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21 Oct 21. Scientists Develop a Way to Lengthen a Satellite’s Lifespan 10 Times for Absolutely Secure Quantum Communications, NUST MISIS Reports. The technology of tenfold extension of service life of a single-photon detector for the Earth-orbit quantum communication channel has been developed by an international group of scientists with the participation of NUST MISIS. Heating under certain conditions heals defects in the detector’s silicon base that result from the irradiation of the satellite with hard space radiation. This prolongs the life of the satellite by reducing the level of “noise” that disables the quantum communication system. The results of the work have been published in the international scientific journal EPJ Quantum Technology. The exchange of secret keys between users of a communication network enables a safe way to exchange messages—without eavesdropping and information leakage. If we use these keys in cryptographic protocols, we are almost invulnerable. Conventional cryptosystems use algorithms to ensure data security due to computational complexity. However, a quantum computer is, basically, capable of breaking even such encryption due to the so-called Shor’s factoring algorithm. There is a solution—quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols. They make use of public optical channels to securely distribute keys by exchange of quantum bits, carried by single photons of light. This absolute security is obtained through the no-cloning theorem: any measurement of a quantum bit by an eavesdropper risks changing the state of that bit. This reveals the eavesdropper’s presence.
The quantum distribution of keys between two communicating users occurs using photons, which travel through optical fibers or over atmospheric line-of-sight channels. Optical fiber is limited by loss of photons, thus we cannot stretch the quantum communication across the oceans. However orbiting satellites can cover the entire surface of the planet with a quantum communication network.
So, one half of the quantum system will be placed on a satellite orbiting about 500 km above us, and the other half is on the Earth. Twice a day, telescopes on Earth and on the satellite will point at each other and a QKD session will last for 4 minutes, generating a secret random sequence of zeros and ones.
The receiver in the system is a single-photon detector. It is based on silicon avalanche photodiodes. Registration of single photons in a satellite is a crucial element the QKD system. However, detectors have a significant, critical disadvantage—they are very sensitive to solar radiation and are gradually damaged by it. As a result, they produce an ever-increasing amount of noise, which can distort the operation of the system, eventually making QKD impossible. The solution to this problem has been found by Canadian and Russian scientists.
“We have shown that thermal annealing of silicon detector modules is effective in maintaining the parasitic ‘noise’ at a level suitable for quantum key distribution during the entire period of the satellite’s operation,” says Professor Vadim Makarov, a co-author of the study, head of the Quantum hacking lab at the NTI Center for Quantum Communications at NUST MISIS.
In this work, we studied two strategies—annealing at fixed time intervals, and annealing only when the thermal “noise” exceeds a certain limit. We find both strategies exhibit acceptable thermal noise at end-of-life, with the latter strategy having a slight overall advantage.”
It turned out that silicon lattice defects created by hard in-orbit radiation can be repaired by heating them for a short time—by performing annealing. This is done using the so-called Peltier cooler. It usually works in the detector device, creating a temperature of −80 degrees Celsius. If you turn it on in reverse mode and heat the detector modules to +80 degrees for an hour, the defects are being healed by themselves.
“At the level of semiconductors, the physics of the process is not well understood, but the results of experiments have shown that during heating—annealing—defects are partially “healed”. Thus, the amount of parasitic noise in the detector is reduced to an acceptable level,” explains Associate Professor Thomas Jennewein, head of Quantum Photonics Laboratory, part of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Canada, where the experiments were conducted.
The task for the satellite is to work in orbit for as long as possible. According to the scientists, in reality, with the existing radiation, it turns out to last only about a year. And if it is periodically annealed when necessary, the service life can be extended up to 10 years. This must be done regularly—a command is remotely sent to the satellite, and the electronics performs the annealing. “We will monitor the noise level and perform annealing when the detectors become too noisy,” explains Jennewein.
The research team carried out the radiation testing at a particle accelerator in Vancouver, which simulated a flux of heavy radiation particles, protons, that is accumulated in space over 10 years. In the test, the proton beam was so intense that a two-minute-long burst of radiation simulated several months in space between annealing cycles.
