November 2020 Worldwide Satellite Magazine

Worldwide Satellite Magazine SatMagazineSatMagazine November 2020

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Customer-tailored for versatility, reliability, competitiveness. Publishing Operations Senior Columnists This Issue’s Authors Silvano Payne, Publisher + Executive Writer Chris Forrester, Broadgate Publications Rajan Bedi Will Mudge Simon Payne, Chief Technical Officer Karl Fuchs, iDirect Government Services Matteo L. Bemposti Brian O’Toole Hartley G. Lesser, Editorial Director Bob Gough, Goonhilly Earth Station John Dahlia Dr. Anthony Penderis Pattie Lesser, Executive Editor Rebecca M. Cowen-Hirsch, Inmarsat Mark Donaghy Greg Quiggle Donald McGee, Production Manager Ken Peterman, Viasat Joakim Espeland Daniel Smith Andy Bernard, Sales Director Giles Peeters, Track24 Defence Semir Hassanaly James Trevelyan Teresa Sanderson, Operations Director Koen Willems, ST Engineering Newtec John Innes Jean-Claude Tshipama Sean Payne, Business Development Director Dan Makinster, Technical Advisor

Features Advertiser Index Advantech Wireless Technologies, Inc...... 7 “New Space” Leads a Path on the Ground as well as in Space: ...... 8

How EO + GSaaS are Driving the Dynamic Ground Segment Transformation . AvL Technologies ...... 2 by Greg Quiggle, Kratos Arabsat Satellite ...... 31 European Union to Seek Pan-European Broadand-by-Satellite System? . . . . .10 by Chris Forrester, Senior Contributor Arianespace ...... 3 Executive Spotlight: Grant Bonin, Spaceflight Inc...... 18 Comtech EF Data ...... 13 First-To-Know Insights Fuel Geospatial Opportunities ...... 24 By Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CPI Satcom Products ...... 21 Satellite Economics are Changing… the Future of Cellular Backhaul ...... 28 Gilat Satellite Networks ...... 23 By James Trevelyan, Speedcast Will 5G and LEO Deliver Better Remote Connectivity? ...... 32 Integrasys ...... 6 By Will Mudge, Speedcast Kratos Defense & Security Solutions ...... 9 A Conversation with Manik Vinnakota, Telesat ...... 34 Wavelength: Overcoming the Digital Drought ...... 36 Leonardo DRS ...... 25

By SSPI ND Satcom Products GmbH ...... 15 Africa Needs the Space Industry to go Forward ...... 38 By Dr. Anthony Penderis, AARSE RF-Design ...... 17

Connectivity in Africa ...... 42 Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) ...... 37 By Jean-Claude Tshipama, Konnect Africa Satnews Digital Editions ...... 41 SWIR Imaging in Space ...... 44 By Mark Donaghy, Raptor Photonics SmallSat Symposium ...... 69 Innovation: 3D Printed Smallsat Deployer ...... 46 SpaceBridge ...... 19 By Matteo Levoni Bemposti, CRP Technology Why Investment is Critical for Satellite Innovation ...... 48 Spaceflight Laboratory (SFL) ...... 5 By Joakim Espeland, QuadSAT W.B. Walton Enterprises, Inc...... Cover Satellite Antenna Diversity ...... 50 Remote Connectivity—Striking the Correct Business Case ...... 52 XMW, Inc...... 27 By Semir Hassanaly, ST Engineering iDirect

Executive Spotlight: Marc Bell, Raptor Photonics ...... 54 SatMagazine is published 11 times a year by Satnews Publishers, 800 Siesta Way, Scottish Space Leadership ...... 58 Sonoma, CA, 95476 — USA. Phone: (707) 939-9306 / Fax: (707) 939-9235 © 2020 Satnews Publishers By John Innes, SSLC, and Daniel Smith, AstroAgency We reserve the right to edit all submitted materials to meet publication content The Story of West Virginia’s First Spacecraft ...... 62 guidelines, as well as for grammar and spelling errors, or to move articles to an By John Dahlia, TMC Technologies alternative issue to accommodate publication space requirements, or remove content due to space restrictions or unacceptable content. Submission of articles does not Maintaining the Production of Electronics Post COVID-19 ...... 66 constitute acceptance of said material by Satnews Publishers. Edited materials may, or may not, be returned to author and/or company for review prior to publication. The By Rajan Bedi, Spacechips views expressed in Satnews Publishers’ various publications do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Satnews Publishers. All rights reserved. All included imagery is United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur—Forthcoming ...... 70 courtesy of, and copyright to, the respective companies and/or named individuals.

SatMagazine Page 4 November 2020 SPACE FLIGHT LABORATORY

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Phone: 1-416-667-7400 University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies Twitter: @SFL_SmallerSats Email: info@utias-sﬂ.net Toronto, Ontario, Canada Web: www.utias-sﬂ.net

“New Space” Leads a Path on the Ground as well as in Space: How EO + GSaaS are Driving the Dynamic Ground Segment Transformation" By Greg Quiggle, Vice President, Product Management, Kratos

When the wave of New Space and smallsat players came on the For the GSaaS and cloud providers, however, some of the ground scene a few years ago, they brought a new set of priorities to trends encountered by the smallsat, EO and LEO pioneers had to go the ground segment with them. After all, you can’t spend a even further— lower operating costs, greater automation and, most million dollars on a ground station that supports a single, importantly, the ability to repurpose ground system components on the $200,000 satellite. fly from one mission to the next, one satellite to the next, again and again and again. It wasn’t just about dollars and cents, it was about operating with fewer The transformation on the ground that started with smallsat and people, not to mention that the people you have may not be ground cloud operators is working today, remaking the old paradigm of systems experts. It was also about smaller footprint systems that could purpose-built, hardware-based, often proprietary systems designed for be mobile and software-based and turnkey wherever possible. bent pipe, fixed payload content delivery model, to dynamic, Fast forward and another wave of innovation hit the industry, cloud- automated and intelligent operations that can adapt in real-time to enabled ground services. Companies such as Microsoft and KSAT changing conditions and multiple missions, even multiple orbits. introduced highly scalable, dynamic ground services to support Earth Observation (EO) and imaging organizations that are applying all The Rise of Dynamic Ground manner of remote sensor data to everything from maritime, energy, A dynamic ground system is one that can support end-to-end service agriculture and defense. delivery for multiple missions and adapt — on the fly — to changing As a small company, why own a ground system at all when you may demand, supply and threat. In fact, it can support multiple missions only need it a few hours a day when your satellite passes over one or simultaneously by repurposing ground system resources as needed, two antennas? Much better to subscribe to a Ground Station-as-a- ultimately even supporting the ability to roam across multiple satellite Service (GSaaS) where an experienced cloud operator can offer more networks, one of the high priorities in the defense sector. antennas, better placement, endless storage and cloud processing, as well as higher levels of security and expert technicians on demand.

SatMagazine Page 8 November 2020 "$ *

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Introducing OpenSpace from Kratos, the first software-defined ground system.

With OpenSpace, ground functions that once took weeks to implement manually now take minutes, making systems more agile and able to respond to changes in demand, threat and supply instantly.

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OpenSpace is a giant leap forward in enterprise-grade satellite ground network technology that # $' $ $!%(#, %(!# %!$&""!#%$%%!"#%!#$ %'!' dynamic space.

READY FOR WHAT’S NEXT™ Learn more at www.KratosDefense.com/OpenSpace In order to support dynamic ground, however, operations must first shift to become digital and virtual. Working directly with analog RF signals in the traditional model just won’t keep up with the speed, flexibility and scaling needs of highly configurable, software-defined payloads capable of servicing thousands of users by changing beams, power, capacity and frequency. Or, consider the mega-constellations aiming to launch multi-band platforms comprised of thousands of high- throughput satellites in LEO and MEO orbits.

Figure 2. As network infrastructure advances from a legacy hardware architecture, operators realize increasing advantages in scalability, flexibility and performance.

How Dynamic Ground Operates

Virtualization — the conversion of hardware components such as modems or combiners into software functions — is the first step toward dynamic ground operations as it aims to move ground system signal processing and management operations into a digital environment such as the cloud. The space industry has lagged a bit in adopting virtualization due to Figure 1: Pass Time (max) and Handoffs per hour (min) for LEO & MEO Mega-Constellations the physics involved making virtualizing RF equipment far more Source: NSR Non-GEO Constellations Analysis Toolkit challenging than virtualizing IP-based network components. However, The paradigm for today’s ground segment has remained largely dramatic progress has been made on this front in recent years. One unchanged for decades. Defined by purpose built, manually instance is the introduction of Kratos’ quantum® line of software-based, configured, proprietary hardware, these systems are unable to adapt satellite front-end processors, modems and recorders that are being and scale dynamically in tandem with changes in orbit, satellite or used today in ground systems around the globe that support tens of payload,– nor can they interconnect and integrate well with more thousands of satellite passes. modern terrestrial communications networks on the ground that have While virtualization delivers many advantages, on its own it is a largely moved to a Software-Defined Networking (SDN) architecture in standalone component-focused approach. SDN goes far beyond order to achieve the very same adaptability, mobility and roaming virtualization by employing techniques such as service orchestration, goals now being sought in the satellite world. While the focus today is resource orchestration and service chaining to design, deploy and on 5G, the telecom industry is only able to achieve 5G because it manage ground systems across both modern virtual components and started down a network architecture revolution during the move from elements which remain hardware, such as antennas and digitizers. 2G to 3G that drove the adoption of standards and interoperability. In an SDN world, Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) replace (See Figure 2, top right.) proprietary hardware solutions with software running on off-the-shelf Within that analogy, it’s safe to say that most of today’s satellite server hardware or in the cloud. Sequences of VNFs can be service ground systems are still living in what is much like a 2G architecture that chained together intelligently and automatically to respond to changing is stovepiped with vendor specific hardware and software. Without a needs or conditions. transition to modern, dynamic platforms, legacy ground systems will In addition, industry standard orchestration frameworks enable become a bottleneck between reconfigurable, software-defined customer service requests along with necessary service and resource systems in space at one end, and 5G terrestrial networks at the other. requirements to automatically flow to the ground system, which then automatically spins service chains up and down hundreds of times a day to support different payloads, satellites and orbits.

SatMagazine Page 10 November 2020 The Ground Enables Space Innovation OpenSpace: The Way Forward for Standards Based, Dynamic Ground EO and GSaaS providers are growing globally, in part by taking advantage of virtualization to speed service provisioning and leverage OpenSpace from Kratos is the industry’s first and only fully other cost and performance benefits. For example, provisioning a virtualized, software-defined and orchestrated satellite ground service in today’s hardware-based world can take weeks to ship platform and family of virtual products. Based on open industry equipment, cable and configure many proprietary hardware elements standards, OpenSpace supports end-to-end service delivery, to connect customers. With virtual components that process is cut to bringing together the data, control and management dimensions days because physical components no longer have to be shipped to a of the ground segment to deliver intelligent operations that limited number of antenna sites and configuration is simpler. support multiple missions and SLAs. The OpenSpace platform By taking the next step and applying SDN techniques to employ architecture unifies four key operating domains: dynamic capabilities, that time can be cut to just hours or even minutes, where VNFs are service chained together and orchestrated • OpenSpace VNFs are software applications that replace dedicated automatically as an end-to-end service. It also means infrastructure is satellite hardware technology, such as modems, channelizers and optimized for full use and value, rather than sitting idle in between combiners. They are containerized for flexible deployment in a satellite passes. variety of common, off-the-shelf compute environments or in In a dynamic environment, the generic shared compute resources the cloud. support multiple customers and satellites simultaneously. With • The OpenSpace Controller directs how VNFs are chained together infrastructure controlled in software, New Space and GSaaS operators to provide a given service or mission against a defined SLA are flexibly managing multiple missions and customers. or ConOps. For EO and sensing missions, for example, operators can quickly • OpenSpace OpsCenter is a unified manager which administers downlink their data, immediately process and analyze it with the service chain life cycle and bridges management functions applications they are already running in the cloud. Customers can across legacy analog components. downlink data when and where they need it and rapidly gain insights • SpectralNet OpenSpace Digitizer reliably converts RF signals into to make decisions faster. a digital IF format, enabling digitization and transport of RF These are just a few of the many compelling benefits in shifting from signals across wide area IP networks without degradation. When legacy architectures to a more automated, intelligent and scalable used in tandem with OpenSpace VNFs, RF signals are reliably digital infrastructure used today by forward-thinking providers. The digitized, transported and processed at their final destination benefits, such as cost savings, flexibility, scalability and resiliency, to even over impaired IP network links. tactical advantages that reach into every corner of the ground system, dramatically optimize operations. Migrating to dynamic ground systems allows ground operations to synchronize with the increasing complexity coming to satellites in orbit and hand off to the terrestrial telecommunications and data networks. Rather than operating like a traditional RF analog platform, a digitized ground station can operate more like today’s modern IP networks, seamlessly interconnecting with telecom, wireless, and expanding 5G networks and IoT.

Greg Quiggle serves as the Vice President of Product Management of Kratos where he oversees product strategy and ongoing lifecycle

management of Kratos’ commercial product Figure 3. OpenSpace’s architecture spans four domains: the data plane (transport), control plane and management plane along with a digitization “on ramp.” portfolio. He has spent more than 25 years conceptualizing and executing successful Learn more by visiting www.kratosdefense.com/openspace product and technology strategies for companies in the communications industry.

SatMagazine Page 11 November 2020 European Union to Seek Pan-European Broadband-by-Satellite System? By Chris Forrester, Senior Contributor ASD-Eurospace, Europe’s space industry trade association, issued European Union (EU) to rely on a secure space-based connectivity what it called an “Industry Manifesto” on October 15 that calls for system able to provide for secure satellite communications and for high a “resilient satellite system for secure connectivity… to make Europe speed connectivity everywhere in Europe. ﬁt for the Digital Age”. “The European space industry, gathered within Eurospace, is convinced that the political momentum for a new space-based strategic The document calls for a constellation of Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) system for connectivity serving the needs of European citizens, satellites owned by the European Commission (EC) and serving institutions and businesses has to be seized,” stated the manifesto. military, government and consumers with secure communications. The One of Eurospace’s key worries is that Europe’s future EC suggests the constellation could be ﬁnanced with help from a communications being controlled by the likes of Google, Amazon, Public-Private Partnership. Facebook, Apple (the ‘GAFAs’) and Microsoft, not to mention Elon Eurospace, in its White Paper, made reference to President of the Musk’s Starlink, OneWeb or other would-be operators of LEO hardware European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and President of the in space. European Council, Charles Michel, as well as Commissioner Thierry Breton, who have all in recent weeks expressed the need for the

SatMagazine Page 12 November 2020 In its White Paper, Eurospace stated, “Broadband connections are now critical strategic weakness as well as increased risk of intellectual the prerequisite for home working, home learning and for new property theft.” important services. Without broadband connections, it is now barely The document also wants the EC to consider the impact on possible to build or run a business effectively. This is a huge opportunity demand from the Internet of Things (IoT) and, in particular, the very and the prerequisite for revitalizing rural areas. The European space large array of systems that would benefit from the technologies industry is aware that the expansion of 5G, 6G and fiber is a first step related to that technology. to bridge the digital divide. The deployment of these new networks will Eurospace admits that the economic interest of providing voice and most likely start by privileging large cities and highly populated areas. narrowband coverage from a low altitude satellite position is still difficult It has therefore to be complemented by a new space-based system for to demonstrate in an indisputable way but recognizes that new cash ubiquitous connectivity that will allow to bring secure broadband (despite a few bankruptcies en-route) from VC as well as industry names connections in support of all European businesses and citizens, have been betting on technological progresses to address untapped anywhere in Europe.” market demand for global broadband connectivity to back the business Eurospace has some 90 percent of those involved in Europe’s space plans of their LEO constellation projects. industry as members. It is a non-profit, established in 1961 and the latest data (released in July) said that 48,000 full-time employees worked in the sector, although the association admits that Europe’s employees in the industry are dwarfed numerically by Russia, China and the US. The White Paper adds that the European space sector, in this sense, can be a major promoter of Europe’s new ambitions to bridge the digital divide. Indeed, satellite networks can bring the latest technology on an accelerated basis to everyone, everywhere, including areas that 3G and 4G have not reached yet. This has been demonstrated during the Covid-19 crisis where satellites were being used to support a range of services including the rapid establishment of direct broadband connectivity to new medical facilities and to support tele-education and teleworking to otherwise disconnected groups at home and elsewhere. “The non-discriminatory nature of satellite New Realities of technology allows these services to be available to all citizens, regardless of country, population Network Traf昀c density, or economic. Furthermore, the need for secure broadband communication is also expressed by an increasing number of European Internet traf昀c is increasing globally based on the new realities of remote connectivity – businesses and companies, particularly those who teleworking, distance learning, telemedicine, webinars and video conferencing. It’s likely we’ll see long-lasting changes to the way we live and work. Given the higher traf昀c volumes and are active in strategic and sensitive sectors. This is network complexities, it is imperative for operators and service providers to have satellite an issue which was further exacerbated during the infrastructure solutions that provide performance, reliability and quality of experience. At pandemic, when European companies had to rely Comtech EF Data, we have the solutions for the new realities of network traf昀c! heavily on communication assets and data links Contact us today. Let’s explore how we can support your current and future satellite-based belonging to, routed through, or based in non- connectivity ef昀ciently and cost-effectively. European countries. This constantly leaves the information exchange and flow between European +1.480.333.2200 businesses open to electronic eavesdropping and [email protected] monitoring by foreign entities, thus constituting a www.comtechefdata.com

CEFD_SatMag 2_3_NewRealities_rev.indd 1 9/16/20 12:21 PM SatMagazine Page 13 November 2020 Their progresses have also attracted governmental interest in China, Russia, and the USA — they are now considering strategic applications. Consequently, LEO/MEO constellation projects are currently under development and initial deployment at an extremely high pace in the US, China and Russia (to a lesser extent). Some will offer global connectivity by 2021. The White Paper also recognizes that suitable spectrum is getting scarce. “Because [Ku- and Ka-bands] these frequency bands provide enough capacity and can be used with smaller antennas, Ku- and Ka-band are the preferred bands for LEO constellations projects. Any undertaking that wishes to establish a LEO satellite constellation should ensure that the spectrum they choose to use does not interfere neither with any existing GEO satellites, nor with other satellite constellation nor with terrestrial networks. There is a formal process in filing an application to get this approval with the ITU and the national administration, which include an in-orbit validation between the filing Eurospace reminds readers that the path to operational success is not recording and the final operational space infrastructure, this requires easy and lists the failures of the past (Globalstar, Iridium, Odyssey, an anticipation several years in advance.” ORBCOMM, Skybridge and Teledesic) and even the more recent failures such as LeoSat. It lists the current and new players in some detail: Eurospace’s timetable is suggested as: Amazon Kuiper (USA – Private – Broadband – 3236 satellites – Q1/2021 Engagement of initial contracts 10B$) — In development — In April 2019, Amazon, founded by Q1/2022 Consolidation of requirements and Jeff Bezos, who also founded the launch company Blue Origin, system definition announced the development of a 3,236 satellites’ constellation, 2025 Delivery in orbit of 1st operational capability under the name Project Kuiper. Amazon’s focus with the Kuiper 2028 Full operational capability System is to connect “tens of millions of unserved and underserved consumers and businesses in the US and around the globe.” It will especially target Transportation systems and Consumer demand.

