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.

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One topic of discussion that received a considerable amount of buzz throughout the conference was the federal government and military’s need for connectivity at the North and South Poles.

At first glance, it may seem that having SATCOM capabilities at the Poles is unnecessary. But my conversations with government and military leaders at Space Symposium showed that there is – indeed – an undeniable need for COMSATCOM solutions and capabilities at the Poles.

Research and national defense
Even though there are very few people who live and work at the North and South Poles, the mission sets that present U.S. government and military personnel are carrying out in these areas are absolutely critical to not only national security, but to scientific research and development as well.

If we were to take a trip down to the remote South Pole, we would find scientists and researchers from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) making groundbreaking discoveries in the areas of astronomy, astrophysics, seismology, climate change, among many others.

Without reliable connectivity and communications capabilities, government researchers are unable to uplink the critical data back to those that will analyze and learn from it in the continental U.S. As a result, major scientific progress could be halted and left unsupported during a time when rising sea levels and record-breaking natural disasters are threatening American lives every day. It is critical that the federal government be able to provide scientists with the SATCOM capabilities they require to continue producing world-saving research.

And much like in the South Pole, the remote North Pole also supports scientific, government research that requires SATCOM solutions that can power the massive data exchanges coming to and from the area. But, unlike the South Pole, there are additional military requirements for SATCOM services at the North Pole.

Two of our largest, near-peer adversaries are located in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility (AOR). As global climate change continues to open passages on additional travel routes through the North Pole region, the need to protect newly-formed commercial trade routes from those adversaries increases. There is also an increased need to defend the U.S. and its northern allies from threats that leverage these new northern passages.

The threats U.S. adversaries pose to national security is always evolving. To secure U.S. borders from potential, incoming threats the government and military must leverage digital transformation at the North Pole, through the proliferation of military, marine, and aerospace sensors that can detect security threats that may pose risks to the homeland.

With traditional, terrestrial networks unavailable, SATCOM is necessary to get sensor data from these remote locations back to military and civilian support organizations and their decision-makers. By leveraging SATCOM to connect a new generation of advanced Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and devices, our military and civilian organizations can gain better situational awareness at the Poles, understand changing weather patterns, and be better prepared to defend our nation from pacing threats.

But what commercial satellite capabilities are available in the Poles?

Why the Poles are HOT for satellite providers
There are many rural, remote, and geographically isolated places in our country that are without access to terrestrial networks because there simply isn’t a business case for telecoms or other internet service providers (ISP) to invest in the infrastructure. And it’s easy to understand why. Since the number of residents that would pay for the service is limited, these companies simply wouldn’t make their investment back, let alone make a meaningful return on that investment.

Something similar has long hampered the launch of satellite constellations that provide service to the North and South Poles. In places where penguins and polar bears outnumber people, there is very little need for satellite services, and very little revenue to be generated from launching multiple satellites to deliver coverage to these areas.

But that is beginning to change rapidly. Increased demand from government and military users in these remote areas is driving a growing need for satellite services. In partnerships with global governments, there could now be a reasonable business case for commercial satellite service providers to expand coverage to the poles. And this is one of the reasons why so many conversations at Space Symposium focused on this topic – renewed and increased interest in the Poles from both the government and its industry partners.

For example, as a satellite operator with the only HTS satellite constellation in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), SES Space and Defense, strategically designed second generation MEO constellation, O3b mPOWER with capabilities to operate in inclined planes and in the future extend MEO to the poles. As scientific expeditions and military operations continue to expand at the Poles, the future capabilities that MEO will provide will be paramount to mission success.

This was a sentiment shared by Steve Collar, the CEO of SES, during his recent keynote address at the SATELLITE 2023 Conference. “From an SES standpoint, we designed O3b mPOWER to be capable to also operate in inclined planes. That would be the next step for us…That means polar capability and polar coverage that allows us to add more capabilities,” Collar said. “We won’t be limited in the future to just communications. We can add more services and more missions to this incredibly strategic orbit.”

Learn how SES Space and Defense is providing satellite services to Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, HERE.

Listen to SES Space and Defense’s Vice President of Government Relations, Jon Bennett, discuss why commercial connectivity is critical for communications at the Arctic Circle, HERE.

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But very few of the technologies that are being embraced by the government and military as a part of their ongoing modernization initiatives have the transformative potential as the Internet of Things (IoT).

For those that aren’t familiar, IoT involves the proliferation and deployment of network-enabled and connected devices and sensors that have the potential to measure and monitor the environment around them. The data that these devices and sensors generate can then be aggregated and analyzed for actionable insights.

What makes IoT so exciting is its ability to shift government agencies from being reactive – identifying problems after they arise and addressing them – to being proactive – identifying red flags and factors that indicate a problem is arising, and taking proactive steps to keep it from becoming an issue.

However, for IoT programs and initiatives to be successful, the devices and sensors need to be connected, so that their important data and findings can be accessed and analyzed in a timely and relevant fashion. With devices and sensors often needed in remote, austere environments, satellite becomes a natural and logical choice for connecting IoT devices at the tactical edge.

One of the companies leading the charge on satellite-enabled IoT initiatives is OQ Technologies, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with GovSat to develop and test satellite-based IoT products aimed at defense and government sectors.

We recently sat down with the company’s Founder and CEO, Omar Qaise, to discuss the importance of government IoT initiatives, and learn more about the MOU between OQ Technologies and GovSat.

Here is what he told us:

Government Satellite Report (GSR): Can you tell our readers a bit about OQ Technology? What does the company do? What markets and industries does it service?

