This Summer, SES and the Luxembourg Government announced that they would be commissioning the design and development of GovSat-2, the second military communications satellite under their GovSat joint-venture.

So why are SES and the Government of Luxembourg launching such second satellite for GovSat? To understand that, we have to first look at what differentiates GovSat’s capabilities from traditional commercial geosynchronous (GEO) service offerings.

Purpose-built for government missions
The GovSat-1 GEO satellite leverages military payloads capable of delivering sensitive communications via dedicated military frequency bands. While government users often leverage traditional satellite services in commercial frequency bands for certain applications, GovSat-1 offers secure connectivity for more sensitive missions thanks to its Mil Ka- and X-band frequencies, as well as its reinforced security.

In addition, the company operates from a fully dedicated Secure Missions Operations Center, using hardened ground segment that ensures end-to-end security. This allows GovSat-1 to deliver a higher level of service assurance when and where defense users need, such as within Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Such military-grade communications have the benefit of also being more jam-resistant than usual GEO satellites. This is important, as the past several years have seen governments facing new and fast-evolving threats, making the need for secure services one of the most significant drivers for the development of GovSat-2.

Resilient secure services for NATO allies
Today, GovSat is an in-demand asset for NATO allies for their sensitive military operations, and the need for it has never been higher.

Bearing witness to the ongoing geographical tensions around the world has made many NATO nations in Europe concerned about new aggressions from possible adversaries. This is forcing many of these nations to bolster their own defense and work to ensure they have access to advanced capabilities and systems needed for their own national and overall shared security.

Modern warfighting relies on connectivity and communications. The proliferation of connected sensors and network-enabled military systems makes communications an essential part of coordinated, data-driven, multi-domain operations. Satellite plays an essential role in modern military networks – delivering secure communications and signals to locations where terrestrial networks are either unavailable, untrusted, or denied.

With GovSat-1 being the only commercially-operated satellite that uses military frequencies and that can securely deliver classified information and communications, there has been tremendous demand from across the NATO nations for the satellite’s capacity.

While NATO nations are clamoring for more GovSat capacity to scale, they’re also looking for more enhanced and sophisticated security features, as the threat environment is constantly evolving and adversaries are becoming increasingly capable. Furthermore, they are also looking for capacity in complementary frequency bands such as UHF (Ultra High Frequency).

The combination of these considerations and requirements led GovSat to commission the development of GovSat-2.

A new, even more capable GovSat satellite
Buit by Thales Alenia Space, GovSat-2 will encompass the most recent advancements in satellite and military technology, addressing the strongest requirements in terms of Service Assurance and Security.

GovSat-2 is also being developed with the latest digital processing capabilities on board – to help increase resilience against adversarial jamming, spoofing, and other electronic warfare capabilities. The same technology will also deliver enhanced flexibility, giving the satellite certain beam steering capabilities necessary to address specific jamming scenarios.

Finally, GovSat-2 will be built with the specific current needs of NATO allies in mind. This includes the addition of UHF for tactical communications for allied militaries.

As modern warfare becomes increasingly reliant on networks and communications, the need for a commercial satellite that is capable of securely and assuredly delivering military data increases exponentially. The commissioning of GovSat-2 will help meet this requirement for NATO nations while also enabling increased collaboration and mission coordination across countries – providing the network backbone needed for advanced missions and improving collective deterrence and defense around the globe.

To learn more about GovSat, click HERE.

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This new BPA will give the DoD access to an X-band communications satellite network capable of delivering assured, secure satellite connectivity in support of missions being conducted in virtually any location on the globe.

To deliver a near-global solution, SES Space & Defense has partnered with several industry-leading players, including integrators, SATCOM, and teleport operators. Together, the contracted satellite operators will deliver Global X-Band satellite capacity, teleport and network services over a highly secure global terrestrial network, and other ancillary services to meet enduring and emerging DoD requirements.

To provide secure satellite communications services, one of the many satellites that SES Space & Defense will leverage is the multi-mission GovSat-1 satellite.

“SES Space & Defense believes the BPA is one of the foundation blocks in accelerating MILSATCOM-COMSATCOM integration for the space enterprise. The US Space Force established this contract as a mechanism to enable access to commercial X-band capacity globally for the DoD,” said SES Space & Defense President and CEO David Fields.

The Global X-Band BPA is the first integration services agreement awarded to SES Space & Defense since the acquisition of DRS GES by SES was finalized in August 2022. SES Space & Defense is dedicated to delivering the most trusted end-to-end global communications through a fully integrated Information and Communications Technology Ecosystem to the U.S. government and military.

“We have partnered with industry-leading X-Band owners and operators as we understand the demand for secure, non-preemptible mission-assured capacity for critical operations,” Fields explained. “By combining satellite capacity, SATCOM services can achieve the highest availability with redundant X-Band coverage and diverse gateway connectivity within sovereign space.”