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Making Missions Possible Boeing V-Band (USA – Private – Broadband - 2956 satellites): In Kepler (Canada – Private – Communication - 140): In development development [but may not happen:Ed] — Boeing’s broadband- — The Kepler system will consist of as many as 140 satellites, inclusive satellite constellation seeks “to provide broadband Internet and of on-orbit spares, with the capability to increase the number of communications services to residential consumers, governmental, satellites in operation to meet user demand. It will enable IoT and professional users across the USA.” The objective is to provide aggregation, backhaul and spectrum sharing. It will also make real- very high speed, low latency internet connectivity for user time connectivity available for devices both on and off Earth’s surface terminals via the system's network access gateways and associated terrestrial fiber network. O3b (Luxembourg – Private – Communication) In operation — O3b is a satellite constellation designed for telecommunications Galaxy Space (China – Private – Communication - 144 satellites): and data backhaul from remote locations. O3b stood for "other In demonstration — Galaxy Space plans to launch 144 satellites three billion," or the other three billion people at the time that did for the constellation across the next three years. The firm wants not have stable internet access. In 2016, ownership and operation to provide high-speed, low-latency communications services of the constellation passed to SES Networks, a division of SES. The globally, including remote areas. O3b constellation began offering service in March of 2014.

Globalstar 2 (USA – Private – Communication - 24 satellites): In SpaceX Starlink (USA – Private – Broadband - 12000): In operation — Globalstar 2 is the second-generation constellation deployment (and network Beta testing) — SpaceX is building and of Globalstar satellites; it is deployed since 2010. It targets launching as many as 12,000 Starlink satellites, and has filed satellite phone and low-speed data communications. regulatory paperwork with the ITU for another 30,000 satellites. The objective is to develop a low-cost, high-performance satellite Hongyan (China – Public – Broadband - 864 satellites): In bus and requisite customer ground transceivers to implement a demonstration — The Hongyan constellation is being developed new spaceborne Internet communication system. SpaceX intends by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation to provide satellite internet connectivity to underserved areas of (CASC). The initial 320 satellites plan has now reportedly been the planet, as well as provide competitively priced service to expanded to 864, with an initial service in operation by 2022. The urban area. SpaceX also plans to sell some of the satellites for Hongyan mega-constellation will provide two-way military, scientific, or exploratory purposes (especially in polar communications and shall provide a range of services such as regions) The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build, ground data collection and exchange, ship identification and and deploy the constellation was estimated by SpaceX in May tracking, mobile broadcasting, and positioning, navigation, and 2018 to be about US$10 billion. timing (PNT) signal enhancement. The Hongyan mega- constellation will reportedly be capable of providing mobile Telesat (Canada – Private – Broadband - 117): In development — connectivity to 2 million users, satellite broadband to 200,000 Telesat’s system would be comprised of at least 117 satellites in users and IoT coverage to 10 million users within China and in two orbits, with Telesat stressing that it designed its combined countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The polar/inclined-orbit system with U.S. military users in mind. Telesat constellation will also support China’s 5G network, by connecting plans to address mobility markets, beaming Wi-Fi to ships and the constellation directly with 5G base stations for lower latency. aircraft, as well as businesses and government users. Telesat is not focused on the consumer broadband market. Telesat’s LEO Iridium Next (USA – Private – Communication - 81): In operation constellation will have 16 to 24 terabits per second of total — In 2017, Iridium began launching Iridium NEXT, a second- capacity, of which about 8 terabits will be sellable. generation worldwide network of telecommunications satellites, consisting of 66 active satellites, with another nine in-orbit spares US Space Development Agency - SDA - (USA–Public– and six on-ground spares. It provides L-band voice and data Communication/Data/Remote Sensing - 1200): In development — information coverage to satellite phones, pagers and integrated The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency is soliciting pitches transceivers over the entire Earth surface. for technologies that will be used to build a network of satellites in low Earth orbit that would help the military find targets on the ground and track enemy missiles in flight. The SDA intends to ultimately deploy multiple constellations that collectively could amount to thousands of satellites. The constellation will have a

SatMagazine Page 16 November 2020 mix of sensing and communications satellites so data collected by Senior Columnist Chris Forrester is a well-known the sensors can be passed to the communications satellites, sent broadcasting journalist and industry consultant. He down to commanders on the ground or used to directly tip and reports on all aspects of broadcasting with special cue a missile interceptor. emphasis on content, the business of television and emerging applications. He founded Rapid TV News Additional to this comprehensive list, Eurospace says there are and has edited Interspace and its successor Inside some 45 other projects in various stages of fund raising and Satellite TV since 1996. He also files for Advanced-Television.com. development. Nevertheless, Eurospace admits that the recent In November of 1998, Chris was appointed an Associate financial failures of OneWeb and LeoSat confirm the fragility of (professor) of the prestigious Adham Center for Television disruptive projects and questions the capability of these Newspace Journalism, part of the American University in Cairo (AUC), in companies to establish themselves as sustainable space actors in recognition of his extensive coverage of the Arab media market. the long-term. Chris is a Senior Contributor for Satnews Publishers. They are a warning of the difficulty to put in place such ambitious constellations systems without deep knowledge and appropriate financial backing. Indeed, while the promise for revenues is significant, huge capital expenditure is necessary before a hypothetic return on investment.

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SatMagazine Page 17 November 2020 Executive Spotlight: Grant Bonin

Senior Vice President, Business Development, Spaceﬂight Inc.

Grant Bonin is Senior Vice President of Business innovative way to provide access to space, increase launch options Development at Spaceflight Inc. As a business available, and do it in a much more cost-effective way. development leader, Grant works at the Since its founding, Spaceflight has evolved into the leading rideshare crossroads of engineering, strategy and business service provider worldwide, offering end-to-end rideshare launch and development, and oversees Spaceflight’s sales mission management services. Initially launching one, two or a handful team while working with every team to internally of satellites on a single launch, Spaceflight has now led a variety of ensure mission success for each customer. Grant complex, groundbreaking missions establishing rideshare as a go-to has broad industry experience with spacecraft development and launch option. We launched the record-breaking SSO-A dedicated launch systems, and has dedicated his career to improving access rideshare mission in 2018, highlighting the team’s technical and to space. Grant has more than 40 operational spacecraft in orbit engineering expertise and launched the first-ever rideshare mission to and has several more in development that are slated to launch in GTO, demonstrating rideshare’s viability beyond LEO. upcoming years. Now, the company is focused on being an all-encompassing space transportation company. In addition to our rideshare service offerings, Mr. Bonin, can you provide a brief backstory of Spaceflight’s we’ve expanded our services to include multi-spacecraft “subscription inception to providing the most rideshare options to space? services” for launch, customer financing, in-space “last mile” orbital transfer, customer-focused booking and mission management Grant Bonin (GB) platforms. Our next generation Sherpa program, which will have its first Spaceflight was founded in 2011 to address the increasing demand for launch in December of this year, is probably our most exciting initiative: access to space from smallsat developers. The demand for launches Sherpa is a way that anyone can get precisely to the orbit they want, largely outweighed the number of launch options available. from wherever a launch vehicle drops them off. Additionally, the capacity needed to launch a smallsat was much smaller We want to be the de facto call that customers make when they want than a rocket’s total launch capacity, but smallsat companies were still to get to space; we want any company that needs to get to space to left purchasing whole rockets. Rideshare was a clear solution. It was an think of Spaceflight as the most effective way to get their assets on

SatMagazine Page 18 November 2020 Can you feel what fast internet is?

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100Mbps 1Gbps

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SBM-90X Modem No speed limit !

[email protected] Artistic rendition of Spaceflight’s SXRS-3 Sherpa-FX Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV). Image is courtesy of the company.

orbit. We are committed to getting satellites where they need to go, about all costs associated with launch and our launch price will be the when they want to get there. most accurate.

Why would a smallsat customer choose to book through a Many of the companies we work with and companies in the space rideshare service provider, such as Spaceflight, rather than industry are young and very cost-conscious. Having a clear book directly with a launch vehicle provider? understanding of all the costs associated with launch before signing a contract is incredibly valuable. GB The first reason is flexibility. Getting a satellite on-orbit can be a lengthy Spaceflight recently announced it will launch a new orbital and expensive prospect, and being locked into a single launch transfer vehicle later this year. Can you explain what this opportunity means there’s no chance to mitigate the negative impacts vehicle does and why Spaceflight is expanding its service into of a delay when it occurs. As well, when any given launch provider vehicle development? experiences a business or technical setback, going “direct” leaves customers with no remedy. GB And we all know delays are an inevitable part of the launch business. In 10 years, the space industry has seen a significant drop in smallsat In fact, a recent Bryce study showed 100 percent of commercial smallsat launch costs by almost 15 percent, indicating the important role launches have been delayed in the last five years. However, when innovation and advanced technology can have to lower the cost to get companies book with Spaceflight and a delay happens, we are in the to space. unique position to re-manifest spacecraft on another launch. Spaceflight’s new orbital transfer vehicle, Sherpa-FX, will enable Additionally, our team has deep expertise across the majority of satellites to be deployed anywhere on orbit, even if the initial launch launch vehicles, meaning the team can seamlessly integrate any drops them off in a non-ideal orbit. This allows satellites to catch a ride payload on any vehicle. On top of that, our team understands the to a common orbital destination and finish in a hard-to-reach orbit steps required to integrate and the hardware needed to support location, allowing the number of launches available to them to unique satellites shapes and structures. That means we are upfront dramatically increase.

SatMagazine Page 20 November 2020 The Sherpa-FX vehicle is the first within the Sherpa-NG family, a suite of orbital transfer vehicles intended to prioritize affordability, mission assurance and flexibility. These vehicles will revolutionize launch options available in the industry and expand the services and capabilities of current launch vehicles. CPI GaN BUCs Orbital transfer vehicles open up launch options by lowering the cost to launch through integration of multiple payloads per port, creating flexibility with on orbit transportation, and providing an opportunity to host payloads so they can demonstrate innovative technologies on orbit. Other companies have advertised this functionality, but failed to fully carry out the operations due to an unsustainable business model, flawed technology or limited access to launch vehicle providers. Spaceflight’s Sherpa program dates back to before almost all in-space transportations. Over the years, it’s been revamped to include propulsion, radiation-tolerant avionics, and high-accuracy control and telemetry systems to deliver satellites to their preferred destination in a matter of hours to days. Additionally, Spaceflight and Benchmark Space Systems signed an exclusive deal in August permitting Spaceflight to use Benchmark’s green, in-space propulsion systems on the Sherpa-NG vehicles. This agreement enables Spaceflight’s customers on rideshare missions to take The last word in solid state advantage of low-cost from the 昀rst name in HPAs. rideshare launches to sub- optimal locations in space, • Ef昀cient solution for all satellite and then be propelled by uplink applications the green thruster to move the spacecraft to • Up to 160 W in Ka-band ideal orbits in a matter of • Up to 200 W in X-band hours. Orbital transfer vehicles • Up to 100 W in C-band are the next step for the • Up to 80 W in Ku-band space industry as we Benchmark Space Systems green bi-propellant system. • 1,000 W C-band transceiver Photo is courtesy of the company. continue to come up with innovative solutions to extend affordable yet customizable launch experiences that meet our customers’ increasing/expanding needs.

Can you describe your prediction that the space industry will adopt a “subscription-based” pricing model for launch? What 80 W Ku-band BUC 160 W Ka-band BUC benefits will this trend have on satellite developers and launch providers? Download our app! GB Search: CPI Satcom Spaceflight has changed the perspective for how launch deals work by offering subscription services for launch. Spaceflight pioneered innovative and new launch deal structures to result in maximum CPI Satcom Products | www.cpii.com | +1 (669) 275-2744

SatMagazine Page 21 November 2020 and new launch vehicles and agreements. One initiative worth expanding on is our Mission Control platform. This online portal is designed to help customers stay on top of all launch planning and preparation deadlines. In the portal they can easily access mission statuses, learn about key deliverables and view updates. This app allows Spaceflight’s team to work with customers to create unmatched flexibility through the entire mission management process and we’ve found in the time of COVID-19, it’s been especially helpful. Bundled together, these initiatives give Spaceflight the unmatched benefit of providing greater flexibility, mitigating delays

Buy a seat, not a rocket. and meeting specific mission needs for customers looking to get their spacecraft to flexibility and strong cash flow terms for customers. We aim to take space. Flexibility is built into all parts of these initiatives and our an aggressive approach at learning from other industries about how business model, giving us the advantage to get customers on orbit to best service our customers and put their needs first. exactly when and where they want. For both satellite developers and launch providers, revenue is king Spaceflight has been moving to the digital realm at a rapid pace to in the space industry. Subscription-based pricing models have been guarantee reliable and easy service for our customers. accepted in every industry and business, from groceries to movies, and we have no doubt the space industry would greatly benefit with What roles does Spaceflight’s various contracts and the implementation of this model. While the space industry is often partnerships have in meeting customers’ needs? unpredictable and risky, subscription models can provide enormous advantages and flexibility to satellite developers and launch providers. GB A subscription model can provide predictable cash flows and be Spaceflight continues to seek out new contracts and agreements to beneficial for offering insight into foreseeable services or sales. This allow smallsat customers to be provided with utmost flexibility. Recently, is especially important for constellation customers, who are routinely we signed a number of multi-launch agreements enabling customers looking to launch multiple satellites, requiring more launch options to be offered a diverse portfolio of launch vehicle options. In June, we and schedule consistency. With this model, smallsat customers are signed a multi-launch agreement with SpaceX, securing rideshare able to spread their payloads easily across multiple launch vehicles, capacity to launch payloads on several SpaceX missions through minimizing delay and risks. Predictability is weighed equally with cash December 2021. in our business. In addition, we signed a launch services agreement with Firefly In an industry that conventionally functions as inherently inflexible, Aerospace in April 2020 to maximize launch capacity on the subscription models can bring a whole new level of consistency and commercial Alpha mission.Spaceflight also signed a launch agreement predictability for both launch providers and satellite developers. Can with NSIL’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in India, adding to our you provide an overview of the new initiatives Spaceflight announced diverse portfolio of launch vehicles to provide greater options. and how they support your company’s mission to provide unmatched As a company offering the most rideshare options to space, we are flexibility, mitigate delays and meet specific mission needs? constantly pursuing new vehicle entrants and securing capacity with the In August 2020, we announced a range of groundbreaking launch mission to open space access for more smallsats. initiatives to deliver launch schedule assurance and greater flexibility to smallsat customers whose needs include frequent, reliable, and cost- spaceflight.com effective launch options. Spaceflight’s new services and programs include transparent all-in-pricing, online booking site, mission management portal, new Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles, reconfigurable avionics, tracking and identifying spacecraft program,

SatMagazine Page 22 November 2020 LEADING THE

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Gilat Satellite Networks | www.gilat.com Three images were collected in rapid succession over Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on August 10, 2020, at 11:31 a.m. local time. By analyzing these images, BlackSky is able to extract critical economic and financial indicators to offer a near-real-time view of commercial activity in Port Elizabeth. In particular, with the assistance of Spectra AI, BlackSky can count the number of container stacks in the container yard, identify the container and bulk carrier ships currently berthed, count the number of vehicles awaiting export in the car terminal, track ground vehicle movements, and even determine which cargo holds are actively being loaded. With the ever- increasing revisit rates offered by the BlackSky Global constellation and the advanced automation capabilities enabled by Spectra AI, economic activity is revealed at a velocity previously thought impossible.

