While everything that Debra said is accurate – personnel changes, a misalignment of schedules, and other factors have resulted in less than anticipated use of hosted payloads by the military and government. It could give the false impression that hosted payloads are a thing of the past – something that failed to launch despite immense potential, lots of exposure and intense effort by both commercial operators and the DoD to make it work.

Well, I would like to confidently say, “not so fast.” The benefits that Debra attributes to hosted payloads in her article are too attractive for government users to ignore.

Stretching military budgets further
According to the article, the Air Force Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) launched on SES-2, “…saved the Air Force nearly $300 million compared with mounting the sensor on its own satellite.” And the Air Force’s Responsive Environmental Assessment Commercially Hosted (REACH) payloads hosted on Iridium NEXT satellites, “…[cost] $230 million less than a dedicated constellation.”

That’s more than $500 million in savings for just two Air Force programs – for those keeping track at home. At a time when the national debt is approaching $25 trillion, and the government is increasing spending to help fight the COVID-19 global pandemic and mitigate its economic impact, more than half of a billion dollars in savings can’t be overlooked or understated.

In fact, planning for the budgetary efficiency provided by hosted payloads may now be necessary.

In late May, House Democrats called for military budget dollars to be redirected to coronavirus relief efforts. While that may not come to pass, it’s indicative of other military spending trends that are emerging worldwide, with COVID-19 expected to slow the incredible growth in defense spending.  The $2 trillion allocated during just the first COVID-19 Stimulus Bill already exceeds the annual defense budget by a factor of three.  In this environment, meeting satellite communications and sensor requirements at a lower price tag is even more important than ever before.

Unfortunately, Debra is spot-on about the challenges that hosted payload programs face. But those, too, could be about to change.

More orbits, more satellites, more options
Personnel and military reorganizational challenges aside, timing has been one of the biggest hurdles facing the successful use of hosted payloads by the military. As Debra details, the commercial sector designs and develops capabilities more rapidly than the military. This has resulted in timing problems when host satellite assembly, integration, and test proceed at one pace but the government payload isn’t quite ready to be delivered for integration.

This will always be one of the big problems facing hosted payload efforts – they require both parties to coordinate schedules and ensure that two very complex and challenging projects are synchronized as much as possible.  This requires early engagement and flexibility between government and industry.

This is probably not going to change. But what is going to change is the commercial satellite industry.

We’re entering an unprecedented and exciting period for the satellite industry. Satellite owner-operators are continuing investments in not only geostationary earth orbit (GEO), but also heavily in Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO), and Lower Earth Orbit (LEO). This increase in satellite construction and launch opens the door to more hosting and launch opportunities for the military and government – and opens the door for the government to launch payloads into multiple orbits.

LL Cool J once famously rapped, “Don’t call it a comeback…I’ve been here for years.” That sentiment applies to hosted payloads. They never went away. While some challenges kept hosted payload programs from being as plentiful as industry experts predicted, the benefits are too great to ignore.

The reduced costs and expedited time to get payloads into orbit will always be important to the military. They may never be as important as right now when military needs are high, but military top-line budgets may see a decrease.

For additional information on the benefits and possibilities of hosted payload programs, click HERE to download the whitepaper, “What is a hosted payload,” from our resource center.

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This is just one example of how SES Space and Defense is providing Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite connectivity and solutions for military operations around the world. SES has since added four more satellites to its O3b MEO constellation (now 16 total) and plans an additional four in 2019 (20 total).  SES Space and Defense, as the only MEO commercial owner/operator, currently provides over five Gigabits per second of MEO High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capability to 21 different U.S. Government sites worldwide. In April of 2018, SES Space and Defense signed a single-award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for MEO low-latency HTS services with a ceiling of $516,700,000 over a five-year period of performance. This BPA allows USG customers to rapidly procure O3b MEO services. There has never been a better time for the U.S. Government to take advantage of high-performance MEO services as well as this new BPA contract vehicle.

