The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army, through the innovative Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, are evaluating the ability of Isotropic Systems’ optical beamforming antenna to enable frontline armed forces to access high-speed, real-time data simultaneously over multiple commercial and military satellites.

First phase dual-beam tests conducted at the Harwell Science, Technology and Innovation Campus near Oxford, UK, have successfully demonstrated transformational optics at the core of Isotropic Systems’ multi-beam terminal that are fully capable of linking with multiple satellites at the same time.

Over-the-air (OTA) trials conducted at an SES teleport in Port St. Lucie, Florida, also part of phase one, have verified the Isotropic Systems’ high-performance multi-beam platform meets military requirements to acquire and track SES’ O3b MEO satellites.

Phase two trials will test Isotropic Systems’ latest antenna prototype over links with SES satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO), demonstrating seamless satellite-to-satellite transitions and a redundant, resilient leap in wartime communications. 

The DEUCSI trials will wrap up in 2021, ahead of the commercial launch of Isotropic Systems’ optical multi-beam antenna production scheduled for 2022, and in time to support SES’ new high-throughput MEO constellation satellites coming online, the groundbreaking O3b mPOWER system.

“The armed forces and defense agencies are incredibly good at acquiring actionable information, but they run into bottlenecks when they try to distribute that mission-critical data over single beam parabolic antennas and other outdated infrastructure,” said Scott Sprague, Isotropic Systems CCO. “These milestone trials with the U.S. Army and Air Force are successfully demonstrating the multi-beam, multi-orbit connectivity and capabilities our high-performance terminals will put in the hands of frontline warfighters and decision-makers across the government sector and battlespace.”

First phase dual-beam tests…have successfully demonstrated transformational optics at the core of Isotropic Systems’ multi-beam terminal that are fully capable of linking with multiple satellites at the same time.

“Next-gen satellites and constellations need equally robust and resilient terminals and ground infrastructure to meet the government’s ’Fighting SATCOM’ vision,” said Pete Hoene, President and CEO of SES Space and Defense, Brigadier General, USAF (Ret.). “Interoperability and multi-orbit capabilities are essential to achieving this vision, and these collaborative trials with the armed forces demonstrate how Isotropic Systems’ multi-beam antenna can successfully deliver robust connectivity across our vast MEO and GEO fleet. Each successful phase is a prime example of how the government and commercial partners can develop capabilities in parallel, which is especially important to us as we ready to launch our O3b mPOWER constellation and SES-17 satellite this year.

“Without affecting the main communications link, the Isotropic Systems multi-beam terminal can use a second or third link to evaluate the environment to preemptively decide the best routing option at any given time to maximize performance,” explained Brian Billman, Vice President of Product Management for Isotropic Systems. “That’s the level of differentiating capabilities our terminal roadmap leads to as a result of these important trials with the U.S. military.”

For additional information click HERE to read the official announcement from SES Space and Defense and Isotropic Systems.

The post Isotropic Systems and SES Space and Defense complete milestone multi-beam antenna trials appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

In the second half of our conversation with Scott, we transitioned the discussion towards the military – in particular. We asked Scott about the specific use cases and applications for this new technology across multiple domains – including land, air, and sea. We also spoke about the ways in which this new satellite terminal antenna technology will synergize with the upcoming O3b mPOWER satellite service being introduced by SES.

Here is what he had to say:

Government Satellite Report (GSR): What capabilities and use cases could this new antenna have for military land operations? Could this be an important tool for enabling comms on the move?

Scott Sprague: The Isotropic Systems terminal will enable a whole new age of comms on the move. The antenna is conformal to the top of a roaming land vehicle and even the backpack of a soldier in the battlespace.

Leveraging the terminal’s optical beam forming feature aboard a military vehicle, for example, defense operations can access and maintain reliable high-throughput connectivity on the go by seamlessly and automatically switching between satellites in GEO, LEO and MEO across a dedicated or shared government network in the field.

GSR: How about the air domain? How could these antennas be used for UAVs and other military aircraft? Why is it a good solution for these use cases?

Scott Sprague: The Isotropic Systems terminal is modular and can conform to the fuselage of a manned or unmanned military aircraft, this conformability coupled with complete flexibility on the transmit and receive configuration will enable operators to leverage unprecedented high-throughput capacity aboard a UAV for real-time, high-definition ISR data from the sky.