Omar Qaise: OQ Technology is the only company in the world that uses standardized 3GPP cellular technology for Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) to connect devices to satellites.  We are taking advantage of market and technology gaps not covered by existing satellite communication, particularly for low-power, low-cost, small messaging IoT devices.

In 2016, 3GPP introduced NB-IoT, making our proposition unrivaled in the satellite world. Based on this standard, OQ has developed algorithms and add-on software to make sure IoT devices can seamlessly switch between terrestrial and satellite connectivity to overcome connectivity issues in remote locations without modifying the cellular standards. As an early result, we won multiple contracts with ESA under the Luxembourg Space Agency national program, LuxImpulse.

The company also has developed a technology that allows it to use the cheaper standard mobile chips for its satellite connectivity, instead of the expensive satellite chip that would have to be installed and used when leaving terrestrial networks.

This unique combination of seamless connectivity using standard mobile chips at a fraction of the cost makes it ideal for applications in industries such as oil, gas, logistics, mining, and defense. Particularly in rural and remote areas such as Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas, where infrastructure is lacking.

GSR: How pervasive are IoT initiatives across world governments today?

Omar Qaise: Local authorities all over the world are facing growing pressures from their government to achieve targets on climate change, improve social care and overhaul waste management – all with budgets squeezed tighter than ever. As a result, we have seen great interest by local governments in IoT technology solutions to help meet their budget and social goals, achieving scale by addressing multiple use cases at once.

There are various ways in which the Internet of things is being used in governance including healthcare, education, smart infrastructure, remote oversight of transport and agricultural systems, and disaster management. Fortune Business Insights reckons that the global IoT in smart cities market alone will grow fivefold, reaching USD 582.38 billion by 2028, up from USD 110.56 billion in 2020.

GSR: What are some of the different ways governments can utilize IoT sensors and solutions to better accomplish their missions?

Omar Qaise: Through IoT devices and a low-latency or real-time connectivity network, the government can monitor, map and analyze at scale. Take healthcare, for example, where the use of the IoT allows to flag any issues earlier and prevent the escalation of problems while the individual is at home.

The push towards smart lighting in cities will use low-power IoT networks to connect the lights, which will be undertaken on a huge scale. Councils will be able to switch on and off certain sections of the lighting estate depending on the activity, which in turn reduces energy consumption. To do this, streetlights need smart controllers that receive and transmit wireless signals to the lighting unit.

Military users such as the U.S. Department of Defense are making strides to expand 5G research and ultimately, deployment. They are expecting benefits of 5G in battlefield environments among other uses. In October 2020, the DoD awarded contracts totaling $600 million to perform testing and evaluation of 5G technologies at five military installations across the country.

Connected devices would allow the efficient tracking and management of military assets, giving real-time visibility of stock and supply and the means to forecast which products are in demand or excess. Being able to receive speed and motor status, overall engine times, and fuel economy for vehicles with embedded sensors would improve fleet management. Information that would be difficult to come by without the IoT.

“Local authorities all over the world are facing growing pressures from their government to achieve targets on climate change, improve social care and overhaul waste management – all with budgets squeezed tighter than ever.” – Omar Qaise

Sensors attached to a soldier’s clothing can enable proactive health surveillance and provide crucial and timely insights of remote battlefields, allowing officers to make better-informed decisions.

The gathered data from battlefield situations would allow us to improve the augmented reality for remote training programs. Together with artificial intelligence, connected devices can also improve the accuracy for autonomous reconnaissance and recognizing targets.

It’s not limited to land-based devices either. Military use cases include communications with drones, mine detection, harbor protection, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), networks of underwater robots, submarines communicating with a land-based command post, as well as drone attack detection and warning system on borders. Even search-and-rescue has potential; there’s almost no limit to possible applications.

GSR: What role does satellite play in government IoT initiatives? Why would satellite connectivity be necessary to enable government IoT programs?

Omar Qaise: 5G is a core technology upon which modern societies, their economies, and their militaries will rest. It will be crucial to how industries compete and generate value, how people communicate and interact, and how militaries pursue security for their citizens.

While the utility of satellite communications is somewhat limited within cities and in city-to-city communications, where fiber and WIFI are readily available, integrating satellite and terrestrial systems will be necessary to meet the full spectrum of future demands likely to be placed on 5G networks. These include increasing traffic and number of connections outside of dense city centers in more rural and remote areas with the proliferation of IoT devices, providing coverage for devices on the move such as a ship at sea or a truck or car driving across the country.

Nearly half of the world’s population lives outside urban areas where affordable and high-quality Internet to the home or 5G mobile networks via a terrestrial network may not be available. Mobile network operators face huge pressure to provide ubiquitous coverage with less investments. Especially, after a two-year period that saw the terrestrial roll-out of 5G fall behind schedule.

“Connected devices would allow the efficient tracking and management of military assets, giving real-time visibility of stock and supply and the means to forecast which products are in demand or excess.” – Omar Qaise

Satellite-based connectivity also functions as a backup to provide necessary resiliency. For governments, the high availability of 5G networks during natural or manmade disasters demands that there be redundant connectivity paths employing alternate technologies when the primary terrestrial link fails.

GSR: OQ Technology recently signed an MoU with GovSat. What does this MoU do? What will the two companies be developing together as a result? 

Omar Qaise: OQ Technology, together with GovSat, will collaborate on developing and testing satellite-based IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) products aimed at defense and government sectors.