To learn more about this revolutionary BPA announcement, click HERE.

The post New Agreement with SES Space & Defense Will Deliver Secure X-Band Satellite Communications to the DoD appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

The partners will leverage Network Innovations’ long history of providing global managed satellite services to introduce this new solution which will make commercially-provided X-band and military Ka-band capacity available to the military on-demand – when and where it’s needed within the reach of GovSat-1.

In advance of the official launch of tactiXs, we sat down with Patti Aston, a Senior Director at SES Space and Defense, to talk about the new service and why it’s an important new tool for the military. Here is what she told us:

Government Satellite Report (GSR): How is military X-band different from commercial Ka and Ku band? Are there benefits to X-band for military satellite communications?

Patti Aston: X-band frequencies are more robust than Ka and Ku-band frequencies – which are what most commercial operators provide. The major benefit of X-band is its resistance to interference. The satellites are set further apart, so the adjacent satellite interference is mitigated.

Also, the frequency band is better for mitigating rain fade. Ka and Ku are not as resistant to rain fade, which can create mission assurance concerns for the military. Rain fade is caused when the terminal on the ground can’t “see” the satellite on orbit because of clouds, rain, snow, sleet, or other environmental factors. This creates a situation where the signal fades and the terminal can’t transmit to the satellite.  Consumers of satellite television are probably very familiar with this – as they’ve most likely lost service or experienced pixilation in bad storms.

Finally, X-band users are typically more highly trained and less likely to accidentally create interference. With X-band available to only government and military users, terminal operators know how to access that capacity responsibly. That can’t always be said about other satellite frequencies.

These things all contribute to X-band being considered more reliable – or more mission-assured for critical operations. And when the lives of tactical operators and warfighters are on the line, the military doesn’t want to take the chance that there could be interference or signal loss.

GSR: If X-band is considered more reliable for military use, why aren’t all military communications sent over the X-band WGS satellite constellation? What limitations exist within the WGS constellation?

Patti Aston: There are a couple of reasons why the military may look outside the X- WGS constellation for satellite communications and connectivity. But the biggest reason is available non-preemptible capacity.

It can be difficult for a mission to get X-band capacity on the WGS constellation because of the demand. There is also a hierarchy within the military that is often reflected in which mission gets access to WGS capacity. Some missions have priority. For example, enabling communications for a special forces’ operation would take priority and capacity away from a testing or training mission.

“Any time assured communications are essential and mission-critical for the warfighter, tactiXs is a valuable resource.” – Patti Aston

Another factor is the time required to obtain access to the WGS satellites.  From request to access can take weeks or even months.  Often missions need immediate access to capacity and will turn to commercial operators for that access.

For mission-critical communication, WGS is terrific – but only if the warfighter and mission take priority and get access to it when they need it. Typically, if another, higher-priority, mission comes along, that warfighter or mission may get preempted and they won’t have connectivity at all.

GSR: SES and the Government of Luxembourg launched GovSat-1 to provide a commercial X-band alternative – effectively a commercial military satellite. Why is this needed? How can this help the military?

Patti Aston: By making a military band satellite available through a commercial operator, we can eliminate the potential of preemption. When a mission is contracted on a commercial satellite, that mission will always have the connectivity and capacity it needs, no matter what else is happening.

This is especially important if that satellite offers coverage in a region with a large military presence or where there are multiple military operations or missions being conducted.

GovSat-1 covers Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). That region is particularly important to the U.S. Government and its Alliance partners. In the EMEA region, our Government – and other Allied governments, including NATO members –  need access to communications with the same amount of security and mission assurance as the WGS satellite constellation. But they also need that access to be reliable and not get preempted by other users or missions.

“For mission-critical communication, WGS is terrific – but only if the warfighter and mission take priority and get access to it when they need it. Typically, if another, higher-priority, mission comes along, that warfighter or mission may get preempted and they won’t have connectivity at all.” – Patti Aston

GovSat-1 ensures that secure, X-band satellite communications and capacity are there for them in one of the most active areas of operation on the planet.

GSR: Recently SES announced the launch of a new service called tactiXs. How is this service new and different from other commercial satellite managed services on the marketplace?

Patti Aston: tactiXs is the only commercial satellite managed service available to the military that offers X-band satellite capacity on an as-needed volume-based basis. Essentially, by making capacity on GovSat-1 available as a short-term managed service, tactiXs enables the military to access X-band capacity specifically tailored to the mission in which communications are needed.

GSR: How does tactiXs change the way the military can access the GovSat-1 satellite and benefit from its capabilities and capacity?

Patti Aston: With tactiXs, if a military contracting officer needs to deliver a specific amount of X-band connectivity and capacity to the EMEA region for a specific amount of time, they will be able to purchase and deliver just what is needed to the warfighter within hours.

