In the second part of our conversation, Nitin discusses how the ICT Portal is powered by a multitude of DoD data sources, and dissects exactly where that data comes from, how it’s delivered to the portal, and what innovative capabilities and features can be performed leveraging that data.

Here is what he had to say:

GSR: Where does the data that powers the ICT Portal come from? Can you talk a bit about the data sources, as well as how the data is delivered to the ICT Portal?

Nitin Bhat: When we look at a customer’s needs, they’re typically global in nature. Their needs do not stem from a geographic standpoint and are not constrained to a specific location. A lot of the customers we serve have locations all across the globe. They will usually need to have something up and running in a certain amount of time.

From a satellite standpoint, we would start with user terminals. User terminal is a very broad definition, as it could encompass laptops, phones, video devices, satellite modems, antennas, etc. User terminals could include a whole host of devices that could be typically found at the tactical edge. Those user terminals are all sources of data for us to gather. Then we can analyze problems and map everything out for customers.

The user terminals then typically talk to satellites. And the satellites – no matter if they are in GEO, MEO, or LEO orbits – all become sources of data for us to ensure that they are healthy and functioning properly. From there the data, voice, or video comes down to teleports. And this teleport becomes another data source. There could be power devices or huge antennas there. There could also be customer infrastructure there that carries the traffic from the satellite standpoint. All of that – again –  becomes another set of data sources.

From there, typically the data travels to the public Internet, government gateways, or to a data center where it then goes to the cloud. But for us, everything is viewed as a point for collecting data. If it touches the customer’s network in some fashion, we collect all that data.

“Capacity management is another feature. Satellites do not have unlimited resources or capacity to provide data. We need to manage the capacity in the right way.” -Nitin Bhat

Data might also travel through a terrestrial network as it goes from point A to point B. SES Space & Defense has its own global terrestrial network, the Global Communications Network (GCN). The GCN meets certain security standards from a government standpoint. That also becomes a data source.

GSR: Once data is fed into the ICT Portal, what are some of the features and capabilities the portal can perform with that data?

Nitin Bhat: Broadly, the ICT Portal can be viewed as something really useful for our own operation center and for our customers. And the uses don’t necessarily need to be different. Some could overlap for both.

A basic feature of the ICT Portal could be as simple as a ticketing system, where you let the customer open their own tickets by logging into the portal, avoiding the need to call a 1-800 number to alert people to a problem. We may want to create tickets on our own because we are proactively monitoring a customer network. When we see something that doesn’t seem right on the single pane of glass, we can auto-generate a ticket and start looking into it.

Another example would be troubleshooting aids. When we see something go red, we might say, “Hey, what happened? Did we get any alarms? Did we get any up-down status from these devices that we were monitoring?” It helps someone who’s troubleshooting. Customers now have these aids to examine and decipher where the problem could have stemmed from.

The third feature is reporting. Reporting is where you’re relaying to the customer, “The network has been up this month for 30 days. It has been up for 99.9 percent of the time.” This enables us to show the customer that we are meeting the obligations from an SLA standpoint. The network is indeed performing the way that it has been designed and is behaving correctly.

It’s also useful for the customer to know how their devices are configured and what parameters are set. From a management perspective, if a device isn’t operating properly, a customer can pinpoint that device, open a return merchandise authorization (RMA), and return that hardware. The ICT Portal will be able to relay the hardware’s serial number, and how it malfunctioned, and assist the customer with the logistics piece of it.

Capacity management is another feature. Satellites do not have unlimited resources or capacity to provide data. We need to manage the capacity in the right way. That becomes another feature where we can tell the customer how much capacity they’re using today – at this moment in time – to accomplish what they’re trying to do from either voice, video, or data.