OQ Technology will modify its user terminals from S-band to operate on higher X-band frequency, used for the military. Tests will be performed to demonstrate the link over a Lux GovSat GEO satellite. This means special defense IoT use cases can benefit from OQ’s 5G IoT solution.

GSR: Why was GovSat a good choice to partner with OQ Technology for this MoU? What does GovSat bring to the table?

Omar Qaise: Getting access to the government – and more so to the defense sector – can be difficult. Partnering with GovSat, a specialized GEO operator, seemed the perfect solution to provide 5G IoT and machine communication to critical SATCOM applications in these sectors. They have the know-how and experience of delivering secure, non-preemptible, reliable, and accessible satellite communication services to customers such as NATO, the UK Ministry of Defense (MOD), and the Belgium Navy.

Through GovSat, OQ Technology will be able to access its satellite capacity. GovSat will also support us through their satellite hub infrastructure and by providing uplink services.

“Through IoT devices and a low-latency or real-time connectivity network, the government can monitor, map and analyze at scale.” – Omar Qaise

I believe that by combining OQ Technology’s 5G products and services with GovSat’s end-to-end SATCOM solutions, we can offer highly scalable applications for air, land, and maritime missions globally. 

GSR: What about the GovSat X-band and Mil Ka-band coverage makes it ideal for sensitive government and military applications? 

Omar Qaise: GovSat’s coverage is critical for government customers and NATO operations. Its reach spreads Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South West Asia with maritime coverage for the Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, and Indian Oceans.

Their high-powered fully-steerable spot beams in X- and Military Ka-Band, and a global X-Band beam, in addition to a secure service hub, assure secure operations and resilient SATCOM capabilities.

GSR: When development is done, and OQ Technology terminals work with the GovSat GEO satellite service, what will it enable existing GovSat customers to do that they can’t do today? What will it enable for existing OQ Technology government customers?

Omar Qaise: Our customers will receive real-time 5G IoT and machine communication for critical SATCOM applications. For that, OQ Technology will provide user terminals, satellite hub equipment, and remote management capabilities.

The company will also re-design its satellite IoT user terminal to fit the GovSat frequency band, and it’ll upgrade the antenna of its user terminal. 

To learn more about the MOU between GovSat and OQ Technology, click HERE.

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This digital transformation was arguably kickstarted by the widespread adoption of the cloud and cloud resources across the government. And it’s being driven forward by cloud-native applications that are being developed, deployed, and hosted in the cloud, where they can be accessed by government and military personnel whenever and wherever the mission requires.

While this digital transformation will only result in the government becoming more effective and efficient, it can only succeed if connectivity and access to cloud resources are ubiquitous across the globe.

The connectivity required for government and military organizations to access and utilize cloud services at the tactical edge is most effectively delivered by satellite. This is creating new collaborations and partnerships between those that operate satellite networks, and the organizations that provide cutting-edge cloud services.

One of the cloud providers leading the pack in embracing satellite connectivity is Microsoft Azure, which recently launched Azure Space, and announced a number of innovative partnerships with satellite providers, such as SES Space and Defense.

We recently sat down with Steve Kitay, the Senior Director of Azure Space at Microsoft, to discuss the trends driving the need for satellite and cloud partnerships, and how cloud services delivered via satellite could revolutionize how governments operate.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): Transitioning to the cloud has been a major initiative for the government over the course of the last few years. What types of cloud use cases are we seeing in the government? What different types of applications and workloads are being moved to the cloud by government agencies? Are mission-critical workloads making their way into the cloud?

Steve Kitay: Government agencies want to benefit from commercial cloud innovation. They want to take advantage of its speed, its scale, and its agility. Transitioning to the cloud reduces costs, provides access to the latest technologies, and diminishes the burden of having to maintain their own legacy infrastructure.

We see government agencies moving a range of workloads to the cloud to rapidly grow their mission capabilities. At the start of the COVID pandemic, we saw a rapid shift to cloud services to enable secure remote work environments through Azure Commercial and Government Clouds, and through the Office 365 productivity suites.

We’re seeing this shift to the cloud across a range of agencies. We’re working with a number of agencies, in particular, to help them use the cloud to solve their mission problems. The Department of Agriculture has leveraged a project called Farm Beats that accesses Azure’s repositories of analytics tools to understand data, and uses AI to help farmers cut costs, increase yields and sustainably grow crops that are more resilient to threats like climate change.

“When we bring (IoT and hybrid infrastructure) together, with AI running across these systems, we enter into an era of Intelligent Edge – a continually expanding set of connected systems and devices that gather and analyze information close to the physical world where the data resides and is harvested.” – Steve Kitay

The Department of Defense (DoD) is working on building out its enterprise cloud capabilities. Branches within the DoD, such as the Air Force, have deployed their own instances. Air Force Cloud One is a good example of a military branch using the cloud to provide foundational cloud capabilities, including networking, monitoring, access control, and identity management.

GSR: Are we seeing the need across different levels and organizations within the government for access to cloud solutions in the field, off-grid, and at the tactical edge? What is driving this requirement? What types of capabilities and applications are they looking to access?

Steve Kitay: The U.S. Government has been clear that they are trying to tap into commercial innovation to unlock new mission scenarios that were simply not possible before. There are two trends that we’re seeing in the government that really illustrate that.

The first trend is the Internet of Things (IoT), which utilizes smart sensors, connected devices, and other network-enabled endpoints to change the way that agencies approach problems. From equipment maintenance, to measuring air quality, to smart cities, and even military outposts, they’re implementing devices that are cloud-connected by default.