This gives the military user tremendous flexibility and agility. They now have on-demand access of X-band capacity on an as-needed basis. And they don’t have to buy the capacity on a long-term basis. Since this is a managed service, they also don’t have to provide the ground infrastructure. The ground stations and teleports – everything necessary to enable access – is provided for them.

GSR: What military use cases can you anticipate for tactiXs? What kinds of missions could tactiXs help to support?

Patti Aston: Candidly, all of them. Special operations, covert missions, missions in which warfighters have to drop into an area discreetly and receive or send data securely. Any mission that requires military X-band capacity that won’t be preempted. Any mission that needs the security of X-band satellite communications from a trusted industry partner – and they need it right away. Any time assured communications are essential and mission-critical for the warfighter, tactiXs is a valuable resource.

“It can be difficult for a mission to get X-band capacity on the WGS constellation because of the demand. There is also a hierarchy within the military that is often reflected in which mission gets access to WGS capacity. Some missions have priority.” – Patti Aston

There is also the ability to serve missions like training, testing, and airborne training missions. These are missions that require small amounts of connectivity for short periods of time. They’re also the missions that are most often preempted on the WGS satellite constellation.

tactiXs is an incredible solution to meet the connectivity requirements of these missions without waiting or for the military having to over-buy bandwidth.

GSR: What will the military need to do to access tactiXs? Is there a long lead time or notice needed to use the service? Is new hardware needed?

Patti Aston: There is virtually no lead time needed as long as you have the terminal. However, it would be beneficial to have an agreement set up ahead of time. That way, if the military knows there is the potential to use the service, that mission-critical capacity is simply a phone call or email away.

There is no special or proprietary hardware necessary to access the service. Military users simply need an X-band terminal similar to others already available and widely adopted across the military. We use the Dialog platform infrastructure so there is a good chance that similar hardware has already been deployed into the field.

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Part of the challenge was that the scale was completely different.  With hundreds of satellites providing services using commercial frequencies and hundreds of thousands of ground terminals across hundreds of general and specialized applications, economies of scale and competition had driven down costs and prices for these terminals.  In the military frequency realm, terminals were few and far between meaning prices were higher.  Even as recently as 2007, terminals for military SATCOM frequencies were 50% higher than equivalent commercial frequency terminals.

I pick 2007 for a reason – that was when the first Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) launched for the U.S. Government.  Up until that time, the only government frequency satellites in use belonged to governments and were used solely for national interests, with the one exception being XTAR, which launched two X-band satellites in 2005 and 2006. Since then, the WGS fleet has grown to 10 satellites, with 11 and 12 to come. The British military fleet has expanded across the five Skynet satellites. Canada’s X-band payload sits aboard Telesat’s Anik G1 satellite. XTAR has announced a replacement strategy, and SES and LuxGovSat launched X-band and Mil-Ka capabilities on GovSat-1.

Suddenly, there is global coverage in military SATCOM frequencies.  Now there is a way for users to gain access to this valuable and effective resource almost anywhere. The development and purchasing of compatible terminals have increased to take advantage of the distinct technical and operational advantages that these frequency bands offer.  The result is that terminal costs have come down – significantly. The economies of scale are approaching a similar point to those of terminals that operate in commercial frequencies.

At this point, terminal prices should not differ by operating frequency, except one factor. That factor?  User requirements.

U.S. Government users desire and require more secure and resilient features for mission assurance. With national security in mind, redundancies, durability, and the ability to withstand austere and specialized operating conditions are understandably necessary. But even with a ruggedized terminal for military SATCOM frequencies and applications, pricing has become similar to comparable terminals operating on commercial frequencies.

The old days of military frequencies needing terminals that are much more expensive have gone. They now exist in a healthy competitive environment where users can acquire capabilities in the same way as commercial terminals. This allows the warfighter accessibility to the best operating frequency to fit their mission requirements, rather than having to choose if performance or cost should be the deciding factor.

As of January 2020, multiple terminals from 19 manufacturers were registered for use on GovSat-1 at both X-band and Military Ka-band, with more being added every month. The technical advantages of X-band and Mil Ka-band for mobility and small-form-factor terminals are compelling. Outdated pricing expectations should not be a reason why these capabilities are overlooked.

The post More Terminal Options Reduce Barriers into Military SATCOM Frequencies appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

As part of the Schriever War Games, the military identifies a scenario that they envision facing a decade in the future. The participants from the military and private industry then build toolkits of solutions and capabilities that they can use in those scenarios. From there, Red Team / Blue Team exercises begin, and teams attempt to outmaneuver each other in a hypothetical conflict. The toolkits can only include solutions that are currently available or are slated to be available in the next decade.

What’s particularly exciting about the War Games is the involvement of commercial and industry partners. The military understands that much of its future capabilities will be developed by those that it partners with in the private sector. By getting them involved in the War Games, industry partners become aware of the military’s future challenges and requirements, and the military gets to learn about the new capabilities and solutions that its industry partners are developing.