“Decision makers can also leverage the ICT Portal to predict future trends and proactively plan and allocate resources, budgets, and time to whatever capabilities they are planning for.” -Nitin Bhat

Spectrum monitoring is another feature. Blue-on-blue or red-on-blue interactions can cause spectrum interference. Customers need to know whether that’s impacting their communications or data transfer on their satellites. We need to monitor the spectrum on the satellites, and the ICT Portal allows you to do that.

GSR: In terms of the military, what benefits does the ICT Portal deliver to key decision-makers during warfighting or other critical missions?

Nitin Bhat: It depends on the audience because each government stakeholder might want a different view of what’s going on. Some may be interested to see whether there have been any adversarial attempts to jam communications, and they might want that piece of data. However, a person who is running the program may simply want to know if the delivery of services is occurring on time and at the right level of uptime that they wanted.

Someone who oversees running the network might want to be able to access troubleshooting tickets to improve certain network functions in the future. Someone at a very high level may want to know how AI applications and processes could be integrated into the network, to enable automated and smart functionalities.

Decision makers can also leverage the ICT Portal to predict future trends and proactively plan and allocate resources, budgets, and time to whatever capabilities they are planning for. The ICT Portal pairs perfectly with the DoD’s mission to construct a resilient space architecture, due to its ability to determine whether multi-orbit or multi-constellation solutions would be better utilized for specific missions.

To learn more about the ICT Portal, click HERE.

To read part one of our conversation with Nitin, click HERE.

The post The Data Sources that Power the ICT Portal appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

SES Space & Defense recently launched its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Portal, an advanced capability that enables transparency into all facets of the DoD’s networks and facilitates seamless management and operations of the military’s terrestrial and space assets – all on a single pane of glass.

To learn more about the different components of the ICT Portal, as well as the benefits and capabilities it delivers to its customers, the Government Satellite Report sat down with Nitin Bhat, Senior Vice President of Engineering at SES Space & Defense.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): For readers who may not be familiar, what is the ICT Portal?

Nitin Bhat: When we were first conceptualizing the ICT Portal, SES Space & Defense set out to build something that could help our own Network Operation Center (NOC) and manage all our customers. But we also wanted to develop a capability that could help our customers manage their service level agreements (SLA), get the reports that they wanted, and see how they were performing – from one single place.

That led to the development of the ICT Portal. We call it a single pane of glass because we want one place for users to go. From there, customers can navigate through menus and sub-menus based on a user’s access level and get their job done.

GSR: What benefits does the ICT Portal deliver to its customers?

Nitin Bhat: The first benefit is transparency. Often a customer might call in with an issue and need to know how the problem started, who was responsible, and what was done to troubleshoot it. But if customers have access to a tool where they can investigate the health of the network for themselves on a daily basis, it provides them with a level of transparency where they can see exactly what’s going on. Is the network behaving in accordance with what the customer signed up for, from an SLA standpoint?

“You should not have an architecture where you cannot scale or store data where you can’t analyze it. We set out to ensure that [the ICT Portal] is scalable.” -Nitin Bhat

Customization is another benefit. Each user may have a different set of requirements when using the ICT Portal. If you are a program manager, you might want to look at a specific view. If you’re an engineer or a NOC technician, you might just want to be able to look at tickets, open them, close them, and monitor them. If you were in a contract, you may want to look at the reports to make sure that we are meeting our obligations every month. The ICT Portal enables different sets of users to log in with their own needs and look at what is relevant to them. The ability to customize is a massive benefit.

The third one, which I think is a big advantage for us as a company, is being able to respond to customers quickly and resolve their challenges as fast as possible. And if we can internally accomplish that, by knowing exactly what’s going on within each part of the network, we can quickly expedite the problem resolution. That’s a big benefit to us, which eventually the customer gets to take advantage of.

GSR: You mentioned that the ICT Portal is a web interface that is on a single pane of glass, but what are the actual design elements that drive the Portal? How is it structured?

Nitin Bhat: Software drives a lot of what we do today. But 10 to 20 years ago, there were different approaches to how people would get access to data. In the old days with Windows or other platforms, there was a tendency to design software packages that were not modular, couldn’t scale, and were not necessarily secure.