The other trend is movement towards hybrid infrastructure – or the integration of traditional datacenter infrastructure, edge devices, and the public cloud. This gives the government access to more compute capabilities in even the world’s most remote locations.

When we bring these two technology trends together, with AI running across these systems, we enter into an era of Intelligent Edge – a continually expanding set of connected systems and devices that gather and analyze information close to the physical world where the data resides and is harvested. This enables them to get real-time insights and immersive experiences that are highly responsive and contextually aware.

There is a space program that is a great example of the Intelligent Edge called the Casino Program, which was done with the Defense Innovation Unit in support of the U.S. Space Force. The rising number of satellites proliferating in low earth orbit (LEO) presents a new data challenge for the ground segment of missions—a segment that is often overlooked.

The Casino Program Office demonstrated fast, flexible, and extensible cloud commercial capabilities for ground processing in support of defense missions.  In this project, the joint Ball Aerospace and Microsoft team demonstrated the ability to transmit overhead, persistent infrared data through commercial satellites to the ground and then be processed both in the hyperscale Azure data center, as well as directly to a tactical vehicle in the field that was equipped with an Azure stack edge device.

“The need for bandwidth and cloud services in remote locations is a large and growing global challenge. The alignment and integration of the Azure cloud with satellites and terrestrial networks further enables the connected, Intelligent Edge…” – Steve Kitay

In this scenario, the overhead satellites transmitted the images of the environment, and that data was then pushed to both Azure and the Azure stack edge device where machine learning algorithms processed the images and detected certain activities and features. This machine learning identification generated insights which were converted into messages and disseminated to multiple endpoints.

This project represents a huge leap forward in reducing the time to actionable insight—if users are on the ground in a tactical edge vehicle or located at a command center, users can obtain necessary information accurately, quickly, and securely.

GSR: How else could access to cloud resources at the tactical edge or on the battlefield impact our warfighters? What could it enable them to do? What services/capabilities could it make possible for them?

Steve Kitay: Well, another great example is the Army’s IVAS program, which is bringing state-of-the-art cloud and mixed reality capability to soldiers at the tactical edge.

The IVAS headset, which is based on HoloLens and augmented by Azure cloud services, delivers a platform that keeps soldiers safer and makes them more effective. The program delivers enhanced situational awareness, enabling information sharing, and decision making for a variety of scenarios.

GSR: Microsoft has been working with satellite providers – including SES – to enable remote, off-grid access to cloud resources. Why is satellite the right choice for this?

Steve Kitay: Satellite is the right choice because space provides is a global perspective. It enables us to connect people anywhere, whether they’re in the middle of the ocean, the desert, or anywhere else on the Earth.

What is changing now with satellite communications is the type of services being offered. New services are now available with higher bandwidth and lower latencies. And space-generated data is growing exponentially, which requires expanded ground control capabilities, as well as data processing, storage, and analytics to turn that data into knowledge and actionable insights.

The need for bandwidth and cloud services in remote locations is a large and growing global challenge. The alignment and integration of the Azure cloud with satellites and terrestrial networks further enables the connected, Intelligent Edge that I referenced earlier.

For additional information about how Ob3 mPOWER can enable next-generation technologies on the battlefield, click HERE to download a complimentary copy of the whitepaper, “High Throughput Satellites for U.S. Government Applications.”

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On Wednesday, September 8, SATELLITE held the “Reducing Ground Infrastructure Costs in the New Space Supply-Chain” session, where Leaf Space, IT’s U.S. Managing Director, Jai Dialani, moderated a panel discussion that included:

• Assaf Cohen, Global Vice President Sales and Marketing, SpaceBridge Inc.
• Stuart Daughtridge, Vice President, Kratos
• Paul Mattear, Principal Business Development Manager, Amazon Web Services
• Sergy A. Mummert, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Americas, SES
• Richard Schgallis, Executive Vice President, Space and Communications USA, Safran Data Systems

There is always constant speculation about the “future” of the space economy, and how it will include increased demands for satellite services and capabilities, higher speeds, and ubiquitous access. But the experts on this panel explained that these high demands already exist and will only be growing larger in the coming years. But, there is one huge roadblock standing in the way to satisfying these needs.

Over the past decade, the technological improvements that have taken place in the space layer have been monumental. According to Daughtridge, these technological advancements have equipped software defined satellites with “unbelievable capabilities.” And the wide array of missions that the space layer can support are vast. Today’s satellites have the ability to enable orbital transport, Earth observation, IoT, broadband communications, and cislunar missions.

According to Schgallis, “We are rapidly approaching this point where systems will become multi-mission capable, with higher and higher data rates, and multi-band terminals…There’s this goal to make things as widely compatible for economies of scale as possible.”

“The ground segment needs to catch up to basically enable those capabilities that have been put in the spacecraft.” – Stuart Daughtridge

The issue that is preventing the deployment of these services is that the ground segment systems meant to direct and control these satellite missions are years behind in their own development, rendering a satellite’s potential capabilities untapped and unused.

And this untapped space layer potential can translate into major losses for satellite providers. “The ground segment’s behind,” said Daughtridge. “The ground segment needs to catch up to basically enable those capabilities that have been put in the spacecraft. Because right now, it’s really hard to monetize the capabilities that those satellites have.”

In other words, it doesn’t matter how great a satellite is if the ground segment can’t support it. So what can be done to catch these ground segments up?