MEO missions in the future

In 2021, we will be able to meet the growing U.S. Government demand for higher throughput and low latency with our next-generation fleet of seven O3b mPOWER satellites. With O3b mPOWER, our goal is to offer managed services and solutions that are designed and optimized for the U.S. Government. This fleet will provide an aggregate global bandwidth of more than 420 GHz that is 100% fully configurable in terms of power, frequency, and beam flexibility. U.S. Government users will have access to the first global multi-terabit system capable of delivering “virtual fiber” anywhere. O3b mPOWER’s secure, flexible and ubiquitous (±50° latitude) connectivity is ideal for today’s high-tech military and its network-centric operations, with multiple layers of active and inherent security, and its flexibility to provide data in real time. The O3b mPOWER system complements SES’s existing O3b MEO fleet to connect exponentially more people around the world. The new super-powered satellites will be built by Boeing, SES’s first O3b mPOWER technology partner. Existing terminals in the field will also be compatible with the new and current MEO fleets. As part of the O3b mPOWER system, SES and other partners will also develop new Customer Edge Terminals on the ground – converging storage, computing, and routing with software intelligence and specialized antennas.

Government-level encryption mPower

The next-generation O3b mPOWER satellite fleet has multiple layers of security and jam resistance. These include NSA-approved uplink and downlink encryption (CNSSP-12 compliant); inherent jam resistance due to the orbital satellite mechanics, narrow beams and dynamic beam forming capabilities.   Our satellite platforms are also fully redundant. Since O3b mPOWER satellites are functioning in MEO orbit and are not stationary, they are less susceptible to jamming and interference. We have been a trusted and secure provider of SATCOM for many years. By the time O3b mPOWER launches, we will be operating over 20 MEO satellites for more than 7 years.

Beam-forming flexibility

The system will enable government users to securely and autonomously manage beam capacity and location to support secure operations. The U.S. Government will be able to shape, moderate, route shift and switch over 4,000 beams per satellite. Users in the field will be able to deliver multiple terabits of throughput globally and can scale to tens of terabits. Intelligent beamforming enables the ability to tailor and deliver bandwidth worldwide. With O3b mPOWER, SES Space and Defense can land a beam precisely where the customer needs it. We also have the ability to land 5GHz of bandwidth into any single spot, or as little as 15 MHz allowing us to serve both high and low-density locations and not limiting us to one or the other. With this system, the U.S. Government can expect a seamless end-to-end service supporting U.S. Government missions on air, land and sea.

Ubiquitous connectivity

Government users can take advantage of O3b mPOWER’s global coverage (+/-50 degrees latitude). At launch, there will be more than 30,000 formed beams system-wide providing unrivalled coverage for nearly 400 million km² of the Earth’s surface. Together, the low-latency networks will facilitate the massive shift from local storage to cloud-based, network-centric operations, meeting the requirement for an “on-demand” experience virtually anywhere in the world.

O3b mPOWER is a system of technology and service partners to innovate, grow and create the most compelling, cost-effective end-to-end experience for our customers. With the natural disaggregation of the MEO constellation, customizable beam offerings and global presence we see significant potential with government customers. SES Space and Defense stands as the only provider of current and next-generation MEO capability to the U.S. Government. While this capability is relatively new, proven, and powerful – I truly believe that it will change the landscape of connectivity for U.S. forces in the years ahead.

For additional information on MEO satellite constellations and their potential benefit to the government and military, click HERE to download the white paper, “A New Era of Connectivity.”

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The COMSATCOM Pathfinder Initiative explores multiple facets of flexible, long-term investment-based acquisition models for access to commercial SATCOM capabilities and infrastructure from a diverse supplier base, including identifying any legal, policy, regulatory, management, cultural, or other barriers to government adoption of such business models at scale. Each Pathfinder is an independent program and builds off previous efforts. Ultimately, the COMSATCOM Pathfinders will be referenced as the DoD completes its Wideband Communication Systems Analysis of Alternatives (AoA).

<To listen to a two-part podcast series on the Pathfinder Programs, click HERE.>

The first Pathfinder Program, coined Pathfinder One, involved the purchase of transponders and capacity aboard a SES Space and Defense-owned satellite. This marked a departure in how the military paid for and acquired COMSATCOM services. It also involved the use of traditionally cheaper satellite alternatives – inclined satellites.

“Pathfinder One changed the way the DoD purchased COMSATCOM capabilities by procuring transponders on a commercial satellite versus the traditional model of leasing bandwidth on the spot market,” said Pete Hoene, the CEO of SES Space and Defense. “This solution included the utilization of inclined satellite capacity which allowed the government to pay significantly less than traditional station-kept bandwidth.”

Inclined satellite capacity is often cheaper than geostationary (GEO) satellite capacity because of the nuances required to take advantage of it.