And one of the areas where there will be massive innovation and introduction of new solutions in the coming years is the satellite industry. Whether it’s the launch of new satellite constellations at new orbits, or the introduction of satellite services in some of the more remote and extreme locations on the planet, the satellite industry is making massive strides and will have many new services and capabilities that the military will be able to take advantage of in ten year’s time.

Let’s take a look at three of the game changing future commercial satellite capabilities that were discussed at the recent Schriever War Games:

O3b mPOWER and high throughput satellites at MEO
One of the largest and most exciting innovations that the military can look forward to in the coming years is the introduction of O3b mPOWER – a next generation, high throughput satellite service in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). This extremely high bandwidth, exceptionally low-latency satellite service will deliver incredible amounts of data to virtually anywhere on the planet and will do so with increased resiliency.

With space now considered a warfighting domain, mPOWER’s baked-in anti-jam and resiliency features ensure that military communications are harder to degrade, deny or compromise. Its smaller, more powerful beams and closer proximity to Earth will make it possible to enjoy fiber-like throughputs. The MEO satellites have already garnered the interest and attention of the military with the launch quickly approaching in 2021.

GovSat-1 and the rise of “commercial military satellites”
The Department of Defense (DoD) prefers the security and reliability of the X-band and military Ka-band satellite spectrums over the commercial C-band or Ku-band satellite spectrums. But, as Phil Harlow recently wrote on the Government Satellite Report, “There are less than a dozen WGS satellites, making the bandwidth on those satellites a precious and limited commodity.”

Being able to roll onto a commercial satellite when the WGS satellite constellation is denied,  in use, or simply doesn’t have enough bandwidth could be a major asset for increasing the resiliency of military satellite communications. This is where GovSat-1 comes in.

GovSat-1 is a satellite that was built by commercial partners in collaboration with coalition partner nations to offer the same spectrum, security, and capabilities as a military satellite. However, it’s a commercial satellite that can be contracted for when and where it’s needed. Using the GovSat-1 satellite doesn’t necessarily require additional hardware or different terminals to utilize since it effectively utilizes the same technology as a WGS satellite.

Since GovSat-1 just launched in January 2018, the lifespan of this fresh satellite is expected to last from today through the entirety of the wargame scenarios, and beyond.

Increased polar capacity to meet higher demand
The DoD is in a transformative period where they’re shifting focus back to near-peer adversaries – including Russia and China – and working to revitalize a military depleted from two decades of near-constant war.

Considering the geographic location and sophistication of these adversaries, there’s a renewed interest in securing the poles and ensuring that today’s advanced network-enabled platforms and capabilities are available to the warfighter in these extreme and harsh environments.

Traditionally, the poles have been primarily used by research and commercial maritime organizations, but the military is increasing requirements for satellite service in these areas as well. Commercial satellite solution providers are looking to make strategic investments to meet that demand.

In the coming decade, the military can anticipate an increase in the number of satellites that service the Arctic with high SLAs. They can also anticipate satellite services from lower orbits starting to service these locations in the not-too-distant future.

As next generation satellites – including the satellites at lower orbits – reach the end of their life over the next decade, they will see their course-correction reduced to help extend their service. Some of the satellites at MEO will invariably be among them, and their new orbit will enable them to deliver service to the poles. This means that the government will not only be able to get satellite connectivity in this extreme location, they will also be able to get high throughput, low-latency connectivity there as well.

For additional information on GovSat-1 click HERE. for additional information on mPOWER, click HERE.

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Commercial solutions helps the military  embrace innovative technologies within their organization more quickly than if they tried to build them themselves. Unfortunately, commercial companies have a bad habit of trying to force the government to change their requirements to meet the specifications of their products – not change their products to meet the government’s requirements.

However, I did provide an example of a case study where a government and a commercial service provider worked together to tailor a commercial solution to the specific requirements of the government –the GovSat-1 satellite, a public-private partnership between the Luxembourg Government and SES. This satellite is effectively commercially-owned and operated, built to meet the unique specification and needs of a government– utilizing the X and mil-Ka frequency bands relied upon by governments and featuring the latest in satellite technologies.

While GovSat-1 is an incredible example of how commercial industry can listen to government requirements and produce a product that meets their needs, it brings up interesting questions. Why does the government need a commercial WGS satellite? Why not just use commercial satellites to fill their communications requirements?

The answer to that involves the inherent differences between MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM satellites and frequencies. So, let’s take a deeper dive into the pros and the cons of both, and it will become increasingly obvious why a commercial government satellite is the best of both worlds for the military.

MILSATCOM: safer, reliable but limited
Despite what we discussed in my last article – that WGS satellites are spacecraft that were designed two decades ago and feature older technology – there are technical benefits to military satellites.