According to Mattear, “One of the issues that we have with ground infrastructure is a lack of standards across the board.” As the satellite industry continues to move towards utilizing more partner-developed software defined systems, there must be a standard that they can develop towards. “Otherwise, you end up with a single stovepipe system,” said Mattear. “And that stovepipe system doesn’t let you monetize.”

The consequences from the lack of interoperability spread far beyond satellite providers. The U.S. military is working to embrace a combined MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM architecture that will deliver the increased satellite bandwidth they need for today’s network-enabled operations, and give them access to the innovation of the commercial satellite industry. However, the lack of interoperability in ground networks and hardware is making this combined architecture difficult to achieve.

“One of the issues that we have with ground infrastructure is a lack of standards across the board.” – Paul Mattear

According to Frank Backes, senior vice president for Federal Space at Kratos, “Unfortunately, multiple organizations independently pursuing their own mission needs have produced a number of ground-based proprietary satellite communication solutions, which have created a lack of interoperability between different commercial services and the armed forces. Those same proprietary solutions remain roadblocks to a dynamic SATCOM infrastructure supporting communication for an evolving military theater.”

Through standardization, satellite and ground system providers would be able to implement solutions and services that would reduce ground infrastructure costs, and, according to Mattear, “allow that to be monetized by other customers, help that symbiotic chain generate revenue across the board, and more importantly, support the end customer.”

But how does that standardization happen? All the panelists agreed that virtualization and digitization, like moving towards cloud technologies, are key.

According to Mummert digitization and virtualization are not only game changers in reducing ground infrastructure costs, but they also provide opportunities for new service models. “Having more infrastructure distributed across a global network, like AWS…is really a game changer for the satellite operators.”

With the promises of being able to move a lot of the work into cloud environments, and making the access compatible, no matter where the customer is, is “opening up a lot of doors” according to Schgallis. “I’m very excited about these opportunities, and our organization is actively working in this vein with as much virtualization and cloud processing as possible.”

Virtualization also accelerates the move from purpose-built hardware to mission unique software. “In software applications, especially in a cloud environment where you can spin up service chains and things like that, you can get the resiliency and the scalability that a cloud offers,” explained Daughtridge. “It allows you to have flexibilities for multiple different missions, with the same basic generic hardware, because you can change the personality of the infrastructure.”

Implementing these service models, through virtualization, means that satellite provider customers who are used to consuming cloud resources in the terrestrial world, can now have access to them via satellite. “The model makes sense to them,” said Mummert. “The interoperability is very important to them. It just enables a whole new ecosystem and economy.”

“We want standards. We want to drive scale for the industry. I think this is the right direction, but it needs more work. But we’ll get there.” – Sergy Mummert

But this does pose a challenge for ground segment developers, such as panelist Assaf Cohen. According to Cohen, “From the ground segment perspective…we have a lot of complexities. We have to deal with many new technologies with many orbits.” He explained that the challenges lie within developing the software to cope with all of the hardware challenges.

“We have to be interoperable,” explained Cohen. “To connect all these dots and implement the standards, we are an integral part and not just the one supporting the network.” He went on to say that the challenges get even more complicated because everything must become interoperable in real time.

To remedy these challenges, several groups have popped up within the industry to support a standardization dialogue. And Mummert happens to be on one of them. “We want standards,” said Mummert. “We want to drive scale for the industry. I think this is the right direction, but it needs more work. But we’ll get there.”

In the end, all of the issues of standardization and virtualization comes down to the partner ecosystem coming together to solve these immense challenges. According to Mummert, when industry partners cross-collaborate, “You open up these doors and create interoperability and opportunities for things to be created on your platform.”

The post How ground segment systems are rendering innovative satellite capabilities useless appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

While mPOWER’s ability to offer scalable, flexible connectivity would be beneficial across all domains, the air domain could particularly benefit from the advancements offered in this new service.  mPOWER offers all mobile platforms an unprecedented capability to transmit much more data, with just as high data rates as they can receive, offered at a very competitive cost to other lower speed traditional airborne connectivity solutions.

The amount of data delivered to – and generated from – today’s modern aircraft is immense. Pilots have new heads-up displays that offer augmented reality (AR) and insights into their missions and operations. And every plan has become laden with sensors that are constantly generating mission-critical data and insights. High bandwidth satellite connectivity is essential for powering these applications and providing the real-time transfer of critical data used to inform mission strategy and decision-making.

To get a better understanding of the impact that mPOWER could have on aerial missions for the U.S. military and its coalition partners, the Government Satellite Report recently sat down with Quincy “Q.” Dan, the Senior Director of Mobility and Integrated Development at SES Space and Defense. During our discussion, we explored what is new and different about the mPOWER satellite constellation, examined how mPOWER will be a COMSATCOM gamechanger for air domain connectivity, and got a status update on when mPOWER will be available to government users.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): We’ve heard that the next generation of fighters and bombers are basically sensors with wings. How does this proliferation of sensors impact the network and connectivity requirements of these aircraft in flight? How can mPOWER help with that?

Q. Dan: Airborne operations will require the capability to offload the data from multiple sensors and cameras, as well as systems’ data and other information. This will require much larger pipes from beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) communications systems.

mPOWER provides the ability to move all this data at once with added resiliency and higher availability rates based on the use of multiple satellites.

mPOWER will support return links ranging from 5Mbps on small form factor airborne terminals, and up to 100Mbps on larger airborne terminals. This is a game-changing capability to support live HD video simultaneously with multi-sensor data, and voice, while distributing that data directly to multiple end-points with mPOWER’s multi-cast features.