First-To-Know Insights Fuel Geospatial Opportunities By Brian O’Toole, Chief Executive Ofﬁcer, BlackSky

Much in the same way that global positioning once shook the By combining geospatial information with a variety of sources, sensor world, BlackSky is providing a new perspective on geospatial data and IoT feeds as well as leveraging artiﬁcial intelligence (AI) and intelligence, expanding it out of the defense and intelligence machine learning (ML) techniques, BlackSky’s Spectra AI platform domain and putting it in commercial hands. provides an unprecedented level of data depth and analysis for customers at almost instantaneous speeds. BlackSky is making good on its promise to deliver first-to-know global observations on emerging events and anomalies using deep activity Global Monitoring Highlights BlackSky’s Innovation Curve monitoring and predictive analytics. This near real-time intelligence BlackSky’s platform has found favor as a valuable tool for intelligence, — once the sole province of top defense and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) related missions and for organizations — is now affordable and accessible for commercial use. tracking major global events. This has led to several significant And that opens up entirely new avenues of opportunity for the use of contracts this year. space-based intelligence. As part of a multi-year contract with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), BlackSky will be providing the U.S. Army Tactical GEOINT More than a satellite company, BlackSky is truly a global (TacGEO) prototype program with its high-revisit, low-latency monitoring company. constellation architecture. The Department of Defense is leveraging

SatMagazine Page 24 November 2020 The #1 SATCOM Integrator for the U.S. Federal Government Own the Edge. For over 20 years, Leonardo DRS has supported custom end-to-end SATCOM solutions for maritime, airborne and ground-mobile operations. As the top SATCOM integrator for the U.S. Federal Government,* we consistently deliver optimal levels of availability, integrity and conﬁdentiality. This unwavering security makes Leonardo DRS the only choice when success is critical—in short, always. *Source: GovWin IQ Total Federal Market Overview - Top Contractors 2015-2019 - NAICS 517410 Satellite Telecommunications

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BlackSky has overcome enormous barriers, in place for decades, to increase the company’s capabilities for rapidly iterating, evolving and innovating smallsats in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Today, with Spectra AI, customers can easily task a satellite from any internet-connected device to affordably obtain images and timely insights. The next phase of growth will be determined by user experience and access to data and imagery. BlackSky is also seeing interest from a number of companies such as risk BlackSky imaging satellite capture of Mecca. management and investment research firms, strategic intelligence and BlackSky’s low-cost, high-revisit, small imaging satellites to develop consulting companies, security service businesses, non-profit think critical concept of operations (CONOPS) including tactics, techniques, tanks, geospatial analytics companies, internationally sustainable and procedures, and to inform future operational systems. development agencies, public transportation organizations and airlines. BlackSky was also awarded a contract leveraging its AI platform to Like that historic GPS moment in global technology, BlackSky’s monitor the efficacy of global COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Specifically, Spectra AI is creating new expectations today and has the potential to BlackSky’s Spectra AI has been enlisted to monitor overseas U.S. military change the future. bases and help secure critical supply chain nodes. The company’s global monitoring capabilities will track the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 www.blacksky.com to ensure the protection of deployed personnel. Author Brian O’Toole is the Chief Executive Officer of BlackSky.

A single ship (in yellow) approaches Grytviken in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands at 5:25 p.m. local time on August 10, 2020, as captured by BlackSky-8. An image at this time of the day is achievable due to the specific inclined orbit of the BlackSky satellites. All ships entering Grytviken are required to pass a thorough COVID-19 screening process before entry is permitted.

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By James Trevelyan, Senior Vice President, Enterprise and Emerging Markets, Speedcast.

At a time when people are heavily relying on technology during a Regulation drove the only exceptions. For example, to meet service global pandemic, there are huge business opportunities opening requirements and to avoid penalties, MNOs would have to use satellite up for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). connected base stations to serve remote communities.

With half of the world’s population currently having no internet access, A Decade of Transformation according to the International Telecommunication Union, it is clear there The first launch containing High Throughput Satellite (HTS) by Telesat is a real need for better coverage particularly to remote areas where in 2004 marked an exciting new chapter for the industry. HTS at the communities require vital resources and information. time was a game-changer, where instead of enormous beams covering With core markets becoming heavily saturated, this new challenge is entire nations or a third of the planet, HTS covered the same more appealing than ever to MNOs. By using cellular backhaul through frequencies of cellular communications across hundreds of narrow satellites, MNOs are now able to remain profitable whilst meeting beams. Those beams operated at the higher Ka- or Ku- band worldwide demand for greater connectivity and 5G. Due to the frequencies and contained far more capacity at the same bandwidth. improving economics of satellites, they are due to make a resurgence HTS through frequency sharing and higher throughput created an and become a top choice for those wanting to provide cellular backhaul. enormous jump in the effective capacity per satellite to make the business far more profitable. A Technology of the Past However, it was not until 2010 that HTS became big business with Previously, satellite was often seen as a last resort for providing cellular the likes of Eutelsat, Viasat, Hughes and Avanti launching all-HTS backhaul due to the exorbitant costs involved. Several limitations made spacecraft into orbit. The Viasat-1 that entered service in 2011 satellite backhaul unaffordable due to both operating expense and capital. revolutionized the industry further by containing more capacity than all Those in high geosynchronous orbit offered only limited capacity due other commercial satellites over North America combined at 140 Gbps. to working in the lowest of the frequency bands in the C-band to ensure Proving its value, this new architecture became the first competitive service levels in rain-soaked regions. Installation costs per site were also satellite broadband service for consumers and pushed enterprise data astronomically high, with 7 meter antennas that required lots of civil to become the fastest-growing sector within the satellite industry. work and high-powered transmit and receive gear.

SatMagazine Page 28 November 2020 As competition grew, continued innovation witnessed the companies evolving standards have huge potential to further improve the cost building craft with more capacity and steerable beams that would meet effectiveness of satellite backhaul. market demand. Intelsat made the biggest bet by creating a three satellite HTS global constellation aimed at support for government, Emerging Opportunities industry and terrestrial telecom, while in 2017, Viasat began building New business cases are now attainable thanks to the improved their third generation of spacecraft which quickly became Very High economics of satellite cellular backhaul, making it an exciting time for Throughput Satellites (VHTS). When complete in 2021, these satellites MNOs. The range of markets for satellite backhaul has been greatly will add an extra three terabits of network capacity into orbit, while expanding, creating new opportunities for revenue growth and VHTS craft that arrive later in the year, from Hughes and Eutelsat, will proﬁtability such as the ones below: see an additional 500 Gbps of capacity. In the beginning, HTS satellites operating at the high Ka-bands Network Extension struggled with rain fade where the radio wavelengths become A well-known barrier to the extension of mobile networks are absorbed by water droplets. There were predictions that these services harsh environments and rugged terrains. From mountains to would never be viable in areas with moderate rainfall. However, thanks lakes, forests and long distances, it is now possible to extend to innovation on the ground, these theories soon became unfounded , service to population pockets in far-flung, remote locations. The with Ku- and Ka- band services now able to withstand heavy rain fade. new economics mean satellite links provide a cost-effective With the success of higher frequencies, it was made possible to replacement for long fiber runs and microwave shots. install sites with smaller antennas that cost far less plus it became possible to have base stations powered solely by batteries and solar Roaming Revenues panels — continued innovation drove down the cost, size and power It is now possible for smaller MNOs worldwide to deploy 4G consumption of all related data and SATCOM equipment. This made network infrastructure using satellite connectivity in parallel with the whole business far more cost effective. their existing network. This allows operators to generate roaming revenues through deals with larger companies, negating the Improving Economics Pushes the Popularity of Satellites need for the high costs and complexities involved with the more Research ﬁrm NSR estimates these changes have seen the costs traditional transition to 4G. plummet to an average of $3 per Gigabyte for large deployments, with more recent projects seeing the cost per Gigabyte drop to around $2. Serving Peak Demand As the industry and technology moves forward, prices are At an attractive cost, a small capacity satellite solution can continuing to fall and that is causing a major growth in the adoption provide the necessary capacity to handle peak demand, as seen of satellite backhaul by MNOs. In fact, NSR forecasts that backhaul at rural population centers such as train stations or bus stops. will generate $30 billion in revenue over the next 10 years — not This provides a great viable alternative when compared to the taking into account the impact of 5G satellite deployment, where more expensive traditional route of using microwave to provide backhaul instead.

SatMagazine Page 29 November 2020 Edge Content Caching There are many complications when it comes to the configurations of With online video platforms becomingly increasingly popular, a satellite, microwave, mobile and fiber connectivity. Operators who wish new business case has emerged. According to Cisco’s 2019 to capitalize on satellite backhaul must integrate solutions which can report, video is fast approaching 80 percent of all mobile traffic manage the seamless integration of satellite connectivity into mobile putting a huge strain on core networks and a greater strain on network traffic. sites at the remote edge. As a result, MNOs and video streaming Smart network management is essential to managing the best companies are experimenting with downloading popular performance possible under different pressures to ensure a high-quality, content to edge servers during off-peak hours. Satellite provides streamlined cyber secure network. an ideal solution for caching this content, having been the core of broadcast distribution in the past. James Trevelyan is the Senior Vice President of Enterprise and Emerging Markets and he joined The Future of Satellite Connectivity Speedcast in 2018 and leads the organization’s As MNOs target rural and suburban areas with low latency, high global Enterprise business. Prior to joining capacity 5G, the changing economics of satellites provides a welcome Speedcast, he spent 17 years at Arqiva in various alternative to backhaul and fronthaul options. commercial and sales leadership positions, including Having thought ahead, the satellite industry has worked to make 5G a key role as management board director of the industry standards “satellite friendly,” with the goal being to ensure a company’s Satellite and Media division. He has also held sales simple interface is created through base stations and modem roles at Nortel Networks, Lexmark and IBM. James recently equipment that incorporate satellite and strips the costs and complexity completed a second term as Chairman of the World Teleport for both satellite fronthaul and backhaul. Association, a non-profit organization serving the interests of To unlock the full potential of 5G, the industry is currently deploying a satellite teleport operators. generation of satellites that will operate in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that supports extremely high capacity at 20MS of latency, which is far closer to the 5G standard of 1 to 10 MS. The current satellites operating at high geostationary orbits cannot currently support the low latency needed for 5G. Satellites are set to play an integral role when it comes to the widespread deployment of 5G thanks to this combination of lower latency and compliance with 5G standards. However, for MNOs wanting to unlock the full potential of satellite backhaul now and into the future, they must use solutions like those provided by Speedcast.

SatMagazine Page 30 November 2020

Will 5G and LEO Deliver Better Remote Connectivity? By Will Mudge, Vice President, Engineering Operations, Speedcast

5G is the biggest buzzword of the day in the mobile industry. connectivity — perhaps in a disaster recovery situation when In the satellite world, the excitement is around Low Earth Orbit wired communication networks have become impaired or (LEO) constellations. However, it is in the way these two destroyed completely. technologies work together to bring terrestrial broadband connectivity and an ‘office-like’ internet experience to every However, 5G is not going to be the answer to every communication corner of the globe that can be truly transformative. need. If an application is working outside the range of cellular systems operational for 5G, it will not provide the coverage they expect. This might be in a mining camp, on an energy platform or What we Expect from 5G and LEO on a cruise ship in international waters, for example. 5G will not Much like the transition from 3G to 4G, the transition from 4G to extend far enough offshore for those purposes. While it can work 5G is going to be revolutionary. The much higher data rates when they are in sight of the shore, the cruise ship will need available through 5G are going to change the transmission of additional technology to provide connectivity during the times data to and from locations, no matter how near or far. Imagine if when they are out at sea between stop-offs, which can sometimes you have a terrestrial requirement that needs fast, reliable be a full day’s sailing away. This is where LEO fits really well,

SatMagazine Page 32 November 2020 delivering an at-home experience with none of the delays you location. Managing these networks and keeping them cost encounter with geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) satellites effective can prove difficult. operating far from earth. However, there is software available which seamlessly manages LEO satellites are an exciting opportunity for everyone. For the first transitions between 5G, LEO and other connections to maintain time, satellite can provide internet connectivity on the move at the the vital ‘always-on’ connectivity that is now an expectation same speed and capacity as you have at home or at work, wherever you are in the world. This software makes the right choice anywhere in the world. That is because LEO satellites operate so of network for you dynamically and automatically, so you can close to earth that it is like making a call from one city to another concentrate on the things that you need to. in the same country. Typically, LEO satellites are located about 500km away from the earth, which is approximately the distance While far from the cellular network, it automatically selects the between Paris and Madrid so there is no reason there should be GEO, MEO or LEO service that best meets the requirement. But any more delay than you would expect for a phone call over that as 4G/ LTE or 5G become available, the system detects and distance. In fact, less so, as there are far fewer objects to get in the automatically switches to the most cost-effective option for your way of the signal! requirements. If the cellular connection fails for any reason, it switches to the ‘always-on’ satellite connection. It is the same as your mobile phone switching between Wi-Fi and cellular signal The End for MEO and GEO? depending on which is stronger. In a single platform, they provide This does not mean the end for Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and automatic management of every network, turning many geostationary satellites. Both have their place in the market, transmission paths into one wide area network. delivering service that meets their customers’ needs very well. Instead, it gives those seeking connectivity a much broader range Seamless Connectivity of options to choose from depending on their location and communication requirements at any particular moment in time. We are at a time when new, ground-breaking technologies appear with regularity. The only constant is that we are moving forward at The decision over which technology to use can depend on latency an ever-increasing pace and that it is never long before a new requirements. If a system is reliant on seamless connectivity then development or upgrade appears and changes the game. 5G will LEO would work, but if a short delay can be tolerated then routing undoubtedly do that. Despite the advancements in new via a GEO satellite could be a better option. Signals between the technology, it is imperative that companies like Speedcast help earth and satellites in geostationary orbit tend to take up to 500 organizations pick the technology that fits their requirements best milliseconds to travel to and from the satellite. For LEO satellites rather than the one that is newest or shiniest. that time reduces to just 20 to 25 milliseconds. Both 5G and LEO are destined for great things due to what they Broadcast is a great example of this. Satellite television can allow can deliver and for what services can be offered using them for a small delay, as there is usually a built-in buffer or a delay on individually. But what makes them most exciting is just how live TV for editing or other purposes – in which a short delay could powerful 5G and LEO are when used in combination with each be easily tolerated. other. When managed correctly, they are about to deliver on the expectation that being out of home doesn’t have to lead to any degradation in your ability to connect to the world. Making it work

With so many different systems all with varied and changing Author Will Mudge is the Vice President of Engineering requirements, it would be impossible for any individual to manage Operations at Speedcast. transitions between the different connectivity solutions available. Keeping with our cruise ship example, each vessel will have a range of seaborne digital devices and applications operating around the clock – using a complicated mix of very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT), L-band satellite, LTE and Wi-Fi, varying with the vessel’s

SatMagazine Page 33 November 2020 A Conversation with Manik Vinnakota, Telesat “How LEO networks are the key to true, global deployment of 5G”

Manik Vinnakota is the Director, Global satellite operator Telesat’s forthcoming LEO network, Telesat Product and Commercial, at Telesat LEO, is one such constellation that will make true global 5G a reality. and he leads the aero, maritime and terrestrial go-to-market strategies for Mr. Vinnakota, what are the benefits of 5G as opposed to Telesat LEO globally and is other types of networks? responsible for defining service offerings and engaging strategic partners. Prior to Telesat, Manik MV assisted mobile and wireline telcos 5G offers high speeds and low latency, which both enhance the across North America, Asia and Africa customer experience. In addition, the edge computing capabilities of in their commercial transformation. He 5G bring critical resources and processing closer to the user. These has a global telecom perspective combining terrestrial and better capabilities help to guarantee service quality for critical enterprise satellite technologies. Manik has an MBA from INSEAD and is an applications such as telemedicine or ﬁrst responder communications. engineer from BITS, Pilani. What is the current availability of 5G around the world? How Telesat’s Director of Commercial and Product, Manik is it supported by current satellite systems? Vinnakota, shares his thoughts on the benefits of 5G connectivity, and how LEO networks — and Telesat LEO in MV particular — will help bring 5G to more communities. Currently, about 145 telecom companies provide 5G services, and there are about 16,000 5G network deployments globally (Source: Manik Vinnakota (MV) www.speedtest.net/ookla-5g-map). Per Ericsson’s recent Mobility 5G networks, though still in varying stages of development, have the Report, there are expected to be 500 million subscribers on 5G by 2022 potential to dramatically transform connectivity. However, these — and around three billion by 2025. The potential for this market is networks are only being deployed in high-density, urban areas across huge, and once it’s matured, it will have a meaningful impact on people the world — which will further contribute to the digital divide in remote around the world. or rural areas. Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations can be the key to expanding the reach of 5G networks anywhere in the world. What are some of the specific requirements of 5G networks that make LEO best suited to expand 5G networks?