When we set out to design the ICT Portal, we wanted to break everything down and ensure that anything we design meets certain standards, because you don’t want it to be something unique to just your company. The ICT Portal is an open standards platform. It’s modular so you can build and add components to it. It’s also scalable because you’re collecting more and more data. You should not have an architecture where you cannot scale or store data where you can’t analyze it. We set out to ensure that it’s scalable.

“We wanted to make sure security was built from the ground up on all aspects of the design so that the final product was secure.” -Nitin Bhat

For it to be scalable, it has to be on the cloud, and it has to be modular. It must follow an IT service management model where each problem set is defined differently. You can add or detract from it, like incident management, problem management, change management, asset management, and so on.

Finally, the ICT Portal is designed to be secure. From a security standpoint, it is secure in terms of the software code itself and where you store data. It is also secured with authentication mechanisms to ensure that only the right users can log in with the proper access. The ICT Portal also meets some of the government security standards, in terms of the cloud, the risk management framework, and making sure the data is transported securely.

In essence, we wanted to make sure security was built from the ground up on all aspects of the design so that the final product was secure.

Be sure to check back for part two of our conversation with Nitin, where he examines the data sources that power the ICT Portal’s capabilities and features.

The post ICT Portal – Delivering Transparency, Customization, and Responsiveness to the Military appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Recently, SES Space & Defense’s G RamosCarr stopped by the Government Satellite Report to pull back the curtain on how SES Space & Defense will be delivering MEO and GEO services at the edge for DoD missions, as well as explore the various DoD use cases, applications, and workloads that will benefit from infrastructure at the edge.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): What use cases exist for AWS MDC units in the DoD? Why would the DoD want to deploy these units to Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) environments?

G RamosCarr: The DoD operates globally, meaning it has to maintain data sovereignty and comply with specific data classification requirements, both when deployed and at home, just to ensure that data is protected.

With the DoD’s transition from on-prem/hybrid solutions to commercial clouds that are approved for the U.S. government, the Department is going to be more reliant on remote edge computing environments in scenarios where comms aren’t as resilient as they are stateside.

Deploying in any environment where an adversary is present and negatively impacting communications – whether denying or disrupting – is a prime example of why a tool like the AWS MDC is imperative. But, even in situations where bad weather is limiting connectivity, having different architectures like MEO with a GEO fallback, a good PACE plan is critical.

“An AWS MDC unit elevates what you can move out to the edge. The compute devices can now become resident in a forward operating base or in some other kind of deployed scenario. That gives users access to the most important data, housed locally at the edge.” -G RamosCarr

In any mission, you must always be able to operate, and that’s why there is a major need for those tools that are running in the cloud. Having the ability to deploy the most important data or tools at the edge is something the AWS MDC will help achieve at scale for a larger deployment, or a unit with a higher amount of data production.

No matter what scenario they end up in, with an AWS MDC, they’re able to continue operating just like they would be stateside when they were doing training.

GSR: Are there any particular applications or workloads that you think might be driving this need for infrastructure at the edge?

G RamosCarr: Imagery analysis is a perfect example. Also, IoT is another application that drives this need, especially when you need to pull a lot of different metrics on a regular basis. It’s fantastic to be able to import a big pool of data into a data lake in the cloud, which will allow users to leverage the computing resources of full data centers across the U.S..

But in a scenario where you might be offline for an hour, or a couple of days, you’re going to want to still have access to a subset of that full data set. You’ll want to be able to take the most important data and do some processing at the edge, and be able to leverage that intel that you just developed immediately.

GSR: If the DoD is deploying these units to the tactical edge, why would they need low-latency, high throughput satellite connectivity? What benefit or advantage would the DoD gain from connecting AWS MDC units?

