Galileos are planned for the middle of the next decade, offering improved performance and added features, maintaining Galileo as a permanent feature of the global GNSS landscape.”
About Galileo
Galileo is Europe’s civil global satellite navigation system. Once complete, the system will consist of 24 operational satellites plus orbital spares, and the ground infrastructure for the provision of positioning, navigation and timing services. But the system is already available to users with recent receivers which combine the Galileo and GPS navigation messages for a more precise positioning. The Galileo programme is funded and owned by the EU. The European Commission has the overall responsibility for the programme, managing and overseeing the implementation of all programme activities. Galileo’s deployment, the design and development of the new generation of systems and the technical development of infrastructure are entrusted to ESA. The definition, development and in-orbit validation phases were carried out by ESA, and co-funded by ESA and the European Commission. GSA is ensuring the uptake and security of Galileo. Galileo operations and provision of services were entrusted to the GSA in July 2017. (Source: ASD Network)
23 Jul 18. No space force for Trump in big Pentagon policy bill. U.S. President Donald Trump wants a new military “Space Force,” but Congress isn’t ready for blast off. The Senate and House did come together Monday on a $716bn defense authorization report that could set the stage for a sixth military service dedicated to space. It would create a sub-unified command for space under Nebraska-based U.S. Strategic Command, whose main mission is to oversee the military’s nuclear arsenal.
“You could view this as some of the preparatory work. They’re trying to get the Air Force in better shape to spin off its space forces,” said Todd Harrison, director of the aerospace security project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“What they’re not doing is trying to integrate space forces across the military. The only way to really do that would be to actually set up a separate department,” Harrison said, adding that the Air Force’s space forces are outnumbered by the combined space forces of the other services.
A House-proposed requirement to establish a new numbered Air Force dedicated to space war fighting was dropped, likely to compromise with members of the the Senate Armed Services Committee, where the idea of a separate service was largely met with skepticism, if not opposition. Stoking fears about the militarization of space, the Pentagon would also have to develop a comprehensive space war-fighting strategy (by April 2019) aimed at attributing attacks in space, resolving conflicts, and deterring, defending against and defeating aggressive behavior in space. America’s adversaries, and the public, might one day be able to learn more about the military’s secretive activities in space; the Pentagon would have to examine the feasibility of a declassification strategy to ensure deterrence. The conference report for the sweeping 2019 National Defense Authorization Act is expected to come to a vote in the House this week and the Senate next week. The annual must-pass bill covers military hardware, personnel and a wide swath of hot-button national security issues. To be clear, when Trump last month ordered the Pentagon to begin establishing a new “Space Force,” a process that could add a sixth military service to the Defense Department, Congress was not expected to snap to immediately. Congress is waiting for one Pentagon report on the topic, due next month, that it mandated in the last NDAA and another from the Center for Naval Analyses by year’s end on a possible road map to establish a separate space service. Congress might then incorporate its recommendations into future NDAAs. Proponents of a military service for space argue America’s military has become evermore dependent on satellites for communication, intelligence and navigation, and that it must move quickly to counter Russia and China as they work to exploit that vulnerability. Opponents have challenged the idea as creating more bureaucracy, though they may also wish to protect established organizations likely to lose money and power to a newcomer. It’s unclear whether Trump can secure the necessary congressional support for the eventual plan, what its timeline would be, or whether it would fall under the Department of the Air Force or warrant its own department and budget. But Trump’s support energized the effort after the White House, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and some lawmakers panned the idea last year. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, notably, has since switched positions to embrace it. On the other hand, if the House or Senate flip to Democratic control in midterm elections this November, the idea could suffer by association with the president. “Its going to be difficult for Democrats to support it,” Harrison said. Under the proposed 2019 NDAA, the leader of the sub-unified command for space could, for three years, be a dual-hat position for the commander of Air Force Space Command. That flag officer would be responsible for space strategy, doctrine, tactics and budget proposals — as well as capability requirements, training and personnel. With the creation of the three-star vice commander of Air Force Space Command earlier this year, the service added the first uniformed leader based in the Pentagon purely dedicated to promoting military space operations. The Defense Department, under the NDAA, would be required to develop a plan by year’s end to establish a separate, alternative process for space-related acquisitions, likely meant to cure the current sluggish, bureaucratic acquisition process. The recently renamed Space Rapid Capabilities Office, which answers to the head of Air Force Space Command, would have streamlined acquisition authorities outside of the standard Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System. It would in part develop classified capabilities as well as “low-cost, rapid reaction payloads, buses, launch, and launch control capabilities in order to fulfill joint military operational requirements for on-demand space support and reconstitution.” The report emphasizes development of small, medium and large buses; protected satellite communications; space-based environmental monitoring; and next-generation overhead persistent infrared systems, the follow-on for the current Space-Based Infrared System. The secretary of the Air Force would also develop a plan to improve the quality of the service’s space cadre, likely an attempt to remedy concerns that space is a dead-end career path. (Source: Defense News)