SatMagazine Page 34 November 2020 MV How is Telesat working within the industry and with telecoms 5G networks have a number of unique requirements, including low when it comes to 5G? latency, high throughput, security, and a programmable network. In light of this, we’re designing the Telesat LEO network with these MV requirements in mind. Telesat LEO will provide Gbps backhaul links to We are working closely with several of our telco customers during the communities where fiber isn’t an affordable solution – helping to development of the Telesat LEO Network to ensure our network meets expand 5G beyond densely populated areas. the priorities and requirements of each sector. Telesat is working with Since LEO constellations will be closer to Earth, they will deliver lower telecom customers specifically to make sure that Telesat LEO meets the latency. For instance, Telesat LEO’s latency will be 20x better than that unique performance needs of next-gen mobile networks. of traditional GEO satellites and will include multiple Gbps speeds to a To support this work in advance of the full constellation, Telesat has single site using 4 GHz priority spectrum and advanced technologies. also engaged on testing 5G backhaul on its Phase 1 LEO satellite in- Finally, our Software-Defined Network (SDN) will be compliant with orbit. For example, Vodafone ran a live 5G network on the Telesat LEO Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) standards providing seamless plug and satellite in 2018, the first-ever 5G backhaul demonstration over a LEO play integration with terrestrial networks and is a fully programmable satellite. and dynamic network that is critical for 5G connectivity. How will Telesat LEO help to expand 5G beyond telecoms to How will Telesat LEO help to bridge the digital divide with sectors like maritime? 5G around the world? MV MV Many maritime companies are exploring the use of private 5G networks Telesat LEO will complement terrestrial networks such as 5G to bridge at their remote facilities and vessels. Telesat LEO will deliver a low the digital divide globally, connecting communities, schools and latency, carrier-grade link to these private offshore networks. healthcare facilities around the world and bringing low-cost, high-speed Mobile operators want to keep their customers connected, even when connectivity to remote and rural areas. on the high seas, such as a family on cruise. By effectively connecting The Telesat LEO network will provide high-quality yet affordable vessels to the telecom company’s network on the ground, 5G networks backhaul for 5G sites. Affordable backhaul, the connection from a remote and capabilities will extend to the maritime market as well, and Telesat’s site to the telecom company’s data center, is often a big hurdle in longstanding work in the sector gives us the necessary background to connecting underserved or unconnected areas. By solving the backhaul, ensure our LEO network is best poised to support these capabilities. Telesat LEO will help connect such areas and make 5G truly global. How do Telesat’s steps to clear C-band spectrum in the U.S. Aside from the global architecture and low latency, what else and Canada support the expansion of 5G? about Telesat LEO specifically will support expanding the reach of 5G networks? MV C-band spectrum is critical to launching world-class 5G networks MV because of its strong ubiquitous coverage versus higher frequency Telesat LEO will offer managed connectivity, which translates to telecom bands (e.g., mmWave), as well as its ability to deliver high speeds by companies having to manage less infrastructure than with traditional effectively using large blocks of spectrum. satellite networks. This will enable telecom companies to expand 5G Today, Telesat uses this spectrum to provide critical services across networks with ease. the United States and Canada and must move these customers to other Additionally, telecom companies will be able to connect to the spectrum and satellites to ensure their services remain in place while Telesat LEO Network via small and low-cost terminals from a remote clearing the spectrum for 5G networks. 5G site. These simplified terminals will make it easy to connect new Through the U.S. process and through Telesat’s recent proposal to areas with 5G. Disruptive service prices will make the business case the Canadian government, Telesat will work to ensure all of its stronger to expand networks further out, in spite of lower population customers remain connected for the long term while making C-band densities. Overall, Telesat LEO will help telecom companies create an spectrum available for 5G, positioning North America at the forefront economical runway for future expansion. of 5G deployment.

www.telesat.com/

SatMagazine Page 35 November 2020 Wavelength: Overcoming the Digital Drought Produced for SatMagazine by Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI)

For all of history, water has been the stuff of life, flowing in rivers The digital revolution via satellite is just getting started. Viasat is nearby or drawn up from the hidden streams that flow underground. working with companies like Facebook to make the internet accessible to people in more rural areas. It is helping Telebras in Brazil connect Today, the place we call home is part of an online world, and the water thousands of schools, hospitals and other government institutions, and of the digital age is the internet, bringing knowledge, entertainment, recently announced expansion of service to homes and rural villages. commerce and connection. However, in too much of the world, the Hughes Network Systems has similar rural installations going on all digital river never reaches rural towns and villages. Instead of digital over the world. The coming generation of LEO spacecraft — once they streams, they face a digital drought. develop revenue streams serving the traditional satellite markets — will vastly expand the connectivity pool. It is happening now because Viasat Bringing Millions Online was the first company to market with satellite broadband offering high In Mexico today, more than 1.8 million people in rural communities can speeds at competitive costs. Having proven the viability of the business go online, thanks to satellite operator Viasat. model, it opened doors for a growing range of companies to enter the In each town or village, Viasat and its local partners install a central business and achieve fast growth. Wi-Fi hotspot connected to a Viasat spacecraft. Viasat’s next- More than a half-million Americans and US businesses already generation satellite network delivers high-speed, high-quality service subscribe to the company’s broadband service. With the Community at affordable prices. People connect on their own devices — and their Wi-Fi program , the company has found a way to deliver service at a lives are transformed. price that rural Latin Americans can afford. Email, messaging, phone and video calls, social media and web- The flow of the digital river no longer has to bypass rural villages and browsing bring new services, education, news and entertainment. They towns. Thanks to satellite, the digital drought is coming to an end. can reach distant relatives, take classes, apply for jobs and learn market prices for their products. See more stories and videos of satellite making a better world at https://www.bettersatlliteworld.com.

SatMagazine Page 36 November 2020

Africa Needs the Space Industry to go Forward By Anthony Penderis, Editor, African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment

Africa, the second largest continent, is a mix of steamy rainforests, vast grasslands, and arid deserts. It has no long mountain ranges, but is home to the world's largest hot desert, the Sahara, and its longest river, the Nile. The featured area is the central South Atlantic coastal region of Namibia, including the cities of Walvis Bay and Windhoek. Image capture is courtesy of the United States Geological Survey

The African continent is bound to become increasingly more These were some of the ﬁndings in a paper recently published by dependent on the space industry for job creation, poverty an expert in the ﬁeld of Earth Observation (EO) and Geo- alleviation and sustainable resource management. Information Sciences.

SatMagazine Page 38 November 2020 The paper, titled “The Status of Earth Observation (EO) & Geo- 1. A well-informed public sector to develop a strategy Information Sciences in Africa — Trends and Challenges” was and architecture for space exploration and space data published in the journal of Geospatial Information Science, by Professor thus creating an empowering environment so that the Tsehaie Woldai* in February of this year. Woldai is a Visiting Professor benefits of public-private partnership can at the School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, be appreciated Johannesburg, South Africa. In his research, he found that up to the end of last year, 28 of the 54 2. Highly developed academic institutions to support African countries were already engaged in the EO and Geo-Information capacity development in EO and Geo-Information Sciences through 90 academic institutions, 17 national scientific Sciences, space engineering and technology associations, 53 national space agencies, 10 satellite receiving and tracking stations as well as a few regional, technical laboratories. While 3. A thriving private sector to serve as an engine for the industry currently provides employment to some 15,000 people on economic growth. the African continent, Woldai expects this number to exceed 100,000 by the year 2025. His optimism is further bolstered by the fact that space-based The growing dependence of the continent on the satellite industry is technology is now an essential tool for decision making in many African also clear from the fact that by the end of last year 11 African countries countries. Also, the technology is extensively used by Government have already launched 36 satellites together into orbit while another five Ministries/Departments in monitoring climate-related changes, are expected by the first quarter of 2021 plus another five by 2025, thus agriculture, desertification, flood hazards, and soil erosion, as well as, amounting to 46 satellites, a total not foreseen ten years ago. risk assessment, groundwater exploration and transportation services. The reason for Professpr Woldai’s optimism is that this industry can, Using freely available or own space-based data (optical, radar and without being trapped by the continent’s poor infrastructure, cost hyperspectral), they have managed to save time and costs to acquire effectively address some of its most pressing problems. Africa faces huge valuable baseline information and update their resource maps. challenges in environmental protection and management, water resources, Additionally, the increased affordability of personal computers, micro- food security, mining and forest management, marine protection, urban electronic equipment and ever-improving telecommunication services and regional planning, transportation and disaster risk reduction. give greater access to the internet in many parts of Africa. Africa’s agricultural sector unquestionably has vast potential for Efforts to build capacities for managing EO/RS and geo-information growth, if taken into account that the continent harbors 60 percent of in Africa span more than three decades. Traditionally, much of the the world’s available arable land but generates only 10 percent of global capacity building had been at regional centers (such as AFRIGIST agricultural output. At present, Africa’s agriculture provides a livelihood formerly RECTAS in Nigeria, the defunct Regional Remote Sensing to 70 percent of the African population. A well-managed agricultural Center in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and RCMRD in Kenya) or sector would clearly be of great benefit to this continent. abroad, by way of training few professionals, mainly from the surveyor- Being an academic, Woldai believes that harnessing the power of general departments or universities and equipping these organizations the academic institutions to reduce poverty is not an ideological in map-making and related activities. aspiration but an empirically, demonstrable fact. In his opinion, Today, African Universities contribute to societal capacity by universities have proven to be the only sustainable institutions in Africa. functioning as nodes in a global network of knowledge. The majority Time and again, they have withstood the upheavals that have occurred of them provide dedicated geomatic, remote sensing and across the continent and are of national pride to every country within geoinformation science education and training. While 11 percent of the which they are located. Applied research is also one of their core universities and colleges are known to offer three to seven day GIS businesses — at least in Africa. courses to undergraduates; around 23 percent have degrees and He is , therefore, optimistic about the future of the growth and research programs leading to BSc, MSc, and PhDs. application of EO and Geo-Information Sciences across the continent, The creation of new companies over the last few years and their provided there is solid co-operation between the public sector development clearly shows that the African private sector companies (government ministries and departments); academic institutions are steadily growing in 28 of the 54 countries of Africa. Encouraged by (universities/colleges/national or regional Centers); space agencies; and the moderate success booked in the 2016 African Private Sector Survey private sector companies. His success recipe for this sector are based questionnaires, another such survey was conducted in 2019. The on the following: number of people employed by 2019 increased by 66 percent (from 2719 in 2016 to 4109). In terms of revenues, all responding companies performed in a range from $500,000 to $5 million/year. Some

SatMagazine Page 39 November 2020 companies from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa have infrastructure, satellite communication, navigation and positioning, taken the opportunity to open subsidiary companies in other East and and space sciences. Internet connectivity is another barrier to West African countries. development that should be tackled. Numerous networks which facilitate the exchange of information and promotion of excellence in the field have also come into being Professor Woldai’s full article can be read at this direct link... all over Africa. Some with a Pan-African character include the African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE); Professor Tsehaie Woldai, Ph.D., is currently a Visiting AfriGEOSS (part of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems Professor of Geological Remote Sensing at the School of - GEOSS); the Environmental Information Systems Africa (EIS- Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, AFRICA); and the University Network for Disaster Risk Reduction in Johannesburg, South Africa. Africa (UNEDRA). He has worked for many years at the Faculty of Geo- The African continent, with more than a billion people, has been one Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), of the rapidly growing economies in the world during the last eight University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands. Woldai years. It is no wonder, therefore, that the continent is awakening to look expertise is in structural geology, environmental geology, remote into space-based EO and Geo-Information Sciences technologies and sensing (optical, radar and hyperspectral) and mineral exploration. He investment to proliferate, harness and use the beneﬁts that this has taught in over 40 universities in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and technology offers. South America. The sudden increase in the deployment of satellites by the African Woldai is the Founder, President and Past President of the African States might appear irrational to some, especially as the continent has Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE), a fellow numerous pressing issues affecting the livelihood of its population. of the African Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the African These problems, however, can be tackled using space-based EO and Geological Society, coordinator of the University Network for Disaster Geospatial techniques, to a certain extent. Risk Reduction in Africa (UNEDRA), and a winner of over 20 Professor Woldai concluded that if Africa is to ‘leapfrog’ its prestigious awards. obstacles effectively, the continent needs to invest in science and For many years, he was involved in many of the ISPRS maths education at schools and develop an indigenous critical mass Commissions and Working Group (as Chairman/Vice of trained space scientists, engineers and programmers at Chairman/Secretary); and a track record in his engagement in more universities. The continent must build its capabilities in ICT than 40 national/international Advisory Programs and more than 20 international research investigation as the Principle or Co-Investigator.

Image is courtesy of EIS-Africa.

SatMagazine Page 40 November 2020 SatNews CONNECTIONS ON EARTH FOR CONNECTIONS IN SPACE

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SatMagazine | MilsatMagazine | SatNews.com Connectivity in Africa

By Jean-Claude Tshipama, Business Development Director, Konnect Africa

In Sub-Saharan Africa nearly 800 million people have no broadband networks will require alternative technologies, such as satellite and Wi- internet access, according to GSMA (Global System for Mobile Fi-based technical solutions, the report notes. Communications). While the terrestrial operators are focusing on As satellite technology provides widespread coverage, it does not deploying ﬁber in developed urban centers, peripheral and rural require costly infrastructure investments to provide broadband internet areas are left behind with poor quality 3G coverage... or nothing access in rural areas and is not subject to the risk of vandalism. at all. Therefore, satellite is the most cost-effective solution in the countryside and in peripheral urban areas. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the digital At Konnect Africa, we are providing super-fast connectivity via landscape. The lockdown measures and social distancing practices put satellite broadband, for consumers and small businesses, throughout into place have brought to light the importance of internet connectivity the countries where we are operating. In Africa, we propose metered for social and economic wellbeing. In particular, the pandemic has or Unlimited services, depending on a customers’ needs, at affordable highlighted the need for universal access to fast, reliable internet for prices that start at $15 for a monthly plan. individuals and businesses. From November 2020, we will rely on our KONNECT satellite to Achieving universal, affordable and good quality terrestrial internet propose even better performances of up to 50 Mbps. Our KONNECT access throughout Africa by 2030 will require an investment of $100 satellite, the result of Eutelsat’s 40 years of experience in satellite billion, according to the World Bank’s Broadband for All Working connectivity, will cover 39 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and provide Group report. However, as terrestrial operators’ investments are broadband connectivity to hundreds of thousands of households and primarily focused on improving broadband quality for the wealthiest businesses in Africa, offering them a world of digital opportunities which customers living in urban city centers and extending basic services to they need and deserve. uncovered white zones, this spending will not improve access to Internet access is now deﬁned as a basic right by the United Nation, broadband for the latter. such as electricity and clean drinking water. In the last Sustainable In countries where willingness to pay for connectivity is low Development Goals Report 2020, the UN highlighted that low internet compared to western countries, terrestrial operators’ infrastructure penetration in Africa may hinder the continent’s development. developments are only cost-effective in very dense areas. Connecting those in remote areas who live out of reach of traditional cellular mobile

SatMagazine Page 42 November 2020 Connected school projects in sub-Saharan Arica (in Kenya, Tanzania, With pandemic lockdown enforcement, large parts of the population Congo) prove that broadband internet access improves teaching quality have been left without jobs or a means of subsistence. While in Europe and decreases education inequality. For example, in rural schools which government assistance is sheltering the most vulnerable groups from have no library facilities, broadband internet gives teachers access to the impacts, few African countries have social safety nets to catch the national program and quality educational content. It also reinforces people if they lose their jobs. Universal internet access can help to teachers’ confidence by giving them access to global internet implement such financial allocation systems. knowledge. In addition, digital platforms have increased school Broadband internet can increase financial inclusion giving people enrollment and giving parents visibility on children’s grades and access to mobile payment. Connecting remote local administrations attendance has decreased absenteeism. will also increase census penetration and help governments to tailor Those living in sub-Saharan Africa are the most disadvantaged: only services to the population and introduce effective social safety nets. 24 percent of upper secondary schools have access to the Internet. The Konnect supports the development of universal broadband access with pandemic has widened inequality even further: school closures solutions dedicated to rural populations in the Democratic Republic of prevented 90% of students worldwide from attending classes (that is Congo. We developed a hotspot solution dedicated to remote villages 1.57 billion children) and a lack of Internet access at home put many enabling low income populations to gain access to internet, with data already marginalized students at a further disadvantage. Among other plans starting at $0.25. initiatives, Konnect supports development of Congolese schools The hotspot solution is based on a local business model which through a wide-ranging partnership with Schoolap and Flash Services. ensures a financial return for the local reseller. The villages which benefit Our primary objective is to grant access to broadband internet from the solution didn’t have any internet solutions available and have connectivity and to the Schoolap digital education platform for 3,600 leveraged on Konnect to develop the local economy. schools in the next few months. We are planning to extend the project Bringing superfast broadband is possible from today, anywhere in to the ten thousand schools in DRC, helping to deliver on government Africa, even where cables don’t reach, thanks to satellite broadband. moves toward universal digital inclusion. In addition, broadband access This will greatly promote the development of Sub-Saharan Africa. Our in hospitals and administrations responsible for curbing the pandemic mission at Konnect is to make sure that our solutions are known and allows for better coordination. adapted to African needs, thus contributing to the continent’s growth and digitalization.

www.konnect.com

Jean-Claude Tshipama is the Business Development Director at Konnect Africa and has more than 16 years of experience in telecommunications, IT and the payTV industries. He has worked extensively in business development, marketing, sales, and distribution programs n across Africa, Europe, North America as well as the Pacific region. Prior to joining the Konnect Africa, Jean-Claude acted as Chief Executive Officer of Zympala Inc. Canada and as a Non- Executive Board Director of Equity Bank in Kenya. He has Konnect supported those in charge of ﬁghting COVID-19 in Congo previously held the position of Managing Director at Canal+ RDC (Kinshasa), Nigeria and South Africa, and provides free internet (Canal+ subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo) and has broadband service to remote pandemic isolation centers, clinics and also worked as the Commercial Manager at Celtel in Africa, Head coordination ofﬁces. These structures, located outside of terrestrial of Sales and Distribution for 19 countries in Africa at Microsoft coverage, have been able to exchange best practices and share Corporation and Head of Sales and Distribution at Digicel in the medical records. In addition, the coordination centers can now carry Caribbean and Pacific regions. out information campaigns and circulate medical awareness messages in real time.