GSR: What about UAVs and transport aircraft? Are they also requiring increased connectivity and more network capacity/bandwidth? What trends are driving this?

Q. Dan: This depends on the purpose of the platform. But yes, we see a much higher demand to move data from unmanned platforms of all sizes.

Unmanned systems are usually used to gather intelligence and surveillance, whether that is a civil application like environmental monitoring, or highway monitoring or a military application. Operators often want to move that data or HD video in real-time. That requires sophisticated systems and networks to upload and distribute that data.

mPOWER provides the ability to upload data from multiple sensors and cameras simultaneously over a single data link. Complimented by our multi-cast capability which will deliver that content over the satellite network to multiple endpoints. This is a true differentiator for any unmanned platform.

GSR: Is delivering satellite connectivity to aircraft difficult, in particular? Does their speed create issues staying within beams? Does their smaller footprint create limitations on antenna and terminals?

Q. Dan: Airborne SATCOM terminals need to track quickly, especially with maneuvering aircraft. This requires quite a bit of intelligence in the terminal and use of slip rings, advanced stabilization, and tracking mechanics, as well as software. This becomes more difficult when tracking Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or MEO satellites, and even more difficult when tracking multiple orbits and networks.

Parabolic, mechanically steered antennas are severely challenged today just tracking GEO satellites and may have intermittent signal loss when maneuvering or switching bands or beams. The industry is quickly developing Electronically Steerable Array (ESA) terminals which will one day be able to track multiple satellites at multiple orbits, simultaneously transmitting and receiving between them for clean make-before-break handoffs, while traveling at high speeds.

SES Space and Defense is working with many of the industry-leading, best-of-breed airborne antenna manufacturers to integrate the new ESA antennas with our MEO/GEO services to provide true multi-orbit resiliency to aircraft with increased availability and reliability to ensure crew, passengers, and systems stay connected every step of the way.

GSR: What is connectivity like for aircraft today? How does this limited bandwidth impact operations and what’s possible in the air?

Q. Dan: There are lots of options for providing inflight connectivity today ranging from commercial passenger applications to military intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) applications. Military ISR applications have largely relied upon legacy Ku-band terminals and services to deliver the largest return links possible with data rates ranging from 1-20Mbps typically.

mPOWER will greatly enhance the return link capability with smaller form factor (SFF) terminals that deliver return link data rates up to 100Mbps. We have recent test results with small MEO terminals delivering data rates up to 50Mbps on the O3b classic service.

GSR: SES will be launching the first satellites in their mPOWER constellation in a matter of months. Why is mPOWER an exciting solution for the Air Force and other military organizations that fly aircraft?

Q. Dan: mPOWER and MEO are a huge part of the SpaceCom/CSCO strategy for resilient, assured communications. MEO is at the heart of every PACE plan and assured connectivity strategy to support the most critical applications.

mPOWER offers enhanced LPI/LPD and anti-jam capabilities, enormous data rates in both directions, the ability for the government to control and steer beams, and low-latency with the features to distribute data across the satellite network or at the edge with integrated cloud services.

GSR: What particular traits or features of mPOWER make it especially beneficial for use in the air domain?

Q. Dan: mPOWER is particularly well suited to provide resilient communications in contested environments with the ability to support multiple waveforms and modems. MEO ground stations can be located anywhere, such as military installations, forward operating bases (FOBs), or even on ships-at-sea deployed worldwide. Other closed infrastructure satellite networks require the use of their commercial gateways creating potential vulnerabilities.

mPOWER provides steerable spot beams which can follow the mission or aircraft while providing a discreet operational capability. mPOWER can provide dynamic surge capacity instantaneously without the need to go through complicated provisioning and ordering process. mPOWER also has very low latency compared to GEO satellites. mPOWER is based upon proven fielded technology which has been evolving for several years with O3b classic and already has a robust ground communications network.

Summed up, these capabilities provide better situational awareness and enable faster decision-making with enhanced mobility and quick response capability (QRC). mPOWER gives our forces a combat advantage and helps to ensure mission success.

For additional information on mPOWER, click HERE to download, “O3b mPOWER for U.S. Government Missions.”

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Unfortunately, that simply isn’t a reality for all government entities and agencies in the United States. Some small cities and rural towns – including geographically-isolated rural communities in places such as Alaska and the Midwest – are without access to broadband connectivity. And there are many places across this country where our government might want to have connected personnel in the field, or even IoT sensors that upload data to the cloud in real-time, that don’t have any connectivity – including access to wireless networks – because they’re just so remote.

If we’re going to embrace digital transformation and utilize these new technologies to their fullest, they need to be operable and accessible everywhere in the country. Unfortunately, there is currently a digital divide in America between places with existing terrestrial networks that have access to advanced technologies and IT capabilities, and those without them that are left behind or otherwise remain in the dark.

The benefits of these new technologies shouldn’t be limited only to the states, cities and municipalities that have access to high-bandwidth, terrestrial networks. And the federal government should be able to benefit from the IoT and other tools anywhere in our country – regardless of the presence of terrestrial networks.

These tools should be available to all parts of the U.S. Government – federal, state and city. And multi-orbit, high-throughput, low latency satellite networks could be the key to bridging that digital divide.

Building a bridge from space
Today’s advanced satellites are capable of delivering fiber-like connectivity to practically any corner of the globe, making them the perfect solution for leveling the digital playing field. However, there have traditionally been challenges keeping the U.S. government and its agencies from embracing satellite communications in this role.