First, there are the technical advantages of operating at the X band frequency. Frequencies below ~10 GHz are not as susceptible to the effects of atmospheric attenuation. This means almost completely clear-sky operation no matter whether you are in a high rain zone or in a dusty desert.

With only ten WGS satellites in orbit, there is less chance of adjacent satellite interference. This means that more power can be put down from each satellite without fear of interfering with other, adjacent satellites (or being interfered with by other satellites). This higher power results in a stronger signal on the ground that further overcomes attenuation from environmental factors, increases throughputs and improves link reliability.

The benefits of MILSATCOM aren’t just technical, there are also operational benefits. All of the individuals operating military satellites are trained professionals. There are no commercial providers or amateurs potentially gumming up the works with miss-pointed antennas, overdriving power amplifiers or being on the wrong frequencies. Ultimately, the spectrum for MILSATCOM is “quieter,” and there is less chance of an unskilled operator inadvertently causing interference. This alone can significantly increase the reliability of MILSATCOM.

But it’s not all positives when it comes to MILSATCOM. There are some reasons why military satellite isn’t always the best option.

First, there’s the issue of compatible terminals and ground infrastructure. Many military users – especially allied partners – don’t have equipment that can work for military frequency bands. The number of military terminals is limited, and the price of them can be exorbitant. This is why many of our allied partners own commercial terminals and prefer to use commercial frequencies.

Then, there’s the issue of capacity. There are only ten WGS satellites in orbit. Those satellites are not the extremely high capacity, high throughput satellites that are currently being built and launched by commercial satellite operators, which means capacity is extremely limited.

Should a military user need or want WGS satellite capacity, chances are they’re going to have to wait in line. If a VIP needs that capacity, or a higher priority mission requires it, there’s a good chance that they’ll have to make do without it, or at least without everything they need.  One significant limitation is the restricted use of small terminals on WGS.  This makes communications on the move, drones and other mobile platforms more compatible with commercial frequencies.

COMSATCOM: abundant, flexible but less secure

There are hundreds of commercial satellites in orbit around the earth right now. Each of those satellites represents an opportunity for the military to get the bandwidth and capacity they need for every mission – without exception. However, there are reasons why the military may be reluctant to utilize COMSATCOM for mission communications and connectivity.

First, there’s the issue with environmental attenuation. Commercial satellites operating at higher frequencies can have their signals deteriorated or denied by rain and other environmental factors. That can be a problem for the military since many missions can’t wait until the rain clears up. On an annual basis, atmospheric attenuation only creates ~15 minutes of downtime per day on average, depending on the frequency band.

Commercial satellites are much closer together than military satellites.  This means that operating conditions require accurate antenna pointing and disciplined operations to prevent accidental interference.  The sharing of a commercial satellite with these non-military users, and the perceived higher incidence of accidental interference leads many military personnel to presume that commercial satellites are less reliable and less secure.  I’ll talk more about the myths of using commercial satellites for military applications in a future post.

All that being said, the sheer number of commercial satellites provides flexibility, diversity and an overall increase in service reliability. If a signal is jammed or denied, there are other satellites that the military can roll onto that won’t be jammed or denied if spare capacity and coverage are available. It’s also harder for an adversary to find the specific satellite that our military is using since there are so many to choose from.

Commercial satellite is an incredible, viable adjunct for the military. But there will always be military leaders that want and need the increased security and reliability of military satellites for their mission-critical communications requirements. And that’s one reason why GovSat-1 is such an effective solution.

GovSat-1 gives the military the security and reliability of MILSATCOM with the availability, innovative technology and accessibility of COMSATCOM, making it a great tool for augmenting the military’s existing satellite infrastructure.

In my next post on the Government Satellite Report, I’ll look at some of the use cases of MILSATCOM and what it can deliver to mobile warfighters.

The post MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM – why they’re better together appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

The government tends to move slower than the pace of innovation in these industries. After the government or military’s requirements are established, a bespoke-built solution often takes longer than a commercial build.
With the rapid improvement in technology, if a military program or satellite takes many years from design to going operational, it’s highly likely the capability will be outdated by the time the service starts.

In the meantime, private industry has continued innovating and have released newer products and solutions with better functionality and new capability that could be better at doing the job.

Rapid access to new and innovative technology is a big driver for today’s warfighters.  Military users are growing up with instant access to new technology and expect access to the improvements that new technology brings.  Aside from price, this is one of the best-selling features of commercial technologies, products and services – commercial technologies mean faster access to innovation. But this isn’t a completely one-sided argument.

There are very real reasons why the government and military are often reticent to embrace commercial solutions. Commercial companies don’t always listen to government requirements. And, in my opinion, when they do, they often try to force government entities into reshaping their requirements to meet already existing commercial solutions. Security and robustness needed by the military are usually features that most commercial systems don’t implement fully to the levels that are required.