SatMagazine Page 43 November 2020 SWIR Imaging in Space By Mark Donaghy, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Raptor Photonics

Short-wave infrared (SWIR) is an interesting subsection of the creating a “spectral fingerprint” for each gas. LEO satellites can find these electromagnetic spectrum and is generally defined at 900nm- fingerprints and determine how much of each gas is present in the field of 1700nm, but some do stretch it up to 2500nm. Unlike MWIR view. Combined with Earth based ground stations, LEO cubesats can now (mid-wave infrared) and LWIR (long-wave infrared) light, which is control and direct lasers using SWIR camera technology to enable more emitted from the object itself, SWIR is similar to visible light in that efficient 5G data communications in remote parts of the world. photons are reflected or absorbed by an object, providing the What are the main points to bear in mind when selecting a SWIR camera strong contrast needed for higher resolution imaging. destined for space?

Ambient starlight and background radiance (night glow) are natural Space Qualification —- The most common question Raptor gets emitters of SWIR and provide excellent illumination for low-light or night- asked is if our cameras are space qualified. Some of our cameras time imaging including imaging though fog, haze, cloud and water vapors. have been on payloads of several LEO missions that have survived Several applications that are difﬁcult or impossible to perform using launch conditions and operate well in LEO conditions, where they visible light are made possible, with superior results, using SWIR are not as affected by cosmic rays and other radiation conditions. imaging, thus enabling the user to ‘See Beyond the Visible.’ The cut off So it is fair to say that our cameras have “space heritage.” for silicon based sensors is generally 1100nm. Standard CCD and Unfortunately, due to NDAs and commercial IP, we cannot say CMOS provide no solution. It is generally when sensors are made with definitively which missions our cameras have been on, but they substrates, such as InGaAs, when it starts getting interesting. have been validated and the company hopes to be on several SWIR Cameras have been around for the past few decades. Using more missions during the coming years. InGaAs sensors, these cameras offer wavelength coverage from 900- Size envelope — Cubesats are built to standard dimensions (Units 1700nm. InGaAs sensors that have been thinned offer a visible or “U”) of 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm. They can be 1U, 2U, 3U, or 6U extension from 600-1700nm. There are lots of options from single point in size, and typically weigh less than 1.33 kg (3 lbs) per U. Most sensors to linear arrays through to 2D focal plane arrays. projects have a very small footprint when it comes to the optical Cubesats are a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites or payload requirement. Not only is volume an issue, but weight and smallsats. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) cubesats orbit the Earth non-stop, every power requirements also are very important. Our COTS cameras day, taking measurements all over the world. Shipping companies can now are compact and we can also supply cameras with no metal track their assets around the world and energy companies can now explore casing, stacked or at board level. The boards are connected with for oil and gas remotely using hyperspectral imaging with SWIR cameras. flexi-ridged connectors which means that they can be folded into SWIR cameras can also measure pollution levels, greenhouse gases and tight spaces. aerosols in the atmosphere. Gases absorb light at speciﬁc wavelengths,

SatMagazine Page 44 November 2020 Ruggedness — qualitatively superior to other Cameras need to offerings in the market. be able to Raptor's original and primary survive the shock market for the SWIR based and vibration cameras has been surveillance, conditions that the ability to recognize happen during elements in very low levels of launch. They also light. Our cameras have been need to be able used for border surveillance, Raptor’s Owl 640 N ultra low noise, digital VIS-SWIR camera, Raptor HD-SDI – Owl 1280 Vis-SWIR Camera 15μmx15μm pixel pitch, 18 electrons. to withstand aircraft gimbals, UAVs, turrets with a HD-SDI connector. exposure to on vehicles, etc. radiation. Raptor has almost two decades experience of working For surveillance markets, the cameras need to be compact, rugged, in airborne applications in gimbals and turrets so our cameras are lightweight, low power and reliable ande must be able to work in designed to work in very harsh conditions including temperature extremely harsh conditions. Typically, these camera cores will fit into (from -40°C to +75°C) and humidity. They will also work very gimbals on the nose cones of aircraft where they will be exposed to effectively in low earth orbit condition in terms of cosmic radiation very low temperatures and issues with condensation — or, they may be events. found in turrets of vehicles in hot, humid or dusty environments. Connectors — The camera must efficiently communicate with an One of Raptor’s strengths is the ability to design cameras to MilSpec on-board processor and that means connectors need to be rugged standards that ensure that our cameras work 24/7 in mission critical and fit for purpose. Raptor can offer proprietary connectors that can applications. This is often difficult to do as it requires some level of communicate directly with the on-board processor. compromise in terms of materials used, processes developed, camera Sensor and firmware – There are many options when considering features and technical performance. This is also heavily reliant on price. the right sensor. Resolution, pixel size and wavelength. Firmware By working closely with our customers, we can determine the best will determine frame-rate, integration time and read-out noise. solution to fit their needs. Raptor offers a full range of InGaAs FPAs, all offering different In recent years the company has had a number of approaches from advantages. And there are lots of options regarding firmware aerospace companies looking to put cameras into space. In fact, requirements. It is important to understand which parameters are several years ago, Raptor collaborated with JAXA to put cameras into the most import as there are often trade-offs. the International Space Station for an on board experiment. After Optics – Most missions fly at altitudes of 350-700km. Earth some essential modifications, the cameras worked perfectly, even in Observation (EO) payloads will generally have a camera and a small deep space. reflecting telescope or a high-powered lens. Projects aim to Since then, Raptor has supplied cameras, both off the shelf and acquire high-resolution still images and videos with precision of custom, to various aerospace projects to install SWIR and visible down to 5m GSD (ground sample distance) at, e.g., 400km altitude cameras into LEO satellites. using COTS parts. If using a SWIR camera, the optical part needs This is an exciting time for EOn and 5G communications. Raptor is to be SWIR optimized. While Raptor doesn’t manufacture starting to grow brand recognition in this space and, as the scientific telescopes or lenses, the company does test and validate them market evolves into the use of longer wavelengths, the company is well with Raptor cameras. positioned to take further advantage of this need. Spectral Filtering – The correct cut-off filters must be employed to narrow down the optimum spectral band. Raptor possesses a www.raptorphotonics.com great deal of knowledge regarding the best filters to use. Author Mark Donaghy is the Vice President of Sales Raptor has become one of the global leading suppliers of high quality and Marketing at Raptor Photonics. He can be InGaAs based cameras. The firm’s reputation for quality and contacted at this direct email link or performance has been built over the years with many leading OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and instrumentation companies working closely with us to develop custom camera solutions that match their exact needs. Raptor low noise electronics design ensures that the images on the company’s cameras are both quantitatively and

SatMagazine Page 45 November 2020 Innovation: 3D Printed Smallsat Deployer By Matteo Levoni Bemposti, Engineer, Head of Reverse Engineering, CRP Technology

As tiny and reliable emerging satellites, PocketQubes are “an industry leaders using their patented Windform® TOP-LINE composite exemplar of New Space research and innovation.” materials. In fact ,most of Windform® TOP-LINE composite materials are suitable for space applications and have passed outgassing tests at The original idea came from Professor Robert J. Twiggs from Morehead NASA and ESA. State University (MSU) who proposed the standard of “a satellite that As with any aerospace part, minimizing weight is a fundamental fits in your pocket.” Indeed, a PocketQube is a type of miniaturized design goal, plus it is essential that the material be approved for flight satellite for space research that usually has a size of 5 cm cubed (one due to the tight rules regarding degassing once a unit is in space. From eighth the volume of a cubesat), has a mass of no more than 250 grams the Alba Orbital point of view, it was clear from the start that using a and typically uses Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components for material already approved by the major launch providers would ease its electronics. the adoption of the new launcher by all interested parties. This type of satellite is quite young — started in 2009 — but their importance is increasing at warp speed as a solution to the rising costs Solution of cubesat launches to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Since their debut, interest The assignment was tough; however, thanks to the long-term for PocketQubes has increased within the space industry. experience gained in the field of Additive Manufacturing service, CRP The first PocketQube Standard was issued in June of 2018 and Technology accepted the challenge. The activity of CRP Technology’s provided a shared platform to the PocketQubes community; one of the 3D printing department has been focused from the beginning on contributors (along with GAUSS Srl, TU Delft) is Alba Orbital, a fast maximizing and achieving the targets required, providing full growing, high-tech, SME based in Glasgow, Scotland. collaboration to the Alba Orbital team. Alba Orbital provided a hub of support for the class of PocketQube The work began with an accurate analysis of the 3D and 2D files. satellites by building their own platforms as well as providing parts Through the know-how earned in more than 25 years of activity and launches to companies, universities and space agencies around serving the most demanding and high-performance industrial the world. sectors, CRP Technology was able to assist Alba Orbital in selecting the most appropriate technology and material to guarantee the Challenge success of the project: Recently, Alba Orbital needed to build an updated version of their The Alba Orbital team said, “As the product needed to withstand a PocketQube satellite deployer, AlbaPod 2.0. The aims of the project launch to space while containing several satellites, the pod needed to were to improve on previous designs in terms of weight, withstand high vibrations and, in the worst scenario, contain any satellite manufacturability, access and the incorporation of a number of safety that breaks free internally. Windform® XT 2.0’s toughness and strength features. make it a perfect candidate for this use case.” Alba Orbital turned to CRP Technology for the manufacturing of the In the composite materials for Additive Manufacturing scenario, deployer, as the Italian-based, 3D printing company already had Windform® XT 2.0 replaces the previous formula of Windform® XT. considerable experience supplying cutting-edge solutions for key Windform® XT 2.0 features improvements in mechanical properties including an +8 percent increase in tensile strength, +22 percent in tensile modulus and a +46 percent increase in elongation at break.

Result Once the final .STP file from Alba Orbital was received by CRP Technology, they created — in a short period of time — AlbaPod v2, an extremely, light weight, flight proven, 6P (as many as 6 satellites) 3D printed deployer for PocketQube compatible satellites with a mass of <500g (60 percent less than AlbaPod v1).

Photo of a 3D printed AlbaPod 2.0 on a vibration table going through preflight certification. Image is courtesy of of Alba Orbital. AlbaPod 2.0.

SatMagazine Page 46 November 2020 Photo of 3D printed AlbaPods 2.0 in CRP Technology’s Windform® XT 2.0. Image is courtesy of Alba Orbital. Professional 3D printing, combined with Windform® XT 2.0 Carbon- composite material, proved to be the best choice, as the 3D printed deployer has successfully passed all control criteria and has fully This image shows the building of a cubesat with Additive Manufacturing with teh complied with the requests and standards of Alba Orbital. WINDFORM XT 2.0. Photo is courtesy of CRT Technology. The Alba Orbital team added, “Windform® XT 2.0 is a non- Many additional tests were completed on the 3D printed AlbaPod v2. outgassing, lightweight fiber reinforced polyamide plastic very similar On September 9, 2019, the first integration occurred. In December of to Nylon. The material combined with the manufacturing technique 2019, Alba Orbital launched 6 PocketQube satellites into orbit via the allowed us the option to design parts that can not be manufactured 3D printed AlbaPod v2 (Mission: Alba Cluster 2). As of this writing, Alba with traditional techniques, with thin sections and extremely complex Cluster 2 has been on-orbit for 100 days. A new launch with AlbaPod geometry’s, and these parts can be manufactured and delivered in a v2 (Alba Cluster 3) is scheduled for later in 2020. fraction of the time for a traditional supply chain.” According to a recent press release, Alba Orbital and Momentus, the The Alba Orbital team noted some of the technical details of the first, in-space, transportation company, will work together to deploy as advantages gained by using Additive Manufacturing and Windform® XT many as 10 Alba Orbital PocketQubes using the CRP Technology 2.0 material by noting, “The most innovative aspect of the project – Alba manufactured AlbaPod. Alba Orbital and Momentus announced a Orbital comments - was the sheer number of components we switched contract for three Alba AlbaPods to ride on the plaza deck of the SpaceX over to Windform® XT 2.0, not only was the shell redesigned in the Falcon 9 vehicle from Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. material, but also the moving ejection mechanism and door assembly. The PocketQube satellites will be integrated into the AlbaPod Additionally some parts are critically structural to the assembly as a whole.” deployers and mounted within the Momentus Vigoride onto the ESPA Regarding the mechanical performance of this part, the Alba Orbital Grande ring interface that is provided by SpaceX on their dedicated team stated, “This is critical. Not only does the full assembly need to rideshare missions. Momentus is enabling Alba Orbital to engage in a function correctly to facilitate the deployment of the satellites inside, regular launch cadence in the future with full mission flexibility to ensure but the assembly must also contain the satellites in the event of drop off orbital altitudes where required by customers. catastrophic failure of a payload during the launch, as anything breaking The experience in the manufacturing of AlbaPod v2 was presented free could fatally damage other payloads or the launch vehicle itself”. at the 4th Annual PocketQube Workshop 2020 that occurred (virtually) This aspect of the completed pod was tested thoroughly with free in the Glasgow University Union on the 8th and 9th of October, 2020. masses on vibration tables with extremely high loading and the pod This was an excellent opportunity for attendees to explore PocketQube shell held up extremely well. technology, as the two day workshop brought together world leading Additionally, weight is always a major cost concern for anything innovators from within the PocketQube community and covered all of heading into space — using Windform® XT 2.0, the company was able the significant areas for PocketQube developers. to reduce the mass of a number of major components. The Alba Orbital team added, “3D printing allows us to rapidly improve design and www.crptechnology.com customize/create bespoke launchers in the future for demanding payloads which may fall outside the PocketQube standards or require www.albaorbital.com special considerations. It will also allow the fast integration of new release mechanisms allowing us to switch manufacturers comparatively Author Matteo Levoni Bemposti, Engineer, is the quickly and easily if problems with supply chain arise.” Head of Reverse Engineering for CRP Technology.

SatMagazine Page 47 November 2020 Why Investment is Critical for Satellite Innovation By Joakim Espeland, Chief Executive Officer, QuadSAT The SATCOM industry is full of exciting innovation happening right Other innovation happens because people see a better or more now — that innovation will be key in helping satellite navigate to efficient way of doing something. The more processes within this the next phase of its development, acting as an enabler for next industry, especially the more mundane ones, that we can streamline, generation technology. the more efficient we can become. In the case of QuadSAT, we are streamlining the process of antenna While it is true that no other network can match the global reach and testing so that anyone can simply buy our drone-based product and capacity that satellite achieves, it is only by constant innovation that we test their antennas in situ. This will achieve two main things for the can truly maximize its potential in what is becoming an ever more industry: first, it will make the process of testing much quicker, simpler, demanding landscape. Thankfully that innovation is occurring — now and more cost-effective and, second, it will free up the precious time the industry needs to ensure that great ideas come fully to fruition. of research institutes and Universities that are currently carrying out much of this testing. This will have the knock-on effect of allowing them The Role of the Innovators time to work on ground-breaking research to further innovation within Innovation has been driving the satellite industry for many years, the SATCOM industry. helping it to constantly adapt to new customer bases and evolving All of these innovative ideas can ultimately improve the efficiency of requirements. Sometimes this innovation comes from the industry satellite communications, as well as making the industry more able to presenting a problem and a company finding a way to solve that. compete with other networks. In order to truly tap into the potential of next One good example of this is a small Norwegian company, Verisat — generation technologies and applications, we need to rethink the way we that firm was tasked with a way to identify VSAT interference. Having operate. This includes everything from the way in which link budget is developed a new way of identifying as well as geolocating the source, calculated, to how satellite services are monetized. At the same time, the the technology was quickly snapped up and became a part of Kratos. industry needs to consider how satellite can be an enabler of many of these There are numerous companies looking into other challenges faced services and it will be technical innovations that get us there. by the industry, such as the ever-growing problem of debris in space, with ideas being investigated ranging from preventing debris being caused to finding ways to remove it.