A satellite named QEYSSat with the single-photon detector equipped with this annealing technology is currently under construction in Canada. Its launch is scheduled for 2023. (Source: PR Newswire)
20 Oct 21. South Korea developing space weather forecast and warning system for military applications. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on 19 October that the country is developing a new space weather forecast and warning system to support the operation of key military assets. The new system will foresee changes in space weather conditions and prevent potential disruptions and malfunctioning of onboard communication and navigation systems, specifically Global Positioning System (GPS), thus ensuring stable operations of military assets such as high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, satellites, and precision-guided weapons, said the agency in a statement.
Cheong Gyu-heon, head of the Command, Control, and Communication Division at DAPA, said this will be the first locally developed system of its kind capable of “accurately observing changes in space weather”, adding that this capability will also help “expand the military use of the space domain”.
The development programme, which is valued KRW16.2bn (USD13.8m), started a week prior to the announcement when DAPA signed a contract with local company Satrec Initiative. DAPA said testing and evaluation activities are expected to be under way by 2024 before the system is transferred to the military. The agency pointed out that the system will make use of several tools designed to observe solar activity, such as a solar optical telescope, a solar radio telescope, and an ionospheric radar.
The collected data will then be analysed by a space weather information processor to make space weather forecasts and issue warnings whenever communication failures, GPS errors, and/or radar interference to electronic devices operated by the military are anticipated. (Source: Janes)
19 Oct 21. Kratos Breaks Gigabit Barrier with OpenSpace Virtualized Wideband Receivers for Earth Observation Missions. Delivering Greater than 1 Gbps of DVB-S2 Downlink Processing Using Only x86 based General-Purpose Computers. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that it has broken the gigabit throughput barrier with its OpenSpace™ virtualized wideband receivers delivering over a gigabit per second performance running solely on commercially available, off-the-shelf x86-based computers. This achievement drastically lowers the cost of downlinks, while raising performance for Earth Observation (EO) and Remote Sensing (RS) missions. More and more high bandwidth EO and RS data is being beamed from satellites and the infrastructure on the ground must keep up. This is particularly driven by the challenge of EO/RS applications that rapidly download data on the fly during the short time periods when satellites are over the ground system, as well as the need to process the data as fast as possible.
Kratos breaking the gigabit milestone demonstrates that the high throughput required by EO/RS satellites can be achieved by software receivers running on x86-based general purpose computers that do not require specialized hardware such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) or Graphics Processing Units (GPU). This level of performance demonstrates that operations can be streamlined by leveraging virtualized solutions or deploying in the cloud without the need for expensive hardware acceleration. It also showcases the performance of Kratos’ OpenSpace software receivers, which are taking advantage of the standard DVB-S2 waveform to make much more efficient use of the spectrum.
The software receiver speeds were achieved by two different virtual receivers that are part of the OpenSpace family: OpenSpace ORX and OpenSpace quantumRX. OpenSpace ORX is deployed as an integrated part of the OpenSpace Platform for highly dynamic operations to provide fully orchestrated and automated end-to-end EO and RS mission downlinks. OpenSpace quantumRX provides greater agility at the device level by replacing traditional hardware with individual virtualized products. Compared to today’s traditional hardware infrastructure, these software receivers offer much faster deployment times, smaller physical footprints, highly optimized resource utilization, and scalability on demand.
“It’s been difficult for many in the industry to envision a virtualized software receiver handling the growing level of performance needed by Earth Observation missions using only off-the-shelf x86-based computers,” said Christopher Boyd, Senior Director of Product Management from Kratos. “With OpenSpace quantumRX and OpenSpace ORX we have enhanced our support for the DVB-S2 waveform and performance in software, achieving greater than 1.2 Gbps throughput at 32 APSK on a 270 Symbol per second RF carrier running on x86-based generic compute.”