What’s the alternative? Commercial companies need to do a better job of communicating with the government, identifying their unique requirements and then crafting solutions that meet these requirements, instead of trying to get the requirements to meet the solution. The government/industrial relationship has become too commoditized, too transactional – we miss the truly collaborative interaction that results in the ideal mix of function, schedule and cost, focused on the mission at hand.

And for those that think that this collaborative approach is improbable or far-fetched, I can offer an incredible case study from the satellite industry.

GovSat-1 and building solutions for government

The network-centric nature of today’s military effectively requires that all military operations have access to high bandwidth, low latency connectivity. Network-enabled military platforms, connected vehicles and warfighter capabilities demand it.

The military relies on a mix of highly protected satellites, assured and controlled WGS core capacity with UHF mobile and tactical satcoms for its main capability. This is supported by commercial capacities on a “use until you lose” basis.

In my opinion, WGS satellites are all similarly-built satellites that were designed two decades ago. They were built and then launched in succession from 2007 until 2019 – the tenth WGS satellite in the constellation was launched in March of this year.

Since these satellites were all built on an older design, they lack the advanced capabilities and technologies that are present in today’s more advanced commercial satellites. That’s because, much like I discussed previously, as they were being built, the industry continued to innovate and introduce new technologies and capabilities into spacecraft.

With just ten WGS satellites on orbit, some of which are headed towards end of life, the military often finds itself in need of more capacity than is available. This is exasperated by the older technologies in these satellites, which don’t have the same high-throughput as today’s advanced HTS spacecraft. This forces some missions and organizations to go without satellite service if something more pressing or mission-critical needs the capacity.

To help fill the military’s satellite requirements, many commercial satellite providers have called on them to utilize commercial satellite services – which is an excellent idea. Unfortunately, there will always be some data and communications that the military is hesitant to transmit via commercial satellites – which are often shared with other commercial and government users.

The typical commercial response is to tell the government to change its requirements. If commercial satellite services won’t meet their reliability or security requirements, they should just change them. But that’s a tall “ask” for most in the military, which often would rather make do with what it has than compromise on its mission requirements. Ultimately, this results in the military not getting the right capacity to meet its needs and leaves the commercial satellite industry complaining about it. But there is another path forward, as illustrated by LuxGovSat, a joint venture and stand-alone entity between the Luxembourg Government and SES.

In January of 2018, the Luxembourg Government and SES launched GovSat-1. This satellite is an incredible example of listening to military requirements and creating a solution that meets them, instead of trying to change the requirements.

GovSat-1 is effectively a military and government satellite built using a rapid commercial approach whilst maintaining the robust requirements of a military satellite. It provides both the X and mil-Ka frequency bands specifically dedicated to governments, and features many of the advanced capabilities and technologies that are found in today’s more advanced satellites. This allows the military to get the best of both worlds – they get the reliability and security of military satellite communications from a satellite that delivers the best, most innovative technologies from the commercial industry. It even allows the military to utilize the same terminals and antennas as the WGS constellation, meaning there’s no need to invest in new ground infrastructure.

The government and military should be looking at commercial technologies, products and solutions for meeting their needs. It’s the only way in which to keep pace with innovation and ensure that cutting edge technologies are being utilized to accomplish the mission. But for this to be possible, commercial providers need to be more sensitive and open to government needs and stop trying to force the government to change its requirements to meet their solutions.

GovSat-1 is an example of what can be done when governments and commercial providers work together to accomplish a goal – creating a solution that is tailored to government requirements and doesn’t force them to choose between having a capability and making difficult sacrifices.

In my next post on the Government Satellite Report, I’ll take a deep dive into the difference between military and commercial satellites and talk about the pros and cons of both for government users. For additional information on GovSat-1, click HERE.

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Why would a commercial satellite company and the Luxembourg Government jointly launch a satellite specifically for government users? Why would an organization that builds, launches and operates its own satellites – such as the United States military – be interested in a government-only commercial satellite? Is there really market demand for such a thing in the commercial satellite market today?

To answer these questions, the Government Satellite Report sat down with Chris Kinman, vice president of business development at SES Space and Defense, and Paul Wells  the VP of Government Satellite Communications at GovSat, to discuss why GovSat-1 is important for today’s federal government, how it’s different from government satellites and constellations that are available today and why a government-only satellite was a smart investment for one of the world’s largest satellite communications companies and the Luxembourg Government.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): What exactly is GovSat-1 and how is it different from other commercial satellites?

Paul Wells: GovSat is a public-private joint venture between the Luxembourg Government and SES, the world leading satellite operator.

GovSat-1 was launched in January 2018 year and is operational since March 2018. It is not a commercial satellite but one designed for use by Government and Institution users only. The unique satellite capability features the latest technology advancements in communications security and is entirely dedicated to governments and institutions including defense and security applications.