20 Jul 18. Space Foundation’s The Space Report 2018. The Space Foundation has just released the findings of their highly informative publication, The Space Report 2018: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity. The Space Report is the definitive body of information about the global space industry. The findings in the 2018 report revealed that in 2017, the global space economy totaled $383.5bn worldwide. Also, during 2017:
- Seven countries/agencies spent more than $1bn on
space
- The U.S. share of global governmental space spending was 57 percent
- There was a 7 percent increase in the number of orbital launch attempts worldwide
- The U.S. share of global orbital launch activities was 33 percent
- There was a 100 percent increase in the total number of spacecraft deployed and a 200 percent increase in the number of commercial spacecraft deployed
- The U.S. share of global spacecraft deployed was 65 percent
The Space Report e-book is published annually by the Space Foundation, using in-house industry analysts to research and analyze government and industry trends in space activity. The e-book version of The Space Report 2018 is now available for purchase. The Space Foundation offers an online service that provides subscribers with access to all the research conducted for The Space Report dating back to 2005, as well as new data sets that have never appeared in the report. This website provides users with updates throughout the year, as well as customizable charts and downloadable data for further analysis. (Source: Satnews)
19 Jul 18. Arralis’ New Ka-Band Analogue Phase Shifters. More Stable, 400 Percent Smaller than Other Aircraft Antennas. The good, the bad and, more importantly, the solutions regarding satellite antennas were discussed at the recent APSAT Conference in Jakarta. That’s also where Arralis, providers of millimeter wave technologies and products from Limerick, Ireland, announced their new Ka-band analogue phase shifters that enable true electronically steerable, low profile antenna to be offered to commercial and defense aircraft market. Senior fleet operators, network providers and platform users at the recent APSAT Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, agreed that satellite antennas have been the weak point for satellite broadband. Until now, they blame a lack of innovation for ongoing issues with cost, size, poor aerodynamics, insufficient throughput and single satellite operation. Arralis’ compact, lightweight and aerodynamic Ka-band phased array antennas, have no stabilization requirements, are 400 percent smaller than their Ku-band counterparts and are made specifically with airliners, business jets, military aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles in mind. The positive results of this antenna will open up the aircraft markets to high data rates and low latency satellite communications. The High Throughput Satellite (HTS) communications, of up to 2 Gbps, provide the wideband video streaming and full motion video capabilities that aviators desire. The capability will continuously track fast moving Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites where the analogue phase variation allows continuous electronic beam steering, and multiple simultaneous satellite tracking is possible. This new product for space, aerospace, transportable and on-the-move applications will benefit designers of aircraft with a simple, reliable and flat beam steering and continuous tracking antenna. According to Gary Soul, the Arralis VP of Business Development said at the Farnborough Airshow they’ll be exhibiting the Ka-band antenna and highlighting how the Arralis new monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) phase-shifters have enabled this innovative development. They have in essence developed the technology that allows users to continuously track and communicate with Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellites in a form that can be easily integrated onto aircraft. Fleet operators, network providers and platform users should be very pleased with this innovative technology and the attendant economies of scale that volume production should allow. (Source: Satnews)
16 Jul 18. Frost & Sullivan Take an In-Depth Look at the Future of Enterprise Satellite Connectivity Services. Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis of the Future of Enterprise Satellite Connectivity Services, Global, 2018, reveals that downstream digital transformation, increased usage of Internet-of-Things (IoT), system upgrades by large enterprises, and remote location connectivity are key factors driving satellite-based connectivity service evolution. Frost & Sullivan anticipates increased price competition with high demand for seamless connectivity infrastructure; new low-cost, high-data rates; and global connectivity solutions for end users. The market is abuzz with activity and new alliances are being formed between existing and new entrants to evolve low-cost, integrated, and seamless global aviation connectivity services. Geostationary satellite operators such as Eutelsat and Telesat are investing in narrow and broadband services using LEO smallsat constellations. Intelsat is integrating its GEO, HTS and terrestrial capacities to provide high-speed broadband access services across the globe. Launch service providers are also entering the market; for instance, SpaceX plans to build a constellation of 12,000 smallsats operating in Ku-, Ka- and V-bands to provide unified, affordable, low-latency, and global connectivity solutions.
- Growth opportunities are abundant with key trends outlined below:
- Technological developments in satellite platforms, network architecture, and propulsion systems enable satellite operators to offer next-generation downstream connectivity solutions.
- End-user system upgrades and digital transformations result in increased data rates and low-latency connectivity requirements.
- New policies and regulations reduce the barriers to entry, providing a framework for capacity consolidation and enabling digital transformation across the globe.
- Enterprises establish different connectivity services for business intelligence and operations.
- Smallsat-based broadband and narrowband services fill the capability gap and enable a truly global Internet of Things (IoT) landscape.