That’s an absolute game-changer for intelligence gathering in extremely adversarial environments.

Isotropic Systems is licensing our optical beamforming antenna technologies to aerospace and defense integrators for both commercial and government aircraft. The goal is to leverage the vast aerospace market expertise these integrators possess to accelerate custom designs, certifications, and deployments of next-generation terminals aboard commercial, business, and government aircraft across the globe.

GSR: How about the sea domain and ships at sea? Why would this terminal solution be ideal for this domain?

Scott Sprague: As the U.S. Navy expands the size and communications capabilities of its global fleet, it needs smarter, more powerful infrastructure to enable the U.S. defense system’s insatiable demand for high-speed, reliable, and secure bandwidth. Just like with land and air applications, the Navy and other mission-critical operations ideally want and need to have access to as much capacity as they can get aboard their seafaring vessels.

Isotropic Systems is currently putting its terminals through an extensive series of environmental and interference tests with the DIU. They are measuring the impact of harsh elements, such as intense winds, saltwater, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) in preparation for installations aboard some of the most advanced Navy ships on earth.

The conformal nature of the optical lens modules provides a powerful terminal in a limited real estate environment aboard Navy ships. That antenna design delivers seamless make-before-break switching between satellites in multiple orbits and continuous connectivity during turbulent pitch-and-roll conditions facing vessels traversing rough seas.

This milestone collaboration between Isotropic Systems and the DIU will ultimately lead to ultra-high-speed data delivery and real-time national security advantages that come with integrated government networks. We will enable the Navy and other government forces and agencies to arbitrage all the capacity they need from across LEO, MEO, and GEO orbits over a single multi-beam terminal. That’s transformational.

GSR: O3b mPOWER is a potentially revolutionary step forward in the satellite industry. What advanced capabilities and applications could you see O3b mPOWER and the new Isotropic Systems terminals delivering for government agencies and military organizations in the future?

Scott Sprague: O3b mPOWER is revolutionary with its unparalleled customized high-throughput capacity that enables users to tailor connectivity to their specific markets and customers. Isotropic Systems, working closely with SES, is providing the very ground infrastructure SES needs to light up new market opportunities for that tailored scalability and flexibility of the O3b mPOWER network and its unique multi-orbit MEO-GEO constellations.

We are fast approaching milestone terminal tests with SES in September that are part of our collaborative partnership to unlock access to the groundbreaking O3b mPOWER system across a wide range of markets – including government, aero, and defense.

And we’re nearing commercialization – as our developmental alliance culminates in a series of comprehensive engineering evaluations of our multi-beam antenna components prior to the commercial launch of our terminals and O3b mPOWER late next year.

By working closely with the SES Space and Defense team Isotropic Systems will be able to develop terminal solutions uniquely tailored to fit each mission.  Given the incredible flexibility that the O3B mPOWER network will bring to the government customers there needs to be ground infrastructure that is capable of supporting a multi-tiered communications network on the battlefield.

Whether it is a Forward Operating Base, a military vehicle, a navy vessel, or a solider on the move, the Isotropic Systems terminals will be able to access the full capabilities of the SES constellation.

The post New terminals mean more connectivity on land, sea and air – a Q&A with Scott Sprague of Isotropic Systems appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

While many companies in the space and satellite industry treat every iteration and new development in their product catalog as a revolutionary step forward for the industry, as a whole, the collaboration between SES and Isotropic truly has the potential to deliver new, disruptive capabilities to end-users – especially for military users.

The military has long hungered for a satellite terminal capable of conforming to small footprints – such as vehicles for mounted land operations, ships at sea and aircraft – capable of connecting users to multiple satellites in multiple orbits. And that’s exactly what the partnership between Isotropic Systems and SES is intended to deliver.

To learn more about the partnership between the two companies, and to get an inside look at the satellite terminals that they’re jointly looking to bring to market, we recently sat down with Scott Sprague, the Chief Commercial Officer at Isotropic Systems. In part one of our two-part discussion with Scott, we asked about why this new terminal antenna is so exciting for the satellite industry, and why – in particular – there is so much demand for it in the government, defense and aerospace markets today.