SatMagazine Page 48 November 2020 Supporting that Innovation 5G is rolling out across the globe, representing a plethora of Much of the innovation we see is coming from small and agile opportunities for satellite. There will always be a need for global companies that possess good ideas. They often have the flexibility to connectivity and satellite remains the only way of ensuring truly take an idea, test it out and then turn that idea into a marketable reality. global coverage. However, the pathway for these small companies, many formed from a At the same time, its undeniable capacity for large bandwidth means collaboration at a university, isn’t easy. After initially identifying a it is the perfect companion for many next generation technologies, such problem that they can solve, or a process they can improve, most will as 5G applications and Internet of Things. have to invest many hours proving that the initial concept is viable. The satellite industry has a long history of delivering much-needed Eventually the hard work and dedication yields a working prototype connectivity anywhere in the world. Over the years, the industry has that can be shown to the industry. However, without investment for these learned how to adapt and respond to new customers and differing start-ups, many will struggle to get any further than the initial idea itself. customer requirements, but never more so than today. At QuadSAT, the company’s initial round of investment helped us to take Consumer demand and expectations coupled with the acceleration our initial idea, fully test it against industry requirements and get to a of next generation technologies means that satellite has a great stage where we have a solution that we now know can measure antenna opportunity, as long as it can become more cost-effective and performance with an accuracy that is in line with industry guidelines. accessible in order to maximize its capabilities . Of course, when we talk about investment, we need to remember that Satellite has the opportunity to shine; however, innovation is required often it is not just about capital, though that is always very important. to get to that point. Innovative new ideas and inventions will be Investors can also bring expertise attained in this industry and a ready- absolutely critical to enabling satellite to increase efficiency, decrease made address book, all crucial for helping to get those small companies costs and work in collaboration with other forms of connectivity. in front of the correct people. Satellite has already adapted to new market needs and much of I would advise any such company looking for investment to consider this has been achieved thanks to new innovations emerging within that carefully when approaching potential investors. We have been lucky SATCOM. As we move forward, further innovation will be fundamental enough to count Seraphim Capital as one of our investors, both in our to that evolution as well as the investments needed to bring those good initial round of funding at the beginning of 2019 and in our latest round ideas to market. this year. Our latest round of investment means we can launch our solution as a product that anyone can purchase and use to test their antennas. www.quadsat.com Tapping into Seraphim’s network of industry contacts will be fundamental as we bring our product to market for upcoming trade events. Author Joakim Espeland is the Chief Executive We believe that our solution will ultimately save the industry vast Officer at QuadSAT. amounts of money on those testing processes. Many other innovations will have the same impact, so the more the industry invests in small QuadSAT is a Denmark-based company that teams that possess the most viable competencies and a solid, product supplies airborne antenna testing solutions. market fit, the more that firm will ultimately save itself in the long run. QuadSAT’s system combines advanced drone technology with a custom RF pointing payload. As The Future of Satellite Communications a compact system, it is transported directly to the The satellite communications industry is changing... next generation antenna and flies in a pattern to simulate a satellite, resulting in a technologies are emerging. The amounts of data available to us is cost-effective, operationally flexible, and timesaving solution of massive and keeps growing exponentially. The better we get at testing antennas. incorporating it into our daily lives, the faster we improve living standards everywhere by producing a positive loop effect for all. Opening image is courtesy of Chronis Yan, Unsplash.

SatMagazine Page 49 November 2020 Satellite Antenna Diversity

Ever increasing demand for more bandwidth in the terrestrial When one hub experiences rain or very high humidity and detects the wireline and wireless domain on a global scale and the requirement degradation on the link, the pre-set algorithm triggers a switchover to for ubiquitous broadband network access pose significant the other hub where the ski is still clear. challenges as well as chances for satellite network operators. Challenges While spectrum is being re-farmed to enable more wireless broadband The distance between main and diverse sites is typically larger than 30 access satellite operators will increase utilization of higher band km which demands: spectrum and introduce new modulation schemes to be able to increase bandwidth for future broadband services. As such satellite • Signal integrity that is provided by a high optical budget RFoF networks are in position to play a key role in next generation global distribution system converged communications networks. • Precise time synchronization with tailor made delay line The immanent advantage of satellite networks compared to all other configuration networks is that they can address any geographic location at any time • Flexibility to boost the signal depending on given network and from any desired location with scalable, stationary and even conditions with EDFAs mobile services. Emerging mainly from broadcasting-only satellite • Switching and routing on coax domain by different size and networks have emerged to versatile and scalable media and functional redundancy and matrix switches broadband services networks. • Scalability for future extensions with module based systems – However, higher bands, such as Ka-band, come with challenges pay as you grow when it comes to efficient and reliable transmission. Key for all • Easy management both locally and remotely with sophisticated operators is flawless operation 24/7 to ensure highly reliable services. interfaces As one of the pioneers in satellite ground communication DEV • Modular building blocks for matching configurations, optional Systemtechnik supports matching solutions. individual customization since each site is different.

Rain Fade at Ka-Band Link Redundancy Options and Required Fiber Numbers Ka-band in satellite communications plays an increasing important role The entire set up of all critical elements of the signal chain should be today. However, at higher frequencies, electromagnetic wave redundant. And the redundancy in such critical systems can be tailored absorption increases. At Ka-band frequencies this can lead to service in various ways including... interruptions and performance degradations during rain fades. With high atmospheric losses, conventional fade margin approaches such as adaptive-waveform techniques or adaptive-power control techniques are not sufﬁcient for compensation. For reliable and highly available operations, only site diversity conﬁgurations on the ground provide an adequate, fail safe solutions.

Site Diversity In order to mitigate the impacts of adverse weather conditions, two antenna sites for bi-directional signal transmission are linked with one main and one back up/diverse antenna conﬁguration. Distance between main and back up antenna would be miles away ensuring they will have different weather conditions. 1+1 redundancy configuration This solution not only provides antenna redundancy against rain fade but also provides protection against any risks in the long haul signal chains such as fiber damage or in the unlikely event that a system component in the signal chain has a failure. It also allows flexible and safe exchange of components during life transmission without any signal interruption. This is a common

SatMagazine Page 50 November 2020 configuration in mission critical applications. With this configuration if the there is a maintenance on the fiber that is coming from diverse site to main site and at the same time the rain fade happens at the main antenna site (means two failure is happening at the same time), it will still switch to the diverted back-up antenna by using the back-up fiber routing from diverse to main site.

n+1 redundancy configuration Coax Sub Systems: Switching and Distribution

• DEV 1951/1953 Universal Switching Platform for maximum system availability and reliability. Up to 16 Redundancy Switches can be populated within DEV 1953 and each switch can have its own conﬁguration and switching mode depending on the signal type.

• ARCHIMEDES L Band Matrix handles both redundancy and switching actions with a variety of modules and functions. ARCHIMEDES series comes with Fan Out (Distributing) and Fan In (Combining) options which both of them can be conﬁgured

At its most simple definition, N+1 basically means that there is with the desired size and options. one backup link in place for all single system component fail of • Also DEV’s RF Splitters, Distribution Amplifiers or Combiners are a critical system. The ‘N’ in this equation stands for the number used to distribute and amplify RF signals, to compensate for of links required to run the signal transmission system. The ‘+1’ signal loss, and to provide redundancy functions to ensure means there is one independent backup link in case of fail of any maximum uptime. main links. If in normal operation the RF level of one of the n main channels on the receiver side drops below the defined RF DEV‘s Proposal threshold, it commands the transmitter side to switch this DEV Systemtechnik offers a durable, flexible and scalable antenna channel to the redundancy channel. diversity systems for both fiber and coax domains. The system is a field proven end-to-end solution, with high RF performance, long distance Key Ground Station Components of Diversity Systems reach out and easy management. All products are designed and RFoF Sub Systems manufactured in Germany and are offered with 7 years warranty as standard. This can be further extended. On-site and remote • The versatile Indoor DEV 7113 space saving chassis is able to supervision/support is offered to give the customer the best guidance house up to 16 optical DWDM transmitter modules (DEV 7251), from the planning to installation and maintenance stages. or up to 20 optical receive modules (DEV 7333) • DEV 7152 Outdoor Chassis has been developed for maximum DEV Systemtechnik, part of the AXING Group, develops and reliability under harsh environmental conditions manufactures a complete range of products and systems for the optical and electrical transmission of Radio Frequency (RF) signals • EDFA optical amplifier modules are available either for the DEV via coaxial cable or fiber. For more than 20 years, DEV has 7113 chassis or with 1RU standalone unit. designed, engineered, and manufactured RF transmission equipment for satellite, broadcast, and cable applications. All • To ensure synchronization in time, a Delay Line is used for the products are built to meet the highest standards of system local route (DEV 7859). availability, reliability and manageability. • To control the remote antenna site equipment, DEV implemented an Ethernet Link over fiber or coax. For further information, contact Ünal Isler, Area Sales Manager: [email protected]

SatMagazine Page 51 November 2020 Remote Connectivity—Striking the Correct Business Case By Semir Hassanaly, Head of Celluar Backhaul and Trunking, ST Engineering iDirect

Today, more than ever, people need connectivity and its mobile Though many of us take for granted the ease at which we can connect access that dominates this requirement. The smart device has to mobile networks, this is not the experience for millions of people permeated our lives and has given rise to an insatiable demand for who are located outside of centers of population. As new services data. It doesn’t matter where we live on the planet, this need is and applications whet the consumer appetite, Mobile Network increasing on every continent, in every country, in every city, town Operators (MNOs) are under pressure to reach more subscribers in and village. more remote areas.

SatMagazine Page 52 November 2020 Operators need to expand their offering — that’s a fact. However, they mains electricity. Instead, they use solar or wind power and batteries in also need to do this in a sustainable way. If this isn’t achieved, the a sustainable and cost-effective way. This creates a much more ambition to reach communities that are under or unserved, will be affordable solution that is viable for developing countries. Deployment lost. That said, it’s a difficult balance to hit. The business case must is significantly cheaper than a full-size base station with lower operating make sense. How can rural cellular backhaul projects be supported costs and less requirement for site visits by engineers for maintenance and made successful? or to refill generators. Coupled with satellite capacity prices for 1GB per user per month of around US$300 per Mbps per month, these are Telecom Infrastructure Project the conditions for a valid rural connectivity business case. Back in 2016, Facebook, along with partners Deutsche Telekom, Intel, Nokia, and SK Telecom, launched the Telecom Infrastructure Project, Driving Down TCO known as TIP, to help accelerate the development and deployment of To enable a competitive TCO, all aspects related to OPEX, CAPEX, open, disaggregated, standards-based solutions with the goal of performance and even customer experience must be taken into delivering high quality connectivity on a global scale. consideration. A set of features should be built into the solution that TIP has highlighted the importance of sound business cases, will provide very high spectral efficiency, multiplexing and optimization investments, complete and specific policies to fuel rural cellular in order to reduce OPEX, enable data acceleration to enhance user backhaul deployments. These are key areas that define the Total Cost experience and also to adhere to strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs) of Ownership (TCO), as they address the important aspects of OPEX, that MNOs will impose. CAPEX and business models. In terms of business models, there are The terminals are integral to TCO for deployment of rural mobile several common and important aspects that TIP has picked up on. services. If the terminal is too expensive, it will render the service out Firstly, the ARPU (which is typically between 3 and $6); secondly, the of financial reach. If it cannot accommodate the right throughput, the data usage (around 1GB per user per month) and thirdly, the size of the service will not operate efficiently. In addition, the terminals must have communities which are targeted. the capability to accommodate the multiple network configurations that may be deployed. Small Cells, Big Benefits At ST Engineering iDirect, we have been involved with TIP for some It is these aspects that are feeding the business case. What is now time and see if as a major initiative to drive awareness of new solutions established is that small cells are the best way to address these and business cases for MNOs to expand their reach. communities, as small cell technology can now provide a positive Return As a leader in ground infrastructure and solutions for the cellular on Investment (ROI) even for population clusters of below 1,000 people. backhaul and trunking markets, we are well positioned to enable MNOs Small cells allow the deployment of a low-power mobile base station to take advantage of business models that make sense. Advances in that can deliver mobile services to smaller populations especially in ground segment satellite technology and lower-cost access networks remote areas. This means that they can operate without generators or will support future growth for ultra-rural networks that demand scalable, flexible and high performing platforms as well as advanced technologies that provide very high efficiency. It’s critical that we collaborate with leading, like-minded players to develop solutions for MNOs to extend their reach and solve the growing connectivity issues. Connecting the unconnected users in remote, rural areas will provide those markets with the same opportunities that are available in more developed regions — empowering communities, enabling innovation and creating connectivity for all.

Author Semir Hassanaly is the Head of Cellular Backhauld and Trunking for ST Engineering iDirect

SatMagazine Page 53 November 2020 Executive Spotlight: Marc Bell

Founder and Executive Chairman, PredaSAR

Marc Bell is the Chairman and Co-Founder Mr. Bell, you’ve certainly enjoyed a varied career that has of PredaSAR and Terran Orbital as well as traversed many sectors: finance, technology, and even the the Founder of Marc Bell Capital and the arts. Today, you’re largely focused on the “new space” Co-Founder of Armour Residential REIT. segment with PredaSAR and its corporate parent, Terran Mark is also a vivid Broadway producer, Orbital, and the PredaSAR sister company, Tyvak. However, with two Tony Award-winning Broadway your involvement in this industry is not new. What about this shows: Jersey Boys (Best Musical) and industry is so compelling to you? August Osage County (Best Play); his (most recent or) current Tony Award-nominated Broadway show is Beetlejuice (Best Musical). Marc Bell (MB) In addition to the NYU Board of Trustees, Marc is a member of the NYU Langone Health Board of Overseers, the NYU Stern I’ve been fascinated by space since I was a child. What kid doesn’t want Center for Real Estate Finance Research Advisory Board and the to be an astronaut? Once I got to high school — and my dream of going NYU College of Arts and Science Dean’s Advisory Council. Bell is to Mars was still very much alive — I got into computer programming. also chairman of the Boca Raton Police Foundation (Florida) and At that time, my dad had a client called the Graphic Scanning Corp. serves on the boards of SOS Children’s Villages Florida. He asked one day whether I’d like to meet the company’s CEO and tour the ofﬁces. This became the ﬁrst time I ever saw a data center and understood its power. I was very impressed. I decided that day that I would one day build data centers as a career.

SatMagazine Page 54 November 2020 That’s how Globix — the Global Internet Exchange — came into on society and also have high barriers to entry, an ambitious but existence in 1989. Since that time, I’ve gotten closer to, ﬁguratively, appealing challenge. going to space. The world’s largest satellite constellation is exactly that. For a long In 2013, I co-founded Terran Orbital, which is considered a pioneer time, large constellations were in the purview only of governments in “New Space.” Terran today is the corporate parent of two other because they cost billions to manufacture, launch and operate. But groundbreaking space companies that I also co-founded: Tyvak, one of great advancements in technology have made this sort of endeavor the largest manufacturer of smallsats in the world with more than 220 more cost effective. satellites launched into orbit; and PredaSAR, which continues to build Having Tyvak on our side, which has an impeccable track record of and will operate the largest and most advanced constellation of fabricating and launching satellites efﬁciently and effectively, makes it Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites. all the more attainable. We look forward to both companies What could be a better job than the one that helps people — collaborating for what will be not just a major feat for PredaSAR, but a important decision makers, to be exact — better understand what is victory for society as a whole. happening on Earth, faster and more precisely than ever before, and doing good things with that understanding and knowledge? Interest in Synthetic Aperture Radar technology seems to have increased in recent years, despite the fact that the What was the impetus behind founding PredaSAR? technology was first invented more than half a century ago. What do you attribute that to, and how is PredaSAR different from the other companies developing technologies and MB services around SAR? We knew the demand was there and this company was an idea I had been considering for quite a while. I wanted to dedicate my time and efforts to building something that, if you’re looking at a Venn diagram, would meet perfectly in the middle as having a potentially huge impact

SatMagazine Page 55 November 2020 MB First off, I will say that PredaSAR does not have any direct competitors, in the technical and absolute sense. I know how that sounds, and I’m aware that other people, when they say this, are not being truthful. But being that PredaSAR is the only U.S.- founded, U.S.-based and U.S.-controlled Big Data satellite company in existence puts us in a vaunted position, as a provider of choice that can work directly with the government on high-level national defense projects. PredaSAR also set out to focus single-mindedly on creating and providing a best-in-class product — offering the highest resolution with unparalleled revisit rates and data delivery speeds. What makes PredaSARexceptional is the ability to tailor our data, products, and services to the needs of our customers to deliver speciﬁc answers to their most challenging questions on the industry’s fastest timelines. The surge in interest in SAR technology is trending along with a surge in interest in space, more broadly, because its value proposition from a proﬁtability standpoint is becoming clearer each day. Virgin and SpaceX rose to prominence as major commercial players making great strides in space markets. Since their respective entries, the general public has paid attention to space in a fervent way that you could only compare to public sentiment in the late 1960s in the United States when the moon landing took place.