OpenSpace is a family of solutions that enable the digital transformation of satellite ground systems to become a more dynamic and powerful part of the space network. The OpenSpace family includes OpenSpace SpectralNet® for digital IF, OpenSpace quantum™ for individual virtualized products, and the OpenSpace Platform for fully dynamic, service-oriented, and orchestrated satellite operations. (Source: ASD Network)
19 Oct 21. Kleos commits to build and launch fourth satellite cluster.
Contracts signed with proposed launch in mid-2022.
- Fourth Kleos cluster; ‘Observer Mission’ (KSF3) to be launched, increasing data collection capacity.
o Adding up to a further 119 m km2 collect capacity per day over key areas across multiple payloads & orbits.
- Contract placed with launch services provider Spaceflight to launch Kleos’ fourth satellite cluster mid-2022 on a SpaceX rideshare launch.
- Innovative Solutions in Space engaged to build and support the Observer Mission satellites.
- New satellite cluster funded by successful A$12.6 m raise to grow constellation.
Kleos Space S.A (ASX:KSS, Frankfurt:KS1, Kleos or Company), a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS) company, has signed new contracts with satellite builder Innovative Solutions in Space B.V. (ISISPACE) and global launch services provider Spaceflight Inc to build and manage the launch its fourth satellite cluster of four satellites, the Observer Mission (KSF3) mid-2022.
Kleos Space CEO Andy Bowyer said, “We are rapidly building our constellation, utilising funds from our recent capital raise to commit to our fourth satellite cluster build and launch. Each new launch enables us to improve satellite data collection and increase revisits over key areas of interest for our customers.
The Observer Mission increases the revenue opportunity from existing subscribers and caters to the needs of our growing global pipeline. Spaceflight and ISISPACE have proven to be effective partners for both our Vigilance Mission and upcoming Patrol Mission launch. We are leveraging their experience to accelerate the build and launch of our Observer Mission.”
Kleos’ fourth satellite cluster complements the 37-degree orbit of the ‘Scouting Mission’ and Sun Synchronous orbits of the ‘Vigilance Mission’ and ‘Patrol Mission’ satellites with up to a further 119 m km2 data collection capacity per day (Vigilance and Patrol Missions each have similar data collect capacity).
Netherlands-based ISISPACE will provide Kleos with a turn-key solution for its four Observer Mission satellites,including design, development, production, testing, launch integration services, and support for checkout and commissioning”. ISISPACE has more than 15 years’ nanosatellite experience, successfully built Kleos’ ‘Vigilance Mission’ (KSF1) and is currently building the ‘Patrol Mission’ (KSF2) satellites.
Jeroen Rotteveel, CEO of ISISPACE, said, “We are proud to be expanding our strategic partnership with Kleos to build and support the launch of their fourth satellite cluster. Our extensive nanosatellite experience spans design, manufacturing and operation complementing Kleos’ in-house engineering expertise. We look forward to continuing to work with Kleos to increase satellite capability, leveraging learnings from earlier launches.”
Spaceflight provided the integration, mission management, and launch services for the successful launch of the Vigilance Mission satellites on its SXRS-5 mission in June 2021 and has already been engaged by Kleos for the upcoming Patrol Mission launch.
Marcy Mabry, Spaceflight’s Mission Manager added, “We are delighted to be working with Kleos again to launch its small satellite payload into a 500-600km Sun Synchronous orbit. Our portfolio of frequent launch options provides unmatched flexibility and reliability, ensuring Kleos’ growing constellation gets to orbit when and where they want. Kleos’ satellite technology addresses a real-world need, providing precision geolocation data to improve situational awareness and disrupt illegal activity.”
Kleos successfully launched its Scouting Mission and Vigilance Mission satellites in November 2020 and June 2021 respectively. Its Patrol Mission satellites are progressing through the build process and on track for an expected January 2022 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. Identical to the upcoming Patrol Mission satellites (KSF2), the Observer Mission will provide increased capacity and more frequent revisit times. Each new cluster increases Kleos’ sensing and intelligence gathering capacity, generating potential for higher-value data products and tiered subscription licenses.