Cost concerns, reliability challenges and fears about ease of use have long left government agencies uneasy about utilizing satellite more extensively and aggressively to meet their respective connectivity requirements. But this, too, could be about to change.

SES, one of the world’s largest satellite providers, is already operating a multi-orbit satellite constellation that is being utilized by the U.S. Government.

SES has made multiple exciting announcements about new capabilities, partnerships and technologies that it is launching to help address those fears and make satellite connectivity better, faster, easier and more accessible for government organizations. Let’s take a look at some of these announcements and what they could mean for government users.

Laying the groundwork for the government of tomorrow
SES announced that they had chosen SpaceX to launch their O3b mPOWER next generation satellites into orbit. The launches may be a few years away, but the satellites that they’ll carry have incredible potential to revolutionize the satellite industry. The O3b mPOWER satellites will be capable of delivering incredible bandwidth and throughputs, coupled with drastically reduced latency as a result of their location in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).

The O3b mPOWER satellites are the next generation of SES’s existing O3b MEO satellites, which are already relied upon across the globe to deliver high-throughput, low-latency connectivity to geographically-isolated areas without terrestrial networks. The announcement of SpaceX as the launch partner for those satellites is just another step towards making this constellation a reality.

In addition to the SpaceX announcement, SES also announced the expansion of their existing relationship with Microsoft, which will make it easier for government agencies to utilize Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

The cloud is the backbone for many of the advanced technologies that are making digital transformation so essential across the government today. The expanded partnership between SES and Microsoft will enable government users to leverage the company’s satellite-enabled managed services to connect locations and sites in remote and underserved locations globally that previously did not have access to cloud services.

Ultimately, these announcements illustrate a larger trend – SES and SES Space and Defense are laying the groundwork for a revolutionary new generation of satellites that will make satellite connectivity and services better, easier to use, more automated and  accessible than ever before for the government.

With this groundwork in place, a new constellation and satellite service will be built that will make it possible to empower digital government services and capabilities across our country – even in the most remote, rural and geographically-isolated of places. The days of the digital divide are numbered. Soon, there will no longer be “haves” and “have nots,” just an entire globe connected from space via next generation satellite.

To learn more about O3b mPOWER and its government use cases, click HERE.

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The panel was moderated by C4ISTNET Editor, Mike Gruss, and featured a list of space experts, including:

• James Comfort, Principal Deputy Director, Geospatial Intelligence Systems Acquisition Directorate, National Reconnaissance Office
• Col. Steve Butow, Space Portfolio Director, Defense Innovation Unit
• Victoria Samson, Washington Office Director, Secure World Foundation
• Pete Hoene, President and CEO, SES Space and Defense

During that discussion, the panelists talked about how America could be embroiled in a new, 21^st Century Space Race. Unlike the previous Space Race, which was all about getting a man into space and onto the Moon first, this Space Race involves the development and deployment of satellite capabilities and networks. Also unlike the previous Space Race, the panelists seem to believe that there was a real chance that America could lose.

Unfortunately for the United States, the near-peer adversaries that we’re currently racing against are gaining on us. But the U.S. government and military could have an ace up their sleeve in the form of the commercial satellite industry, which is currently innovating and advancing space and satellite capabilities at a breakneck pace.

Acquisition and funding challenges create bottleneck
Keeping the military’s technological edge is becoming increasingly difficult. The United States simply doesn’t play by the same rules as its adversaries.

While the United States has a clear delineation between the private companies spearheading innovation and the country’s government, military and national defense organizations, adversaries such as Russia and China do not. Our adversaries also have less stringent oversight on spending and fewer hurdles keeping them from acquiring the technologies and solutions they need.

As Col. Butow explained, “[The United States] work[s] in one-year steps. Our adversaries don’t. They want it, they buy it and employ it tomorrow. If we’re too late for the FY 2020 [National Defense Authorization Act], we’ll have to get it in 2021.”

Combined, these factors could contribute to the United States running a Space Race against extremely advanced, near-peer adversaries with its legs bound. And while the country may have enjoyed a head-start, the restrictions and limitations that it uniquely faces could have the other runners breathing down our necks in no time.

The problem was explained by Victoria Samson, who said:

“There is a recognition over the past couple of decades that the way that military space has been developed and acquired is not current…the government is trying to figure out how we handle that. We see that in Congress right now. The appropriators want one thing, the authorizers want another. They’re probably not going to get it sorted anytime soon. It’s a time of change, and our institutional processes are struggling to keep up.”

Overcoming the acquisition hurdle
Historically, the government and military have treated the acquisition of satellite capacity and services the way they would any other commodity. Satellite capacity has been bought on the spot market, which often costs more. However, the extra cost isn’t the largest problem with acquiring satellite this way – it’s the lack of cooperation and collaboration with the satellite industry that results from spot purchases that is really hindering the government.

The government and military could benefit greatly by working hand-in-hand with the satellite industry in a collaborative, consultative environment. By sharing their challenges and requirements more fully and working collaboratively with industry to address them, the government would effectively gain access to an innovative partner that could help them identify new and different approaches and technologies to help them overcome their problems.

To make this a reality, the government and military would have to rethink its approach and relationship with the satellite industry. This was a sentiment that was expressed and championed by the panelists – many of which urged the government to work more closely with the space and satellite industry, move to embrace more public-private partnerships and work to give the military more freedom and flexibility in how it spends dollars.

Along these lines, Mr. Hoene called for increased, clearer communications between government customers and commercial owners/operators when he said, “If there’s a way to share some of the threat requirements and demand signals…[commercial SATCOM providers] can get the investors in our companies to pursue new and innovative capabilities to meet emerging U.S. government threat characteristics. Industry can bring a lot to the table if we ask the right questions and we’re given the proper answers.”