What has been the most challenging aspect of getting PredaSAR off the ground and achieving its stated goal of launching the world’s largest constellation of SAR spacecraft?

PredaSAR is a long-term project, so the biggest challenge is ensuring that all elements of the project, of which there are many, are progressing on schedule. Time is the only thing we’re all running out of, and it’s our most precious commodity.

SatMagazine Page 56 November 2020 PredaSAR Image Processing: Interferometric SAR, Video SAR, 3D SAR, Change Detection, Custom Intelligence

PredaSAR’s spacecraft combines software-defined payload systems and substantial It takes a significant amount of time to get satellites built and launched. onboard processing with industry-leading power capacity and antenna efficiency. It takes a significant amount of time to make satellites fully operational. And we are working to achieve something that’s never been done You describe PredaSAR as a “purpose-built” company. What before, at an unprecedented scale. However, I’m proud to say that does that mean, exactly? PredaSAR has been fortunate to have reached all milestones to date on time — and often even ahead of schedule. MB We have competition in the broader segment of New Space, many of which are years ahead of us, and that of course is a challenge. It It means that we’ve spoken with our primary end user — the U.S. creates urgency. But I believe we’ve successfully channeled that urgency government — continually since we began this journey to understand into a positive driving force in our operations all across the board, exactly what they want and need. Following these conversations, we between PredaSAR and Tyvak. build and tailor products that directly and comprehensively fulfill those needs. Being “purpose-built” is a privilege — not all companies have access to their end user on such intimate terms, especially when the end user is a cadre of retired U.S. Air Force general officers. Luckily, we have a number of former U.S. Air Force Generals on our leadership team and board of directors, including our Chief Executive Officer, retired Air Force Major General Roger Teague.

Where do you see PredaSAR in 10 years?

I see us playing a pivotal role in preventing and mitigating natural disasters, wars, oil spills, deforestation and a number of other recurring catastrophes that have plagued our society for so long.

www.predasar.com PredaSAR SAR dashboard user interface.

SatMagazine Page 57 November 2020 Scotland, as viewed from space.

Scottish Space Leadership

How the Scottish Space Leadership Council is working to maximize the UK space sector’s potential

By John Innes, Chairman of the Scottish Space Leadership Council and Vice President of Technology at Leonardo, and, Daniel Smith, Founder of AstroAgency and member of the Scottish Space Leadership Council

SatMagazine Page 58 November 2020 This may come as a surprise to some, but when it comes to space, One such fundamental challenge is the ongoing development of launch a place that’s better known for Outlander, whisky and bagpipes legislation that will govern all facets of spaceflight from the UK. A key quite nearly has it all — from designing, manufacturing, and enabler and catalyst for the UK space economy is the ability to launch launching satellites to retrieving, analyzing and interpreting data spacecraft from UK soil — currently the ‘missing link’ between payload from space, there are innovative companies throughout Scotland, manufacture and data analysis, requiring legislation that enables safe, from Edinburgh to Shetland, from Glasgow to Sutherland, and from environmentally conscious and commercially viable launches. At the Inverness to the Outer Hebrides, all of whom are collaborating to moment, secondary legislation being developed as part of the Space create a thriving commercial space sector. Industry Act 2018 is going through a critical period of consultation that will help to shape its effectiveness. This goal is supported by the Scottish and UK government — Scotland The SSLC strongly endorses the UK government’s ambition to draft has set its sights on a £4 billion space industry by the end of the decade, world-class space legislation and recently took the initiative to lead a and the UK as a whole is aiming to capture 10 percent of the global consultation of the space sector on how to achieve this ambition during space economy in the same timeframe. a series of workshops. More than 70 stakeholders from the UK launch Both Scotland and the wider United Kingdom are poised to meet sector met online over a four-week period of time, coordinated by the these ambitious goals. The city of Glasgow already manufactures more SSLC, enabling shared insight from academia, industry and government satellites than any other location in the world outside of California. departments, as well as health and safety professionals that were Satellite manufacturing companies in the city that include AAC Clyde combined with case studies and modelling. Space, Spire Global, Craft Prospect and Alba Orbital. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 restrictions, the online The historic capital city of Edinburgh has become known as the workshops explored topics including collaboration in the space sector, Space Data Capital of Europe, positioning itself as a leader in analyzing as well as insurance and liability issues and trajectory and range analysis. and interpreting data from space, with companies such as Global The workshops also provided an opportunity for industry Surface Intelligence (GSI), Ecometrica and Carbomap blazing a trail. representatives to offer expertise, case-studies and assistance to the This space data enables vital observation of the Earth; enables the governmental organizations facilitating space launches from the UK, as monitoring of a wide variety of scientific and commercial areas that well as to show how companies and organizations across the entirety ranges from climate change and environmental protection to predicting of Scotland could play a role in helping shape the future of the sector. agricultural crop yields, forestry and biomass management, geological These workshops and the five resulting work streams that have since prospecting, transportation, town planning and watching over shipping been established to feed into the ongoing secondary launch legislation lanes and fishing grounds. The huge range of areas impacted by space consultation highlight how collaboration between academia, legislators data alone offers a fertile area for new business development. and industry is vital to growing the burgeoning space sector. The All this innovation requires an innovative population — Scotland workshops also addressed an urgent concern for the UK space industry, boasts a talented space workforce with 19 percent of UK space sector who want to work with legislators to create regulations which enable a roles based in Scotland alongside world-class universities and an ideal safe, viable, technologically innovative and flexible space sector which location on the globe to offer unimpeded access to the commercially can thrive in a competitive global market. lucrative and environmentally important polar and Sun-Synchronous One group for who this new launch legislation is particularly relevant Orbits (SSO). However, until recently, the Scottish space sector lacked are spaceports — the literal launch pads for the UK’s upstream a unified voice to coordinate and address the sector-wide challenges. ambitions. Commercial spaceports are being developed across Recognizing the need for greater connection and collaboration Scotland, taking advantage of locations with uninhabited launch within the Scottish and wider UK space community, the Scottish Space corridors to polar and SSO. Leadership Council (SSLC) was formed in 2017 as a voluntary These spaceports may be developing at different launch sites, but organization to bring together the diverse range of companies, they share common challenges and opportunities. Recognizing their universities and public sector organizations operating within the shared interests, five Scottish launch sites — Prestwick Spaceport, Scottish Space Sector to present a coherent voice for Scotland and the Spaceport 1 in North Uist, Space Hub Sutherland, the Shetland Space UK. The organization was also to offer a collegiate platform to promote Centre and Machrihanish Airbase — have all agreed to form a market opportunities and provide a collaborative framework for space collaborative alliance. companies to address common challenges as a team.

SatMagazine Page 59 November 2020 This agreement, which was mediated by the SSLC and endorsed by the The UK space sector already has well-established green credentials, UK Space Agency and Scottish Government, will allow Scotland’s with a large number of Earth Observation (EO) companies spaceports to accelerate the development of the UK’s launch monitoring the Earth and generating new geospatial insights to infrastructure. Further developing launch sites across the UK, including improve our environment, as well as companies such as Skyrora in Spaceport Cornwall, are expected to join the working group and Edinburgh and Orbex in Forres developing sustainable propellants broaden membership to a wider level. for their launch vehicles. Collaborations such as the initiative agreed between Scotland’s The new workshops aim to bring together industry, academia, and spaceports are vital to create a thriving NewSpace sector, focusing on leading environmental groups to chart a more environmentally the opportunities and benefits to be found through small satellite sustainable future for the sector and to explore ways to address specific launch. The SSLC’s continuing mission is to enable and organize these environmental challenges together. collaborations on a UK level. The SSLC is also working to ensure that the space industry is socially, With more than 160 space companies flourishing in Scotland, and as well as environmentally, conscientious. The SSLC’s new Inclusions nearly a thousand space companies in the wider UK, this is an exciting and Diversity Committee will work to ensure that under-represented time for the local space sector, offering unprecedented opportunities and marginalized groups have a say in how the Scottish space sector for companies and academia alike. The SSLC is, therefore, taking the develops, enabling a levelling up across the country. opportunity to support the Scottish space industry as well as help to The SSLC also works to help encourage new and existing businesses drive the industry to an even greater level of success. who want to enter the space sector to embrace the opportunities, not to To balance the needs of a thriving space sector with the need to mention to increase the opportunities for a Scottish supply chain for the protect our planet, the next set of initiatives the SSLC is planning are space industry. a series of environmental workshops in collaboration with the UK Space Agency.

SatMagazine Page 60 November 2020 The space industry requires supply chains of companies that can scotlandin.space provide products and services to sustain and grow the space sector in Scotland and further afield, be it 3D printing, machining, electronics Author John Innes is the Chairman of the or facilities management — after all, space is far more than rockets Scottish Space Leadership Council and Vice and satellites. President of Technology at Leonardo. The SSLC realizes the strategic advantages of reaching out beyond the space sector to similar industries, as the space sector has major Daniel Smith is the Founder of synergies with other high tech sectors, such as Smart Cities initiatives, AstroAgency and a member of the Internet of Things (IoT), electric transport, renewable energy and the Scottish Space Leadership remote healthcare — all of which can help continue to position Scotland Council John Innes at the forefront of advanced technology development — and also offering signiﬁcant export potential for Scottish space companies, with their services and products being in demand across the globe.

Even in light of the disruption and challenges of COVID-19 as well Daniel Smith as a changing political landscape, the space sector continues to collaborate and thrive. The SSLC is positioned to help shape this growth and assist in ensuring that the UK’s space sector grows sustainably in a way that balances the needs of the people, environment and the economy across the country... as well as the industry itself.

SatMagazine Page 61 November 2020 Sunrise over the Caribbean, image captured by the STF-1 smallsat.

The Story of West Virginia’s First Spacecraft By John Dahlia, Director of Communications, TMC Technologies of West Virginia Corporation.

Marcus Fisher, Justin Morris, Scott Zemerick, Matt Grub, and Mark launching on the same vehicle, the ground station took a best guess Suder; a few names from a list of 15 whose childhood dreams to on each pass of which satellite was STF-1. If I recall correctly, we got it propel their beloved Mountain State — West Virginia — into space on the third try.” came true. Today, more than 600 days and more than 9,200 orbits around the globe, STF-1 continues to exceed mission expectations. “We far West Virginia’s first spacecraft, Simulation to Flight-1 (STF-1), launched surpassed our estimates for length of the mission,” Grubb said, into orbit on December 16, 2018, on the first ever NASA Venture Class referring to the typical three-month average for most smallsat/cubesat Launch Services mission via the Rocket Lab Electron rocket. The launch missions. However, for NASA Independent Verification and Validation occurred from New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula and STF-1 was one of 10 (IV&V) Program Director Gregory Blaney, beating the odds and going smallsats deployed as part of NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites beyond expectations is typical for a NASA program. (ELaNa-19) mission. First contact was achieved a few days later. “In this case, it means to me that West Virginia entities have the skills “I don’t think words can express the amount of happiness and sense and capability to build and test SmallSats in addition to advancing the of accomplishment that came across the team during the first successful development processes.” communications,” NASA Computer Engineer Justin Morris said as he Like most members of the STF-1 team, Blaney has strong ties to the reflected back to the early days of the mission. Mountain State. He was born in Morgantown but grew up on a farm STF-1 Lead Engineer Matt Grubb was equally relieved. “…it meant a few miles over the state line in southwestern, Pennsylvania. He all of our work up to that point was a success. With 10 satellites worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland as a

SatMagazine Page 62 November 2020 Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle liftoff with STF-1 aboard.

Network Director, providing services for missions such as the Space West Virginia’s First Spacecraft Shuttle, the Hubble Space Telescope and classiﬁed operations before The spacecraft is no bigger than a standard breadbox, measuring a transferring to NASA’s IV&V Program in West Virginia where he held meager 34cm x 10cm x 10cm and weighing under 4kg. The team that numerous positions leading up being named director in late 2009. In dreamed it up evolved from a unique public, private, and academic 2019, it was renamed the Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility, home of partnership involving the NASA IV&V Program, West Virginia University NASA’s IV&V Program. (WVU), the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, West Virginia High Tech Foundation and a small, West Virginia-based private company named TMC Technologies. “Marcus Fisher was one of the earliest proponents of developing West Virginia’s ﬁrst spacecraft,” STF-1 Engineer Scott Zemerick explained. But Fisher, a NASA IV&V Program Chief Engineer and Goddard Space Flight Center Senior Technical Fellow, said the idea originated from NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium Director Dr. Majid Jaridi. “Knowing that West Virginia was one of the states that had never launched any assets into space, it was easy to decide that we need to act fast and make use of this opportunity,” Jaridi recalled. A handful of meetings with NASA and other potential partners later, Fisher told Jaridi he was ready to pull the trigger. What followed next was an effort to build a coalition of partners and win the dollars needed to launch a smallsat mission from NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.

Matt Grub measuring STG-1 at Rocket Lab.

SatMagazine Page 63 November 2020 using a suite of tools to model the spacecraft’s design/behavior, and they used those models throughout the process. If those tools helped them find/correct problems before launch, and especially if they were able to prove out complex things like the flight software – well, that would be a Very Big Deal.” His research in cubesat mission assurance has become a life-long pursuit, going back to the mid-1990s when he attended Stanford University as a graduate student. The younger Swartwout was at a conference and ran into a speaker who was summarizing the results of a multi-spacecraft launch, claiming most of the student-built spacecraft failed. “As a recently-graduated student with a functional spacecraft, I took West Virginia University’s research team. that personally,” Swartwout remembered. “I wasn’t offended that the speaker said that those particular spacecraft failed — he was correct, According to Zemerick, the project became real when their proposal after all. What bothered me is that he assumed that ‘most’ student was selected in early 2015. WVU would provide the four experiments satellites failed, and that’s what I could prove. So I gathered all the data and the team at NASA IV&V’s Jon McBride Software Testing and and decided to present it at the next year’s conference.” Research Lab would perform the spacecraft engineering, which Two decades and scores of published papers later, Swartwout is included hardware, software, integration, testing, and operations. routinely asked to present his research on cubesat mission assurance. According to Blaney, STF-1’s primary mission and technological driver The most recent was in June 2020 at the NASA Goddard Space Flight was to test a very unique simulation and modeling software called Center’s Electronics Technology Workshop. Those attending included NASA Operational Simulator for Small Satellites, or NOS3. representatives from NASA as well as both the European and Japanese “NOS3 is a one-of-a-kind test and simulation capability because it is Space Agencies. Today, he works at Saint Louis University as an a ‘software-only’ system, which makes it extremely efficient, effective, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Aerospace and and cost advantageous – once created, you can make copies for almost Mechanical Engineering at the Parks College of Aviation, Engineering free,” he said. and Technology. He’s earned a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University and an M.S. and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering Proof of Concept? from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Over the years, he’s According to Dr. Michael Swartwout, a leading authority on why compiled the only known cubesat mission assurance database from the cubesat missions fail, STF-1’s success for a first time effort is very year 2000 through 2019. uncommon. “I can tell you that 600 days of operations is a big deal for “From the first proto-cubesats launched in the year 2000 until the most programs, and especially for first-time universities,” he said end of 2019, there were 1,184 cubesats flown by 287 organizations referring to the number of days STF-1 has been operating at near- from all over the world,” Swartwout explained. “Out of those perfect levels in Lower Earth Orbit (LEO). “If they (the STF-1 team) were numbers, 2/3rds, or 54 of 80 first-time professional organizations, were successful.” However, the numbers are a little different during the same period for U.S. university cubesat missions. According to Swartwout, “19 of 50 U.S. university CubeSat first-time-missions were successful.” His research also found that the success rate improved to 44 percent, or eight-out-of-18, for first time missions from 2016 through 2019. STF-1 is a U.S. university first-time mission. Swartwout’s conclusions appear to match-up with the latest data on STF-1 and the nine other cubesat’s that made-up the ELaNa-19 mission. “After launch, we typically don’t track the operation of the CubeSats or their status. However, we have heard from some of the teams,” NASA Launch Services Program Public Affairs Specialist Mary MacLaughlin explained, referring to the four out of 10 cubesat missions still in operation today. According to MacLaughlin, even though 10 survived the launch, two were unable to establish two-way Scott Zemerick working on STF-1 communication and four were reported, “Have not heard from.”