Kleos’ satellites detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions to improve the intelligence, surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities. Its independent geolocation data enhances the detection of illegal activity, including piracy, drug and people smuggling, border security challenges and illegal fishing, and is available to qualified subscribers as-a-service.
Final mission costs incurred are anticipated to be comparable with publicly available satellite build and space rideshare costs and within the envelope of the cost of a launch advised within the prospectus.
This announcement has been authorised by Andy Bowyer, CEO of Kleos Space S.A.
12 Oct 21. Sateliot Enters U.S. With Plans For IoT And 5G Partnering with Qualcomm And Verizon. There will be a new player in the U.S. market before year’s end dealing with the Internet of Things with 5G coverage.
Sateliot, the satellite operator that will launch a constellation of nanosatellites to universalize the Internet of Things with 5G coverage, will enter the U.S. market before the end of this year thanks to EvoNexus – the accelerator sponsored by the microchip manufacturer Qualcomm and the operator Verizon.
The support of this accelerator will allow Sateliot to grow in the United States from its headquarters in San Diego, in addition to working directly with experts in telecommunications and IoT devices from Qualcomm and Verizon, the world’s leading operator by turnover.
After evaluating more than 414 companies from around the world, EvoNexus recognized the technological and innovative potential in the fields of space and telecommunications of Sateliot and six other companies, which have been selected to develop 5G use cases together with strategic partners in their areas of expertise.
This mentoring, training and networking program will also boost the new round of financing that Sateliot is already preparing focusing on American funds interested in its constellation of nanosatellites that will universalize the IoT with 5G coverage.
EvoNexus is not the only accelerator that has bet on Sateliot in recent months as The company has also participated in Seraphim’s Space Camp, the first fund in the space sector. This is a launching pad based in the United Kingdom, which in its last edition brought together seven start-ups in the space sector to boost their business and attract investment.
The company is also part of the Singapore Space & Technology (SSTL) startup accelerator program, which gives Sateliot visibility with investors furthering the development of its business in the Asian telecommunications industry.
According to Jaume Sanpera, CEO of Sateliot, “Our entry into this type of project opens up new avenues for growth, financing and technological capacity, while at the same time connecting us with strategic stakeholders around the world that will be key to the evolution of our technology and our business plan.”
Sateliot is the first satellite telecommunications operator that will provide global and continuous connectivity to all the elements that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT) universe, such as the connected car or the connected home, under the 5G protocol. With a constellation of state-of-the-art nanosatellites, located at low altitude and acting as mobile towers from space, Sateliot’s provisions work for large telecommunications companies by providing them with the necessary infrastructure to extend their coverage where terrestrial technologies do not reach. More information on our website, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Sateliot Enters U.S. With Plans For IoT And 5G Partnering with Qualcomm And Verizon
There will be a new player in the U.S. market before year’s end dealing with the Internet of Things with 5G coverage.
Sateliot, the satellite operator that will launch a constellation of nanosatellites to universalize the Internet of Things with 5G coverage, will enter the U.S. market before the end of this year thanks to EvoNexus – the accelerator sponsored by the microchip manufacturer Qualcomm and the operator Verizon.
The support of this accelerator will allow Sateliot to grow in the United States from its headquarters in San Diego, in addition to working directly with experts in telecommunications and IoT devices from Qualcomm and Verizon, the world’s leading operator by turnover.
After evaluating more than 414 companies from around the world, EvoNexus recognized the technological and innovative potential in the fields of space and telecommunications of Sateliot and six other companies, which have been selected to develop 5G use cases together with strategic partners in their areas of expertise.
This mentoring, training and networking program will also boost the new round of financing that Sateliot is already preparing focusing on American funds interested in its constellation of nanosatellites that will universalize the IoT with 5G coverage.
EvoNexus is not the only accelerator that has bet on Sateliot in recent months as The company has also participated in Seraphim’s Space Camp, the first fund in the space sector. This is a launching pad based in the United Kingdom, which in its last edition brought together seven start-ups in the space sector to boost their business and attract investment.