G RamosCarr: An AWS MDC unit elevates what you can move out to the edge. The compute devices can now become resident in a forward operating base or in some other kind of deployed scenario. That gives users access to the most important data, housed locally at the edge.

“MEO, as far as cloud operations go, can provide a high throughput and low latency connection very similar to a traditional fiber optic connection. This incredibly high bandwidth, high speed connection can enable those services.” -G RamosCarr

However, an AWS MDC on the battlefield can’t compete against the ability of a data center back in the U.S. to be able to compute or consolidate information and process it. It’s not going to be able to do it on the same level.

This is why the military would want to connect AWS MDC units through high throughput, low latency, fiber-like connectivity. MEO satellite connectivity allows these workloads and systems to operate in a much more efficient manner – with some of the work being done at the edge, and other workloads in the cloud.

MEO, as far as cloud operations go, can provide a high throughput and low latency connection very similar to a traditional fiber optic connection. This incredibly high bandwidth, high speed connection can enable those services.

Before, users would have to use some kind of edge compute because of their higher-latency GEO link, or they would have to reduce the amount of throughput and the amount of data that they were sending back, because of the reduced capability of the GEO link and the latency.

A low latency MEO connection enables a whole new world where practically anything can be transmitted quickly and with minimal latency.

GSR: It was recently announced that SES Space & Defense was chosen by AWS to provide connectivity to the AWS MDC units. Why was SES Space & Defense a good fit for this?

G RamosCarr: We’ve had a lot of great engagements and have a great working partnership with AWS, and we’ve supported them on a number of different opportunities. I think we have a differentiated offering – owning both a GEO and a MEO fleet.

“I think O3b mPOWER really opens the door for scalability on our side. We’ve been able to show a differentiated capability with 10 beams per satellite. There is also great flexibility that O3b mPOWER is going to bring to the table, and inherent security features that come with that constellation.” -G RamosCarr

Obviously, there’s a value to every satellite connection, especially when you have zero connectivity. But us being able to bring a resiliency plan to them, and it being relatively turnkey for them, has probably been the biggest differentiator. We’re able to ensure that the military has connectivity – whether it be MEO or GEO connectivity options.

Going further, what MEO enables – as far as cloud operations – is so much more advanced that what the military is going to get on other constellations. The speed, capacity, and latency are second to none. We also have the ability to provide an SLA and ensure that dedicated connectivity is up and available, when that isn’t always the case with other services.

GSR: SES’s O3b mPOWER next-generation MEO service will soon be available for the DoD. How can this service benefit the DoD? What new functionality or capabilities will it enable for the military?

G RamosCarr: I think O3b mPOWER really opens the door for scalability on our side. We’ve been able to show a differentiated capability with 10 beams per satellite. There is also great flexibility that O3b mPOWER is going to bring to the table, and inherent security features that come with that constellation.

It’s going to open the aperture as far as being able to more successfully deploy our assets to support our warfighters.

To read more about how SES Space & Defense and AWS will assist the U.S. Department of Defense, click HERE.

The post AWS and SES Partner to Enable Edge Compute and Cloud Access on the Battlefield appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

This EO couldn’t have arrived at a timelier moment in the U.S., as near-peer competitors are currently making major investments in AI space capabilities that pose a growing threat to the nation’s dominance and advantage in the space domain. The U.S. government and military are highly aware of adversaries’ investments in space-based AI military capabilities and are turning to the U.S. Space Force to answer the call to defend American assets in space by building its own AI capability set.

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies recently hosted Dr. Lisa Costa, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer (CTIO) of the U.S. Space Force, at a Schriever Spacepower Forum to examine the AI advancements adversarial nations have made in the space domain and to outline how the Space Force will maintain a technological advantage over U.S. near-peer competitors.

As CTIO of the Space Force, Dr. Costa oversees the development of strategy and policy to advance science, technology, and research of cutting-edge technologies that will digitally transform the Space Force. She is also responsible for leading teams working on the advancement of AI in the space domain, as well as determining the AI capabilities adversarial nations like China are currently fielding and deploying in the domain.