Inclined satellites are effectively older GEO satellites that in the later stages of their operational lives.  To maximize their remaining fuel – operators reduce station-keeping adjustments and extend the life by allowing the spacecraft to drift in the north/south direction. The square box that GEO satellites usually sit in becomes a rectangle, and the satellite drifts in an elongated figure eight pattern within it.

This north/south movement around the Equator is what makes inclined satellite capacity unique. The movement of these satellites requires a tracking antenna that can follow them as they move in their rectangular box. As you might imagine, there are many satellite use cases that call for tracking antennas – such as USAF planes.

According to Mr. Hoene, “Since remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) have antennas capable of tracking inclined satellites, AFRICOM can use Pathfinder One capacity to support MQ-1 (Predator), MQ-9 (Reaper), and RQ-4 (Global Hawk) operations. In fact, United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) approved the use of inclined capacity on these platforms and is currently using the available Pathfinder One bandwidth to command and control their critical RQ-4 Global Hawk Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance missions…”

Pathfinder One was a success for the Air Force, and it’s clear that the military took notice of the program’s accomplishments. But the military may not have been the only organization to observe the lessons learned from Pathfinder One. Private industry recognized the innovative use of inclined orbit bandwidth as well.

Just a few weeks ago, Space News published an article disclosing that Global Eagle Entertainment, one of the world’s leaders in in-flight entertainment, “…had purchased all the capacity on an undisclosed satellite to support aeronautical customers, in particular Southwest Airlines, the company’s largest customer.”

That satellite was later revealed to be SES satellite AMC-3, which Space News says, “…carries 24 Ku-band transponders and launched in September 1997 on an Atlas 2A rocket.” SES will operate the satellite and provide support for Global Eagle.

What does that have to do with Pathfinder One? Well, it’s pretty much the same situation. Global Eagle Entertainment is effectively purchasing the capacity onboard an inclined satellite. Also, much like Pathfinder One, the satellite in question will be used for a purpose that is a perfect fit for inclined capacity – in-flight entertainment onboard airplanes already fitted with tracking antennas.

The Global Eagle announcement illustrates the benefits that inclined satellites could have for both private enterprise and the federal government. It could become a best practice to utilize this less-expensive capacity in any implementation or use case where tracking antennas are already being utilized. Whether it’s on Navy ships, RPAs or airplanes, inclined bandwidth could be an economical, effective way to deliver connectivity and communications on the move.

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The members of this star-studded panel included:

• Warren Ferster: Editor-in-Chief of Space News (moderator)
• Winston Beauchamp: Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space, and the Director, Principal DoD Space Advisor Staff
• Peter F. Hoene: President & CEO, SES Space and Defense
• Rick Lober: VP and GM of the Defense & Intelligence Systems Division at Hughes Network Systems
• Kay Sears: President, Intelsat General
• Leonor Tomero: Professional Staff Member, House Committee on Armed Services
• Joe Vanderpoorten: Space & Missile Systems Center Pathfinder Program Office

Together, these satellite experts explored the difficult situation that the Air Force and the rest of the United States military is facing; namely, the rapidly approaching end of the Wideband Global SATCOM system (WGS) fleet program.

The WGS satellite constellation is comprised of ten disparate spacecraft that were scheduled for launch over the course of a decade. The final WGS satellite – WGS-10 – is slated to launch in FY18. The WGS system is a replacement for the aging Defense Satellite Communications System (DCSC), which had limited capacity compared to WGS and commercial satellites.

At a time of budget uncertainty and cost-cutting within the federal government, the exorbitant price tag on each of the WGS satellites seems unsustainable in both the near and distant future. This has the military looking at less expensive alternatives for satellite communications requirements following the launch of WGS-10. One of the alternatives being discussed across the space segment is the deliberate integration of commercial satellite communications (COMSATCOM) services into the National Security Space architecture.

The reasons to look to COMSATCOM as a key national security enabler were presented by Leonor Tomero, who identified, “new threats, fiscal constraints, [and a] need for resilience,” as drivers for this renewed interest in COMSATCOM services. Ultimately, Ms. Tomero noted that, “Relying more on commercial capability…may be more advantageous for the tax payer…“

Can COMSATCOM answer the call for satellite bandwidth following WGS-10? According to Pete Hoene of SES Space and Defense, “I think the answer to that is, “Yes,” and we are encouraged by…how the industry brings innovative solutions to the table.”