The company is also part of the Singapore Space & Technology (SSTL) startup accelerator program, which gives Sateliot visibility with investors furthering the development of its business in the Asian telecommunications industry.
Jaume Sanpera, CEO of Sateliot
According to Jaume Sanpera, CEO of Sateliot, “Our entry into this type of project opens up new avenues for growth, financing and technological capacity, while at the same time connecting us with strategic stakeholders around the world that will be key to the evolution of our technology and our business plan.”
Sateliot is the first satellite telecommunications operator that will provide global and continuous connectivity to all the elements that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT) universe, such as the connected car or the connected home, under the 5G protocol. With a constellation of state-of-the-art nanosatellites, located at low altitude and acting as mobile towers from space, Sateliot’s provisions work for large telecommunications companies by providing them with the necessary infrastructure to extend their coverage where terrestrial technologies do not reach. More information on our website, Twitter and LinkedIn. (Source: Satnews)
11 Oct 21. Rocket Lab Has Back-To-Back Electron Launches In November For BlackSky Constellation Smallsats. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has scheduled two dedicated launches in November for Spaceflight Inc.’s customer, real-time geospatial and global monitoring company, BlackSky (NYSE: BKSY).
A two-week launch window for Rocket Lab’s 22nd Electron launch will open November 11-24, 2021, while the 23rd Electron mission is targeted for lift-off during a two-week launch window that opens November 27. Both missions are scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
Each mission will deploy two Gen-2 satellites for BlackSky in a rapid expansion of the geospatial and global monitoring company’s LEO constellation. These two dedicated missions are part of a multi-launch agreement signed between Rocket Lab and Spaceflight Inc., for BlackSky earlier this year, and precede a third dedicated mission that will follow to deploy two additional BlackSky Gen-2 satellites. Together, these launches — along with a successfully deployed Gen-2 satellite on Rocket Lab’s “They Go Up So Fast” rideshare mission in March of this year — represent the largest number of satellites BlackSky has committed to a single launch provider to date.
The back-to-back launch of these two dedicated missions supports BlackSky’s aggressive scaling of its high-resolution, Earth-imaging constellation to bolster its delivery of analytics and insights to industries including transportation, infrastructure, land use, defense, supply chain management, and humanitarian aid.
“The speed to space Electron provides our customers is unmatched in the dedicated small launch industry, and we’re thrilled to be delivering a launch service that provides assurance for BlackSky to scale their constellation and services with confidence,” said Rocket Lab CEO, Peter Beck. (Source: Satnews)
10 Oct 21. KSAT + Sony CLS Successfully Demo SOLISS Optical Link Downlinks To Commercial Optical Ground Station. Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL) and KSAT have successfully demonstrated optical downlinks from a space terminal (Small Optical Link for ISS: SOLISS) on the International Space Station (ISS) to the KSAT commercial optical ground station in Greece. The communication format used is aligned with the CCSDS (141.0-B-1 + pink sheets for O3K) waveform standard. This is a great step toward providing small and affordable laser communication terminals for ground and space segments. Demonstrating such capabilities while in this campaign period is important to introduce these technologies to the market. The KSAT optical ground station in Greece is the first station of the Optical Nucleus Network, an informal collaboration between space agencies and industry that is going to make available an optical ground station network to serve optical terminals in space.
KSAT has installed the world’s first commercially available optical ground station in Greece. Photo is courtesy of the company. SOLISS is a small optical communication terminal currently attached to ISS for technology demonstration that is jointly developed by Sony CSL and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
“This campaign was a great opportunity for KSAT to validate the performance of our first optical ground station and the start of the optical future,” Hennes Henniger, Director Optical Solutions at KSAT, said.
“Successful demonstration of optical downlinks from SOLISS to small and affordable optical ground station does not show fully operational readiness of the technology but it clearly shows commercialization on optical space to ground communication,” Kyohei Iwamoto, Project Leader at Sony CSL, said. (Source: Satnews)
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