China and AI
Dr. Costa opened the forum by discussing China’s approach to leveraging AI and machine learning (ML) in space. She explained that in 2023, China is projected to spend $14.7 billion on AI and that by 2026 that figure will increase to $26 billion.

“That’s an extremely large investment,” said Dr. Costa. “Not only are they applying that to AI research, they’re applying it to the operationalization of AI.” She explained that according to a recent Pentagon report to Congress, China is focused on AI domination in order to probe enemy vulnerabilities and advance the concept of intelligentized warfare. From applications to robotics, China is seeking to develop an autonomous, orbital platform in space that can make determinations on who is and isn’t an adversary through AI technologies. Through these investments in AI, China is effectively constructing an enhanced counter-space capability set.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) argue that the increasing frequency, complexity, and risks of space missions raise the need for incorporating AI and autonomy to support and protect China’s space assets,” she explained. And according to Dr. Costa, China is already testing and fielding these space-based capabilities.

In April of this year, China held an experiment where they allowed an autonomous AI to control and operate a camera on an optical satellite for 24 hours. The test results revealed that the AI focused on two main areas: a region in Japan that houses U.S. aircraft carriers, as well as a contentious zone between India and China that is known to have “skirmishes.” According to Dr. Costa, these demonstrations and tests, make it clear that China has and will continue to pursue new, space-based capabilities that can threaten the U.S.’ advantage in the domain.

So, what is the Space Force’s answer to this growing threat?

Space Force’s response
To keep up with the pace of China’s growing AI capability set, the U.S. Space Force is focusing on the digital transformation and modernization of its existing space assets. “A lot of people think that because we are a new service, we got all new equipment,” said Dr. Costa. “Well, that’s not quite true.” Dr. Costa explained that the U.S. Space Force has several satellite constellations that are currently operating on older networks.

“Working to modernize those capabilities is absolutely critical,” said Dr. Costa. “It’s very difficult to build incredibly advanced AI modeling, simulation, and digital twins on top of old infrastructure.” According to Dr. Costa, her office’s first priority is to fix the “tech debt” of its system and network foundations in order to accommodate the amount of data throughput and processing that is required to have a space-based advantage.

Another priority that Dr. Costa’s office is focusing on is upskilling current Space Force guardians to be “super coders.” Equipping guardians with the knowledge and skills to augment capabilities and systems through coding is a major advantage for the U.S., according to Dr. Costa. “That combination of modernization of the foundation, with the real-time changes to capabilities by super coders, is a huge game changer,” said Dr. Costa.

AI and data
One space-based challenge that both the U.S. and China share – as it pertains to space – is the quantity and quality of data that they must analyze. “It’s a common problem that cuts across all of these areas, not only for China, but for us as well,” said Dr. Costa.

But in Dr. Costa’s opinion, the data issue is one that is going to be fixed soon. “I fundamentally believe this is going to be a very solved problem very quickly,” she said. “Why do I believe that? Machine learning and natural language processing are at a point now that computer-based tagging of large amounts of information, in real-time, is possible.” Dr. Costa explained that computer systems and applications are more consistent and more efficient at marking up data than humans. “I believe this is going to be a real game changer in terms of being able to use AI in the operational space,” said Dr. Costa.

To hear more from Dr. Costa on how the U.S. Space Force is leveraging data and space-based AI capabilities to maintain a competitive edge in the space domain, click the video below.

The post Space Force CTIO examines advancements in space-based AI appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Earlier this month at the SATELLITE 2023 conference, artificial intelligence and satellite experts across commercial industry convened during a special panel, “How AI and Space Technologies Combine to Benefit the Critical Mission,” to explore the different applications, benefits and some threats AI can deliver to the U.S. military’s space initiatives.