Despite assurances from the COMSTCOM industry that they can handle the bandwidth demands from the military, there are some concerns from the government about using COMSATCOM in this capacity. Many of these concerns circle around the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) wavelength, which has been utilized exclusively in the government satellites due to a lack of business cases to embrace it within the COMSATCOM industry.

This sentiment was echoed by Winston Beauchamp when he stated that the Department of Defense, “Historically [has] not seen a business case for commercial bandwidth in the EHF band.” Despite the DoD being, “committed to close partnerships and collaborations in the industry as we plan our next generation satellite architecture,” Mr. Beauchamp reiterated that, “While DoD is looking for services available commercially, that band is not commercially available.”

Discussion around the EHF and security of satellite communications is at a fever pitch thanks in large part to something that we heard extensively at this year’s SATCON Conference in New York, NY – space is an increasingly contested environment. Our adversaries know the military’s reliance on SATCOM for information sharing, intelligence gathering and remotely piloted aircraft operations, and have made significant strides towards intercepting, jamming, disabling and destruction of satellites and satellite communications.

The lack of EHF capacity on existing COMSATCOM spacecraft doesn’t mean that industry can’t support the military when it comes to providing secure communications.

First, there’s the opportunity to launch EHF payloads as hosted payloads aboard COMSATCOM satellites. In this situation, the military would place their mission-critical EHF payloads on commercial satellites that are slated to be launched in space. The COMSATCOM provider and military would then share the cost of launch and satellite operation, effectively slashing the total cost of launching the payload.

Mr. Beauchamp validated the potential to launch EHF payloads and systems as hosted payloads when he said, “Certainly for protected tactical systems you would want to see options that include hosted payloads.”

But launching EHF systems as hosted payloads is just one way that COMSATCOM services can help protect military satellites and communications. As Mr. Beauchamp explained, “I wouldn’t say that just because COMSATCOM systems don’t have the protections that MILSATCOM has that they are in any way less contributing to a resiliency. In fact, the diversity of these systems in itself contribute to resiliency.”

This increase in resiliency is an end result of deception and distribution. Distributing military communications through COMSATCOM satellites makes it extremely difficult to pinpoint exactly which satellite is carrying mission-critical communications for the U.S. military, making it harder for our adversaries to target a particular spacecraft. Mr. Beauchamp illustrated this point when he explained how COMSATCOM, “provide[s a] very complex environment to adversaries [and]… make[s] it as difficult as possible for them to really understand what it would take to hold our capabilities at risk.”

But deception is just one resiliency benefit of COMSATCOM. The distribution of military communications across multiple satellites – including COMSATCOM satellites – ensures that there is no one single point of failure, and that the compromise of one satellite doesn’t impact communications as a whole.

Despite the promise of secure military communications across COMSATCOM, and the ability to drastically reduce the cost of satellite bandwidth and capabilities across the military, there are still questions about how best to acquire and pay for satellite services. To gauge the effectiveness of different COMSATCOM services and their cost benefits, the Air Force launched a series of programs called, “Pathfinders.” These Pathfinder programs utilize acquisition dollars to purchase transponders that are then turned over to COMSATCOM providers to operate and service for a multiyear period.

When discussing the first Pathfinder program, panelist Peter Hoene of SES Space and Defense said, “[Pathfinder One] is a really key initiative and…broke a lot new ground. The idea of the government buying…a transponder and allowing the COMSATCOM owner/operator to operate that for their needs is really a breakthrough.”

The benefits of the Pathfinder program were extolled by Joe Vanderpoorten of the Air Force Space & Missile Systems Center, who claimed that the Pathfinder One program has been successful in delivering bandwidth to the customer, while also being, “successful economically.”

With the WGS program coming to a quick and abrupt end, the DoD and Congress need to identify how they’re going to bring new satellite capabilities on line following the launch of WGS-10. The panel discussion showed that COMSATCOM can provide the new technologies, increased flexibility and cost savings that are essential to the military today. By continuing to aggregate COMSATCOM purchasing under the authority of a single entity, finding new and innovative ways to purchase COMSATCOM services and working to integrate COMSATCOM services into a single network with military satellite capabilities, the DoD can be sure that they have a secure, resilient satellite network capable of delivering information when and where needed, in all situations and theaters.

Additional Resources:

• Sign up for upcoming WSBR events here
• Overview: SES Space and Defense Support for Pathfinder I
• U.S. Air Force Signs trailblazing Lease for SES Satellite Capacity – Space News

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