In the situation when cyber threats are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, resiliency and robustness of the communications capabilities are absolutely paramount. GovSat-1 was devised with this in mind and has additional levels of security compared to traditional satellites.

The GovSat team has extensive experience and insights into the unique connectivity requirements necessary to support classified government missions that have factored into the development of the satellite. GovSat-1 is equipped with anti-jamming features, encrypted telemetry and control and uses secure frequencies.

Unlike traditional satellites, the frequencies GovSat-1 is using are in X-band and military Ka-band. GovSat-1 provides the most powerful and flexible X-band capacity available. This frequency is reserved for governments and institutions, and is ideal to establish secure and robust satellite communication links, for example between theaters of tactical operations, maritime missions or over areas affected by humanitarian crises.

The secure communication links enabled by high-powered military Ka-band beams are for smaller high-throughput VSAT terminals and are ideal for mobility applications, such as Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions and various border surveillance applications, including maritime.

It is also important to note that GovSat-1 is operated from its Secure Mission Operations Centre in Luxembourg. This is a dedicated facility that ensures 24/7 operations, with security-cleared personnel with government and military SATCOM experience that can handle classified information up to NATO/EU and LUX SECRET. GovSat-1, together with its Secure Mission Operations Centre, forms one of the most reliable and secure satellite communications capabilities for governments available on the market.

GSR: Why did SES and the Luxembourg Government jointly build and launch GovSat-1? What is the business case for building and launching this satellite?

Paul Wells: The business case is to provide secure, assured and resilient satellite communications Services for Governments and Institutions for NATO, EU and Allied partners to Luxembourg.

Accessibility and affordability are two very important characteristics when it comes to serving governmental and institutional customers. With GovSat-1, the capabilities of the national programs are made accessible to a broader spectrum of governments. In other words, they can get secure and robust end-to-end communication services from GovSat, and protect their nations without launching their own, quite costly, satellite programs.

The connectivity established by GovSat-1 enables critical communications over such important geographical areas as Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and provide extensive maritime coverage over the Mediterranean and Baltic seas, and the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

GSR: The government operates its own purpose built satellite and that fleet handles most of its SATCOM requirements. How is GovSat-1 different from the purpose-built satellite that the military currently operates?

Chris Kinman: There’s really not much of a difference. The big difference is the investment that we made on our own dime and with Investment from the Luxembourg Government. We designed the satellite very close to government needs in meeting their demands for secured communications.

We built in NSA grade encryption of the telemetry and control, and we wrapped security around the service, as well as the facilities that serve the ground segment. We also built in military grade anti-jam capabilities – all of the resilient type of requirements that the U.S. government has. They get the same thing with this satellite.

GSR: It sounds like there are a lot of similarities between GovSat-1 and a satellite that the U.S. military currently operates, but that raises a very interesting question – why use GovSat-1 instead of these purpose-built satellites that the military already has?

Chris Kinman: Nothing’s free in life – including those government satellites that I talked about. Those constellations were very expensive and, frankly, they’re very expensive to operate.  SES and Luxembourg Government saw the opportunity to economically fulfill critical mission needs.

The military needs satellite bandwidth at certain times and it has to work. With a government type of scenario, trying to get priority bandwidth, a lot of our users have come to us and said they have to wait in line, participate in a scheduling process and hope that they get the bandwidth when needed. They have to contend with others in the mission area and oftentimes may not be able to get that bandwidth because some higher priority command came along and took it away.

These customers have identified the need and requirement to us saying, “…if you build something like this we would actually pay for it because the bandwidth set aside in reserve we’re actually going to get it when we need it.”

GSR: Earlier this year GSR attended Satellite 2018 where we continued to hear about issues with ground stations and ground technology. Would the use of GovSat-1 require the U.S. government or a U.S. military user to have different ground infrastructure or new technologies and terminals on the ground?

Chris Kinman: The great answer is “no” because our end users don’t have to modify anything about their WGS capable terminals.  They don’t have to go out and do a refresh of any of these terminals that are out in the field, all they need to do is tune to the military Ka or X Band frequencies that we provide.

The capacity is unbelievable – we’re talking about 10 transponders alone in global beam for X Band, up to 40 transponders for narrow beam of high powered beams for X Band and 36 transponder equivalents within the Military Ka band. These beams are steerable and military grade and the satellite is so flexible that users can cross strap both between beams and also across X and mil Ka band. This is the inflection point where commercial satellites meet government satellites. We’re at a point where the technology is blending and they can pay for service and get outstanding results.

To learn more about GovSat-1 and how it can benefit government users and the military, click HERE.