Space, the military, and AI
One fact that all the panelists agreed on was that artificial intelligence, in general, is a technology meant to extract humans out of routine operational functions. According to SpiderOak & York Space Systems’ Charles Beames, “What it does is it replaces people.”

“Everything we do in space, we do it for the data,” explained Beames. “And a big part of creating data is doing the analytics to make [data] useful. Rather than having thousands of people looking at each piece of data, they can deploy these great algorithms…that can actually be a huge force multiplier.”

Lockheed Martin’s Johnathon Caldwell brought up the point that the relevance of data has a short lifespan, as speed is a dominant factor in the space domain. “With the sensors we have on orbit and with people in the loop, we have a hard time today keeping up with analyzing the data,” explained Caldwell. “The human factor is the limiting factor.”

He explained that as commercial industry and the military build satellite sensors to proliferation, humans on the ground are going to be unable to keep pace with the sheer volume of incoming data. “It’s not data that policymakers and military leaders need, but rather knowledge and information to be able to make decisions,” said Caldwell. “To process the volume of data that’s going to be coming off of the sensors, networks, and systems is going to require us to move into a new era of how we think about looking at that data.”

When reframing how data is regarded, it is critical to remember that data is not always relevant, and that it will not stay relevant forever. While it’s been established that the military and federal government has a problem keeping up with data volumes, they also have a greater issue of sifting through that data – at the speed of conflict – and decide which information is relevant to decision-making.

“We have to clean the table…and get on to the relevant data,” said Caldwell. “It all happens at such an amazing tempo. The speed of space is already high, and the speed of conflict will amp up the timetable in which decisions need to be made. And it’s going to be much quicker than any of us anticipate.”

AI can simplify data complexities
By leveraging AI within their space architectures, the federal government and military can have the ability to analyze information faster and automate some of the more routine – yet extremely complex – processes.

According to SES Space & Defense’s Ram Rao, at the heart of AI are the complexities involved in network systems. “Every system is huge,” said Rao. “For example, SES Space & Defense’s O3b mPOWER satellites are going to be operational by the end of this year, and each of those satellites will have 5,000 beams. With 11 satellites in tow, the O3b mPOWER constellation will, in total, have 55,000 beams. There has to be resource management systems which can really control all those beams and complexities that come with it.”

Rao explained that the amount of incoming and outgoing data that these satellites will be processing cannot be managed by humans alone. Factors like power, bandwidth, and interference management, along with beam switching, hopping, shaping, and formatting, will require more than just traditional conventional algorithms, machine learning to handle vast amount of data as well as deep learning algorithms with neural networks adapting and learning from the data.

“Approaching conventional management methods makes it very difficult to really address the requirements,” explained Rao. “Especially when it comes to the speed of implementing.” He went on to explain that if the military were to execute a mission and needed to switch from one satellite beam to another beam, data computing must occur extremely fast to ensure seamless mission communications.

Especially in times of crisis or conflict, if adversaries were to target U.S. military or government satellites, AI technology could detect attacks before they occur, and switch services over to other satellites in the same orbit, or in a different orbit altogether. By being able to sense and elude an enemy’s jamming, interference or degradation of U.S. space assets, the military would have created a resilient space architecture that is capable of denying any attempts adversaries were to make to interrupt critical missions.

“SES Space & Defense’s specialization is end-to-end connectivity, which includes space, satellites, and ground systems,” said Rao. “If there is a degradation or jamming trend that is occurring on-orbit, AI could alert human operators to the trend and ensure that those kinds of critical issues are addressed. Managing those things and making sure that the satellites and systems are healthy is very important. That can be done, but not just through manual, higher-level monitoring. It has to be at a very low – and very intelligent – level. That is an example of when AI becomes critically important.”

To learn about how artificial intelligence is becoming the key to protecting the U.S. Army’s space assets, click HERE.

The post Satellite experts discuss how artificial intelligence can accelerate military decision-making in space appeared first on SES Space and Defense.