Discussions at the C4ISRNET Conference showed there is a new Space Race ongoing – but this one has more participants than the one previously won by the United States. While our military has a head start, it’s quickly evaporating. If the U.S. is going to keep its technological offset, commercial industry is going to be the key. Military leaders and Congress need to make it easier and faster for decision makers to purchase and acquire the innovative solutions they need.

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While much of the discussion at this year’s conference was focused on new, disruptive technologies the government and military are looking to embrace on-base and in the field – including mobility, IoT, AI and Big Data – there were two other incredibly poignant and important trends identified that are occurring in space.

These trends were identified and discussed during a panel discussion entitled, “Capitalizing on the commercial space renaissance.” The panel was moderated by C4ISTNET Editor, Mike Gruss, and featured a list of space experts, including:

• James Comfort, Principal Deputy Director, Geospatial Intelligence Systems Acquisition Directorate, National Reconnaissance Office
• Col. Steve Butow, Space Portfolio Director, Defense Innovation Unit
• Victoria Samson, Washington Office Director, Secure World Foundation
• Pete Hoene, President and CEO, SES Space and Defense

What were the trends? The first was the advent of a new space renaissance, and the second was the potential resurrection of the Space Race, which dominated headlines and stretched the imaginations of people around the globe for a large part of the 20^th century.

Let’s look at each of these trends individually, although they are inherently linked.

A new Space Race?
it was just a little more than half a century since the United States and the former Soviet Union were working to out-science and out-spend each other in an attempt to make it into space and onto the Moon first. Now, 62 years after Sputnik, the starting gun may have been fired to begin a new Space Race. And it’s no longer being run between two parties.

For much of the past few decades, space has been a benign environment for the United States. We have utilized it to deliver capabilities and communications to the warfighter without a significant threat to our space assets. But, as Pete Hoene pointed out, “Space is not a safe haven…it’s a warfighting domain. Right now, China and Russia threaten our actions in space.”

This is a problem for the U.S., which has historically enjoyed a technological edge over adversaries thanks in large part to its space assets. However, with the emergence of threats in space, and with adversaries once again investing and innovating in space capabilities, that technological edge could be evaporating.

This was well articulated by Col. Steve Butow when he said, “…we use technology as our offset. If we lose our technological offset, we have to fight a fair fight, and that’s not what we want to do. We want to have technological capabilities that keep us in a dominant position in all domains.”

This is where the commercial space and satellite industry could help, and where the next trend, the new space renaissance, could factor in.

A renaissance in satellite technology
After decades of innovation and invention in space being driven by the United States government, things have shifted, and private industry has taken over in both innovation and investment. Today, satellite owners and operators are rapidly expanding constellations, introducing new satellite technologies with drastically increased throughputs and putting satellites in new orbits. And this is all creating new capabilities and tools that the government can implement and benefit from.

As Mr. Hoene explained, “62 years ago, Sputnik was launched and it created the biggest space race we’ll ever see between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. In the following 50 years, we spent a lot of money in the U.S. government. Over the past ten years, what we’ve found is that commercial has taken over in terms of investment and innovation.”

The introduction of these new technologies and new orbits means that high-throughput satellites (HTS) are now available on orbits closer to the Earth’s surface – including MEO and LEO. The result are incredible throughputs and bandwidth with significantly lower latency since the signal has to physically travel a shorter distance.

Not only can these new satellites meet the high-bandwidth, low-latency requirements of today’s innovative IT solutions, they also have the added benefit of helping increase the resiliency of America’s satellite infrastructure through disaggregation and diversification. As Mr. Hoene explained, “Think about how that would confuse and complicate the enemy’s targeting calculus if you’re looking at 150-plus satellites [operated by commercial owner/operators] as well as the ten WGS satellites. Then think about a multi-orbit approach, where you have LEO and MEO in play and how that can help with overall resilience.”

This ability to increase capacity and resiliency has many military leaders and industry executives advocating for a military satellite network architecture that incorporates both military assets and commercial services. And, based on the following from James Comfort, appears to be the future direction for the military:

“We don’t think it’s a ‘one size fits all.’ LEO does good stuff. MEO does good stuff. GEO does good stuff. What we need to [identify] is, what’s the right thing in MEO? What’s the right thing in LEO? What’s the right thing in GEO? We will probably end up with a mixture…”

Exciting talks of improved resiliency through a combined, integrated architecture are only superseded by the potential for innovation. The speed of development in the space industry drastically outpaces the development within the government and military.

This stark difference in pace of innovation was laid bare by Mr. Hoene who explained, “It takes [commercial providers] two to three years to identify the requirements for a satellite, get it on a launch pad and get it on orbit. The hosted payload, CHIRP, which was hosted on one of our satellites took about three years from contract award to on-orbit capability. The commercial space community…is able to turn around things in a couple of years when purpose built systems for the Department of Defense could take eight to ten years.”

By embracing commercial solutions and integrating commercial into the military’s space architecture, the government is expediting its speed of adoption for new, innovative satellite technologies. This means that commercial technologies, solutions and services could give the technological edge back to the U.S. military in today’s Space Race. But only if they can acquire commercial solutions in an efficient and timely manner.

In part two of our C4ISRNET Conference coverage, we’ll look at the acquisition challenges facing the military and some of the innovative ways for improving the government’s satellite acquisition processes, as suggested by the panelists.

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