The post Does the government need a government-only commercial satellite? Experts from SES weigh in appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

What, exactly, has been happening? Let’s take a look at some of the headlines:

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Launch Brings Humanity One Giant Leap Closer To Mars
If going to the Moon is redundant and boring to people, maybe we have to set our sights out a bit further. What if we went to Mars? That’s exactly what this week’s incredibly historic and significant launch of Space X’s Falcon Heavy Rocket could enable in time.

This article by Forbes does an excellent job of laying out the challenges that Mars and other deep space exploration creates for the scientific community. It also lays out just why the Falcon Heavy launch was so significant.

To sum up, getting people onto Mars would take preparation and sending a lot of equipment and supplies in advance. Previous rockets and space shuttles have been powerful and capable of carrying large payloads, but they’ve been extremely expensive and can only be used once. Falcon Heavy changed all of that. It’s a fraction of the cost of previous rockets, and its boosters can be recovered and reused.

Is this week’s test launch – which achieved low-Earth orbit – immediately going to enable us to send men to Mars? No. But it’s an important first step in overcoming the cost challenges that Mars missions have always faced, and an exciting development for the future of space flight and exploration. It also flung a pretty rocking car into space…so that’s pretty awesome.

NASA’s GOLD Mission Powers on for First Time After Eventful Launch
Not to be outdone by an upstart commercial space flight company, the original founder of the space industry – NASA – did something pretty incredible in the past few weeks as well. NASA launched a hosted payload designed to help gauge weather and temperatures in an important region of the atmosphere influenced by weather events on Earth and in space.

What was truly exciting and revolutionary about this payload was that it wasn’t aboard a NASA satellite. Instead, the payload was carried to space onboard SES-14, a commercial satellite owned and operated by COMSATCOM provider (and Government Satellite Report sponsor) SES.

By launching GOLD as a hosted payload onboard a commercial space craft, NASA was able to execute its mission at a fraction of the cost by effectively hitching a ride to space. That strategy was validated when the GOLD payload was turned on – albeit temporarily – following launch and everything appeared to be functioning.

Click the link above to the Space.com article to learn more about GOLD and its timeline to start science operations. Additional information about GOLD is available HERE.

Falcon 9 soars into space with GovSat 1
And not to be outdone by NASA, Space X made news again this past week when it reused a rocket to launch another exciting and revolutionary satellite – GovSat-1.

Designed exclusively for the government and defense community, GovSat-1 is the first satellite of GovSat, which is a joint venture between the Government of Luxembourg and SES.

GovSat-1 was designed for dual use to support both defense and civil security applications, including mobile and fixed communications. It is a multi-mission satellite that offers X-band and Military Ka-band capacity. The spacecraft will provide up to six high-powered and fully steerable spot beams, as well as an advanced Global X-band beam.

GovSat-1 is the first commercial satellite designed to only carry government and defense communications. The fact that it made its way into space onboard a flight-proven rocket just adds to its status as a history-making satellite.

For additional information about GovSat-1, download a brochure by clicking HERE.

The post Excitement over space builds amid successful and historic launches appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

<To watch GovSat-1 Launch on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, click HERE>

Designed exclusively for the government and defense community, GovSat-1 is the first satellite of GovSat, which is a joint venture between the Government of Luxembourg and the world-leading satellite operator SES.

Positioned at 21.5 degrees East, this satellite will be ideally located to support communications within Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and to provide highly reliable and flexible interconnectivity for defense and institutional applications within its coverage area. GovSat-1 will also enable operations over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Multi-mission Satellite
GovSat-1 was designed for dual use to support both defense and civil security applications, including mobile and fixed communications. It is a multi-mission satellite that offers X-band and Military Ka-band capacity. The spacecraft will provide up to six high-powered and fully steerable spot beams, as well as an advanced Global X-band beam.

The X-band frequency is reserved for governments and institutions, and is an ideal mean to establish secure and robust satellite communication links, for example between theaters of tactical operations, maritime missions or over areas affected by a humanitarian crisis.

The Military Ka-band will be used predominantly for mobility applications in support of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The secure communication links it enables are characterized by smaller high-throughput VSAT terminals.

The Mediterranean Sea is one particular area covered by a high-power beam in military Ka-band. It is therefore ideally suited to enable communications for European Border Surveillance applications.

Equipped with anti-jamming features, encrypted telemetry and control, and frequencies reserved for governmental use, GovSat-1 will also provide enhanced resilience capabilities for more reliable connectivity.

GovSat-1 was built by Orbital ATK, and designed to operate for 15 years in geostationary orbit. The spacecraft has a launch mass of 4,230 kg. GovSat-1 has a diverse mix of transponder sizes in terms of bandwidth per transponder, offering in total 68 transponder-equivalent units of 36 MHz.

For additional information about GovSat-1, download a brochure by clicking HERE. To watch the launch of GovSat-1 on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, click HERE.

The post GovSat-1 to deliver secure communications for governments appeared first on SES Space and Defense.