“Value chain dynamics are changing with new investment from private firms and financial institutions empowering entrants with innovative business models to offer low-latency, affordable and global connectivity solutions,” said Vivek Suresh Prasad, Space Industry Principal, Aerospace & Defense. “To compete, incumbent participants are expanding their portfolios, increasing investments and partnerships in downstream infrastructure, and developing high-throughput small-satellite services. The key to success will be aggressive investment and development of non-existent downstream infrastructure such as multi-beam ground station terminals for seamless connectivity. Manufacturers will need to optimize low-rate serial production lines to boost small-satellite output.”
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Future of Enterprise Satellite Connectivity Services, Global, 2018, investigates current modes of services delivery to customers; key factors impacting satellite-based connectivity services; competitive landscape; new products, services and value propositions by players such as Eutelsat, Intelsat, ViaSat, Inmarsat, Telesat, SpaceX, OneWeb, Sky and Space Global, Kepler Communication, and NSL among others; end-user connectivity requirements for segments such as emergency services, oil & gas, aviation, maritime, rail transportation; and key trends for high-throughput satellites, LEO and MEO constellations. Future of Enterprise Satellite Connectivity Services, Global, 2018 is part of Frost & Sullivan’s global Space Growth Partnership Service program. (Source: Satnews)
19 Jul 18. Those Hopping Beams. The First Over-the-Air Beam Hopping Test is Successful. And so it happened for the first time …over-the-air beam hopping, based on the DVB-S2X broadcasting standard, that enables redirecting capacity between beams, resulting in making satellite systems more flexible and efficient. Because of the rising demand for worldwide mobile communications on land, in the air and at sea the demand for satellite coverage tailored to individual needs has been recognized and addressed as a project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). As part of the “BEHOP – Beam Hopping Emulator for Satellite Systems” project, initiated and funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), Fraunhofer IIS is collaborating with WORK Microwave and Eutelsat to research technologies that will deliver more flexibility and higher performance in satellite communication. BEHOP is intended to pave the way for beam hopping, a feature that is supported by Eutelsat Quantum, a satellite due to enter into service in 2020. At present, most satellites operate spot beams at constant power and with a fixed allocation of capacity over a broad coverage region, but the benefit of beam hopping, however, allows efficient communication by putting power when and where required. It transmits adjusted beams that enable great flexibility as to how capacity is distributed. Currently, no system in orbit supports beam hopping completely. In June 2018, Fraunhofer IIS collaborated with WORK Microwave to test beam hopping for the first time using a conventional Eutelsat satellite. To this end, the beam hopping payload emulator developed at Fraunhofer IIS was added to the uplink transmission chain along with WORK Microwave’s beam hopping enabled modulator with integrated synchronization algorithms. In the downlink the corresponding demodulators from Fraunhofer IIS was used as receiver. The transmission technique is based on the DVB S2X standard’s Annex E Super-Framing structure, which enables several innovative technologies such as beam hopping, precoding and interference management solutions. By way of this demonstration, the project partners proved that the beam hopping concept and technology are ready to be implemented. The demonstration validated that data arrives at the satellite in sync with the beam hopping pattern and that the system is able to automatically adjust and update resource allocations whenever capacity requirements may change. This successful test paves the way for a next generation of satellites. (Source: Satnews)
16 Jul 18. FCC Makes Moves Mid-Band Spectrum to Facilitate 5G Development and Requires FSS Earth Stations Certification. The Federal Communications Commission has taken another step regarding the next generation of wireless connectivity, or 5G, expanding high-speed broadband access across the United States and closing the digital divide. The Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted just released identifies new opportunities for flexible use in up to 500 megahertz of mid-band spectrum between 3.7 and 4.2 GHz. Mid-band spectrum is well-suited for next-generation wireless services. In recognition of the ever-growing demand for spectrum-based services and to facilitate the development of advanced wireless services, including 5G, the proposals set forth several steps toward making more mid-band spectrum available for terrestrial fixed and mobile broadband use. The Commission’s actions today build on its 2017 Notice of Inquiry, which began an evaluation of whether various spectrum bands between 3.7 GHz and 24 GHz can be made available for flexible use. The Order will require Fixed Satellite Service Earth stations operating in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band to certify the accuracy of existing registration and license information and will collect additional information from space station licensees on their operations in the band to assist the Commission and commenters in developing a clearer understanding of how the band is currently being used. The Commission will then use this information to evaluate the most efficient way to drive the deployment of mid-band spectrum for mobile services and more intensive fixed services. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking advances the Commission’s goal of making spectrum available for new wireless uses while treating existing users in the band fairly. The Notice proposes to add a mobile (except aeronautical mobile) allocation to all 500 megahertz in the band and seeks comment on various proposals for transitioning part or all of the band for flexible use, working up from 3.7 GHz, including market-based, auction, and alternative mechanisms. The Notice also seeks comment on allowing more intensive point-to-multipoint fixed use in some portion of the band, on a shared basis, working down from 4.2 GHz and on how to define and protect incumbent users from harmful interference, and it seeks comment on service and technical rules that would enable efficient and intensive use by any new services in the band. (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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