SatMagazine Page 64 November 2020 “We have demonstrated that by putting together the right combination of software engineers, scientists, and hardware engineers, West Virginia is able to engage in cutting edge research and development projects,” he said. “Our vision is to become fully engaged in building SmallSats for our own scientific and commercial purposes.” Zemerick also believes the Mountain State can have a future in the fast-growing smallsat industry. “The plan for the second mission is to develop a capability for the state and showcase how West Virginia can lead the nation and world in developing cutting-edge STF-1 captured imagery, composite rendering, July 2020. space industry technologies,” he said. “The ‘Have not heard from’ means that the developer hasn’t heard from But before the next mission can move forward, STF-1 Systems the spacecraft,” she clarified. “That means that four of those are Engineer Mark Suder said a coalition of support pushing the Mountain operating and the developer was able to establish communication.” State into space is necessary. STF-1, barring hardware failure or an unknown space anomaly, could “There has to be that value proposition in the small satellite industry continue to operate for many years to come. The successfully in West Virginia,” he added. “That idea of what the industry can do demonstrated NOS3 software was recognized by NASA’s Inventions for the world, for it to be successful. And that is going to take some and Contributions Board who named the modeling and simulation sacrifice, dedication, and selflessness by a whole lot of folks to make technology the NASA 2019 Software of the Year Runner-Up. Today, it is it happen here. But I know West Virginia can shine!” being used by government agencies and universities across the country. “We’ve proven it from launch to orbit and we can say, without a doubt, John Dahlia has nearly 30 years of experience as an it has increased reliability and reduced cost,” Grubb said. accomplished journalist in all aspects of new and traditional media. He began his career as a The Mountain State’s Race to Space reporter/anchor/producer and eventually, news The success of STF-1 could easily be added to the list of West Virginia director for CBS Affiliate WDTV-TV in Bridgeport, space pioneers who faced incredible obstacles achieving remarkable West Virgina. As news director, he helped lead his results. One such person is American author and former NASA engineer news team to numerous Associated Press and WV Homer Hickam, Jr. His 1998 memoir Rocket Boys (also published as Broadcasters Association awards including "Best News Operation." October Sky) was a New York Times Best Seller and was the basis for the In 2004 , he become the director of corporate communications for 1999 film October Sky. Global Science & Technology and he now works at TMC Like Hickam, Zemerick grew up in the Technologies of West Virginia as their Director of Communications. shadow of the southern West Virginia coalfields in a town called Oak Hill, about 70 miles from where Hickam and the other “Rocket Boys” made history. “His mining and coal stories were familiar to my mother, father, and myself,” Zemerick said. “I see the work that we did on STF-1 as a type of extension or continuation of his West Virginia stories that are the embodiment of excellent people solving real-world, practical problems.” Naturally, the team is hungry to build upon the success of STF-1, proving it was not a chance occurrence or, perhaps, beginners luck. Jaridi, whose NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium is dedicated to building research infrastructure and promoting STEM education, believes STF-1 has set the foundation for the establishment of a nascent industry in West Virginia. Mark Suder during STF-1’s downlink process.

SatMagazine Page 65 November 2020 Maintaining the Production of Satellite Electronics Post COVID-19 Using Social Distanced Testing Figure 1 : Remote control of test equipment By Rajan Bedi, Chief Executive Ofﬁcer and Founder of Spacechips

Traditionally, testing is a manual, labour-intensive process and because of staff lock-downs and social-distancing rules during COVID-19, production ground to a halt for many spacecraft OEMs.

Much of the equipment used to test satellite avionics can be commanded remotely and test procedures can be created, automated and controlled by the same engineers from their homes. This allows manufacturers to continue operating and maintain production by limiting the number of staff physically required at the factory, generate income, sustain employment, deliver products to meet their customers' Figure 2 : A comparison of interface latencies and bandwidths schedules and fulfill contractual, time-to-market needs. For many satellite OEMs, the highly-contagious coronavirus pandemic identified major shortcomings with their existing manufacturing approach and test equipment, brutally exposing limitations. Remote testing will allow manufacturers to prepare and adapt for the future, and staff lockdowns during COVID-19 highlighted the value of social-distanced testing for many of Spacechips' clients. Testing satellite avionics occurs throughout all stages of spacecraft development: from characterizing the performance of individual analog parts, digital logic, RF circuits and antennas during initial component selection of the system architecture phase, or de-risking these at a cyclotron, to verifying the functionality of hardware demonstrators and validating proof-of-concepts at the prototyping (EM) phase. This is followed by measuring the performance of complete payload sub- systems and then entire spacecraft validation in a representative environment using thermal-vacuum chambers during the qualification (EQM) stage. Prior to lift-off, final integration checks are typically performed at the launch site and throughout operation, regular on-orbit checks of the Figure 3 : A remote control, virtual front panel transmission links are made to monitor and confirm quality of service (QoS). Each of the above development stages present unique test and measurement challenges for manufacturers of satellites. Typically, the characterization of individual parts or EM sub-system testing is a manual process where specific tests are created, before elaborate test benches and/or equipment racks are built, controlled using vendor-supplied firmware such as Vector Signal Explorer, or Figure 4 : A digital satellite transponder [Source: R&S ]

SatMagazine Page 66 November 2020 proprietary software coded in-house at huge expense and effort, to meet production test, analyses and reporting needs. Some test equipment allow the manual measurements created during prototyping to be recorded which begs the question, why can't this sequence of tests simply be repeated for qualiﬁcation and production to reduce costs and meet operators' time-to-market needs? In 1975, the IEEE standardized a bus developed by Hewlett Packard, Figure 5 : The R&S SMW200A Vector Signal Generator [Source: R&S ] originally called HPIB (Hewlett Packard Interface Bus), later changed to GPIB (General Purpose Instrument Bus), deﬁning the mechanical, electrical and handshaking aspects of the standard. This was also known as IEEE 488.1, formally updated to IEEE 488.2 in 1992 to include protocol and data-formatting properties, but not which features or commands should be implemented for particular test equipment. In 1990, the SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) Consortium released an additional layer to IEEE 488.2 with the view to unifying the command sets used by different instruments and manufacturers. SCPI promotes consistency and commands are ASCII strings sent over a physical layer which can perform set, query or both types of operations. Figure 6 : The F&S SMW200A's built-in SCPI command macro recorder [Source: R&S ] As an example of its syntax, the command to measure a d.c. voltage would be,

:MEASure:VOLTage:DC? or, to set an RS-232 interface to 2400 bits/s is:

SYSTem:COMMunicate:SERial:BAUD 2400.

Commands can be abbreviated or concatenated and the complete standard can be freely downloaded. Figure 1 illustrates the different software and hardware layers involved to remotely control and automate test equipment. This instrument is at the bottom and your application is at the top. Out of motivation to unify the software interface, the VXIplug&play Systems Alliance introduced the Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA) layer to shield your application from the speciﬁcs of Figure 7 : The R&S SMW200A's built-in SCPI code generator for MATLAB® [Source: R&S] the physical communication. VISA implementations come from different vendors in a variety of languages such as Python, MATLAB®, C#, LabVIEW™ or ANSI-C, but they all must abide to the same standard which includes functions on opening and closing a remote connection to an instrument and reading and writing strings from or to test equipment respectively. Free, open-source languages such as Python are increasingly being used by a more cost-conscious satellite industry and the selection of an interface is primarily based on its bandwidth and latency with respect to the measurement need as shown in Figure 2, as well as factors such as heritage, expertise and time-to-market.

Figure 8 : The R&S ZNL Vector Network Analyser [Source: OOTWD ]

SatMagazine Page 67 November 2020 In addition to automation, test equipment can be manually controlled from a distance using a Remote Desktop, VNC viewer or a web browser to facilitate cyclotron, qualification, production and launch-site measurements. SCPI commands can be sent to/from instruments, or virtual front panels can be displayed on a local device and controlled interactively as shown in Figure 3. Measurement results are uploaded to secure on-line cloud storage and using your PC, phone or tablet, these can be accessed for analyses and reporting. Figure 4 shows a single channel of a digital transponder typically used within an Earth-Observation (EO) or a telecommunication satellite: the first tests are a series of single-tone measurements at different Figure 9: A test & measurement equipment cloud being accessed by two users [Source: R&S] frequencies to understand in-band SNR, harmonic and spurious performance. CW characterisation allows OEMs to simultaneously anywhere. To complement testing, Cloud4Testing is a subscription differentiate between device-level artefacts and system issues, e.g., an service which allows for remote analyses of measurement data. If you ADC interleaving spur vs. noise coupling from the routing of the would like to explore and exploit the cost benefits of cloud-based TaaS, sampling clock, power supply or poor grounding. please contact Rajan Bedi. Once the single-tone performance of the transponder has been Staff lock-downs and social distancing during COVID-19 disrupted understood, its linearity and wideband operation can be characterized global satellite production, much of it intended for export around the using more representative stimuli such as multi-tone or noise-power world. Remote testing has allowed some manufacturers to remain ratio carriers to provide a measure of intermodulation distortion. The productive and operational while respecting social-distancing rules. For complete payload is then tested using representative stimuli such as OEMs delivering to clients with strict time-to-market needs, this modulated carriers to verify operational performance. approach has enabled them to deliver on-time, generate income and All of the RF input types can be supplied by the R&S SMW200A avoid late-payment penalties. Furthermore, remote testing has helped Vector Signal Generator: this has the ability to automatically generate companies to maintain existing staffing levels avoiding the need to avail and record the equivalent SCPI commands of all tests manually created of government bailout assistance. during initial prototyping, which can then be replayed automatically for Manufacturers who have been disrupted by COVID-19 are planning qualification and production to reduce costs and meet operators' time- to avoid future production stops, upgrading their test capabilities to to-market needs. The same sequence of measurements can be run become more automated, controlled by the same engineers from their remotely during lock-downs respecting social distancing. Templates are homes if required. TaaS and remote testing are sustainable forms of provided for directly generating executable code for various platforms, testing helping space companies become more green. e.g. MATLAB® or ANSI-C, and the R&S SMW200A supports the IEEE- 488.2, LAN, USB and RS-232 interfaces. www.spacechips.co.uk At the output of the transponder, the R&S ZNL can automatically measure performance combining a two-port, bi-directional VNA with Dr. Rajan Bedi is the CEO and founder of Spacechips, a UK SME spectrum analyzer, demodulation and a power-meter controlled using its disrupting the global space industry with its award-winning, GPIB and LAN interfaces. Real-time spectrogram, Distance-to-Fault (DTF) Satellite-Communication Products, Design-Consultancy, and time-domain analyses options can also be added to the instrument. Technical-Marketing, Business-Intelligence and Training Services. To reduce the cost-to-market, some spacecraft manufacturers are Spacechips successfully showcases and exports British starting to consider testing as a service (TaaS) to save on the capital engineering excellence by selling its products and services to expenditure, as they do not have to maintain the equipment more than 25 countries. Spacechips won New Company of 2017 infrastructure and only pay for the measurement services they actually and Rajan's inventions won High-Reliability Product of 2016, 2017 use. This allows OEMs to pool all or a part of their instruments, making and 2018. Rajan is also President of Spacechips LLC and author them accessible companywide from any location. Obviously the device- of Out-of-this-World Design, the only blog dedicated to Space under-test needs to be physically connected to the setup as illustrated Electronics. Rajan was previously invited to teach at Oxford below. TaaS and cloud-based measurement equipment are allowing University and in 2020 was shortlisted for Great British OEMs who have been affected financially by COVID-19 to significantly Entrepreneur of the Year. reduce CAPEX costs, making instruments accessible companywide from

SatMagazine Page 68 November 2020 Virtual . The Eminent ^ SmallSat Business Conference

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The countdown to Vulcan Centaur continues at United Launch The cornerstone for Vulcan Centaur was successfully captured on Alliance (ULA). Factory technicians are building the first rockets, August 7, 2020, when the U.S. Space Force (USSF) named the rocket engineers are busy crafting the software and designing the as the No. 1 offeror in the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase trajectories for the early missions and launch site modifications are 2 procurement. This multi-year, competitive contract represents 60 nearing completion as United Launch Alliance (ULA) marches percent of critical U.S. national security launches over a five year period forward to the inaugural flight scheduled for 2021. of time and the expectation is that Vulcan Centaur will launch 20 to 30 missions for the USSF during this timeframe.

SatMagazine Page 70 November 2020 Vulcan Centaur’s innovative technology transforms the future of launch, meeting the challenging requirements now demanded by an expanding spectrum of missions that are essential to the Nation’s defense — from Low Earth Orbits (LEO) to high-energy orbits. Those NSSL launches add to the eight commercial missions already booked to fly on Vulcan Centaur starting next year. The maiden launch will send Astrobotic's Peregrine commercial lunar lander to the moon. Sierra Nevada Corp. has contracted for seven Vulcan Centaurs to launch their Dream Chaser reusable spaceplane on cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station. Blue Origin BE-4 rocket engine test firing. Photo is courtesy of Blue Origin. With a healthy backlog of dozens of firm launches now manifested, Vulcan Centaur is established as an affordable, high-performance rocket that will carry ULA into the future. The rocket is founded in the experience of the Atlas and Delta programs, with innovations that lower cost and improve launch capabilities for commercial, civil and national security markets. Vulcan Centaur offers customers unprecedented flexibility in a single system. The single-core Vulcan Centaur has more lifting capacity than the Delta IV Heavy with significantly reduced cost and streamlined processes. This new rocket can be built in less than half the time as its Northrop Grumman GEM 63XLengine test firing. Photo is courtesy of the company. predecessors and can be launched at a much higher tempo. Carrying forward ULA’s technology know-how, time tested operations and a culture of customer-first mission success, Vulcan Centaur will continue to deliver the reliability that has been unmatched in the industry. The company has also brought forward the firm’s unique suite of technologies that have given ULA’s rockets the world’s most precise orbital insertions. Vulcan Centaur will continue to provide reliable, on- time access to space well into the future. A strategic partnership between ULA and U.S. industry produces Vulcan Centaur as an all-American rocket and will use a pair of Blue Origin BE-4 main engines, the most powerful liquefied natural gas- fueled engines ever developed. Up to six, enormous, side-mounted Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 cryogenic engine test firing. Photo courtesy of the company. Northrop Grumman GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters, the longest single segment boosters ever cast, can be added to augment the first Updated to the latest composites manufacturing technologies, RUAG’s stage thrust in order to carry even heavier payloads. new payload fairing is being built within ULA’s Alabama rocket factory. The Centaur V upper stage builds upon the amazing Centaur III It is made in a fraction of the time, giving us lower costs, higher which has been America’s workhorse, boasting eye watering reliability, less weight and the sophisticated payload accommodations performance, precision, and the ability to fly the most complex orbits and protections required by the most sensitive missions. others simply cannot. Updated for the 21st century, the new Centaur Vulcan Centaur offers a dramatically shortened timeline for delivery V will deliver more than twice the energy, be powered by two Aerojet of a satellite into orbit. About a week after being made available for Rocketdyne RL10 cryogenic engines, and be able to operate in space final processing, a payload can be in its destination orbit. for months on end. Enabled by L3Harris built avionics, Vulcan Centaur The main elements of the Vulcan Centaur rocket, far too large to be will place satellites into new orbits with the same exacting precision. assembled at the factory, will be put together atop a mobile launch platform (MLP) within the Vertical Integration Facility. This massive building protects the 22 story tall rocket from the elements and allows the often delicate spacecraft to be kept in the vertical orientation.

SatMagazine Page 71 November 2020 Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Once fully integrated, the one and a half million pounds of MLP and This even more enormous “rocket shower” is necessary to protect rocket will roll a third of a mile to the Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC41) Vulcan Centaur and its precious payload from the incredibly powerful Launch Pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (photo above) to be sound energy that will reflect off of the ground when its BE4s and fueled and launched into space. GEM63XLs roar into life. Alterations in the VIF have also been The historic SLC-41 is currently undergoing a transformation into a installed including reconfigurable platforms that can conform to either dual-use pad that will seamlessly handle both Atlas V and Vulcan Atlas or the larger Vulcan. Centaur rockets, simultaneously. The two rockets are distinctly different Similar infrastructure modifications will be made at Vandenberg Air — from their size to the fuel they use and the main engines that power Force Base in California to support Vulcan Centaur missions to polar them skyward. Those major contrasts in characteristics likely makes SLC- orbit from Space Launch Complex-3. The site changes begin next year 41 the first launch pad in the world to serve two, entirely separate, and will be finished after the final West Coast Atlas V is flown, ensuring rocket families at the same time. national security, science and commercial clients with a highly efficient The pad modifications include installation of the liquefied natural Vandenberg launch option to reach polar orbits. gas storage area, expanded infrastructure to hold the liquid hydrogen ULA has completed more than 140 missions since the company was and liquid oxygen for the larger Centaur plus an improved Acoustic formed in 2006. All of those launches have successfully placed the — Suppression Water System to dampen the sound energy at launch. from Earth orbit, the moon, to Mars, Jupiter and the sun.

SatMagazine Page 72 November 2020 Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

ULA entered the commercial marketplace to offer price launch services that enable customers to realize revenue sooner for their competitiveness, mission optimization, schedule certainty, and tailored most critical assets. Vulcan Centaur, like ULA’s legacy rockets, offers unprecedented orbital accuracy often extending the life of the spacecraft for several years. The transition to Vulcan Centaur is made within ULA's culture of professionalism that ensures mission success for our customers. From the designers and technicians to the controllers and engineers, our objective is the safe delivery of each and every payload entrusted to us to the best orbit possible. United Launch Alliance places a customer’s mission needs ﬁrst, believing that our rockets exist only to take their spacecraft safely and accurately to space.

SatMagazine Page 73 November 2020