Here is what he had to say:

Government Satellite Report (GSR): Can you tell our readers a little bit about Isotropic Systems and the solutions that it manufactures?

Scott Sprague: Isotropic Systems is the leading developer of transformational broadband terminals and terminal technologies designed to unleash a new level of high-powered connectivity across a broad range of commercial and government markets.

Our high-performance multi-beam terminals feature optical lens modules that are conformal to the fuselage of a plane, the deck of a ship, even a soldier’s backpack. These patented optical beamforming lens technologies allow commercial and government market users to simultaneously connect with full performance beams to multiple satellites in multiple orbits over a single antenna. That’s a huge game-changer in key markets such as government and aerospace.

GSR: What industries can Isotropic Systems serve with its disruptive terminal technology and why is the company focused on the government, defense, and aerospace markets right now?

Scott Sprague: Enterprise, telco, maritime, aerospace, defense, and government markets will all greatly benefit from the Isotropic Systems terminal solutions. Defense, government, and aerospace – both commercial and government aviation markets – have expressed intense interest and demand for a truly transformational multi-beam antenna.

Engineers with U.S. government and defense agencies have tried to develop antenna technologies capable of unlocking the full potential of new high throughput Ka-band satellite capacity coming online in GEO, LEO, and MEO in the 2022 timeframe. And they are absolutely thrilled that Isotropic Systems has cracked the code and is in the latter stages of developing what has recently been called the Holy Grail of terminals.

Our multi-beam antenna, with its optical lens technologies, allows government and armed forces to arbitrage capacity from commercial and military satellites over a single terminal to deliver data at the tactical edge like never before. As a result, Isotropic Systems recently won an antenna evaluation and development contract with the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to test the ability of our multi-beam antennas to unleash high-powered connectivity aboard next-generation Navy ships at sea. And we’ve won additional major contracts to enable other defense agencies and armed forces that will open a new world of real-time government communications and connectivity.

The Isotropic Systems terminal roadmap leads to a multi-beam, multi-frequency terminal that allows users to leverage every bit of capacity in the sky. That is truly deep technology that is delivering the unparalleled connectivity for government, defense, aerospace, and enterprise markets.

GSR: Isotropic is currently working with SES on the development of digital software-defined terminals for use with the O3b MEO and O3b mPOWER satellite services. What will make these satellite terminals different from what is already on the market?

Scott Sprague: SES and Isotropic Systems are deep into a new developmental phase of our collaborative partnership to produce scalable, cost-effective multi-beam terminals capable of unlocking access to the SES GEO and MEO fleet, including the existing O3b constellation, the new O3b mPOWER system, and SES-17, which is set to launch late next year. SES and Isotropic Systems are collaborating closely to review, refine, and test key components of our full line of customized digital software-defined terminals throughout the remainder of the year.

Isotropic Systems has developed and is utilizing patented transformational optics and circuitry in our terminals, which are resilient, secure, lightweight, and require a minimal amount of power. The optical lens technology at the core of our antenna solution is the key differentiator that enables our antenna to simultaneously connect to multiple satellites.

Our platform only uses the optical beam elements necessary to link to the mix of satellites needed to enable a specific mission or operation, requiring far less power per beam and generating less heat than phased array antennas. And while electronically-steered antennas are being developed to provide multi-beam capabilities, they are not full performance beams. Isotropic Systems’ patented optical beam forming technology allows us to offer multiple full performance beams.

GSR: What unique requirements do the O3b MEO and O3b mPOWER constellation have regarding terminals? What unique challenges do these constellations create?

Scott Sprague: They do not present any unique challenges for the Isotropic Systems terminals. In fact, what they present are opportunities.  The Isotropic Systems terminal is being designed to unleash the full performance – power and flexibility – of the SES fleet.

Having a terminal that provides multiple full performance beams will allow the SES customers to take full advantage of the world-class capacity and coverage afforded by the SES network.

In our next article on the Government Satellite Report, we’ll feature part two of the two-part discussion with Scott Sprague, where we talk about the specific military use cases and applications for this new technology and how it will work hand-in-hand with O3b mPOWER.

The post Scott Sprague of Isotropic Systems discusses a new generation of satellite antennas appeared first on SES Space and Defense.