On Wednesday, September 8, SATELLITE held the “Satellite Cybersecurity” session, where SES Space and Defense’s Vice President of Corporate Development, Todd Gossett, moderated a panel discussion that included:

• Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, Senior Vice President, Government Strategy & Policy U.S. Government Business Unit, Inmarsat, Inc.
• Dianne Poster, Senior Advisor, National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Jared Reece, Program Analyst, COMSATCOM Solutions Branch, U.S. Space Force

Today’s warfighters rely on space like they’ve never had before. Through advancements in satellite technology, the infrastructure of the U.S. military is now provided with critical warfighting capabilities that were not available in the past. But with each new advancement over the past few decades, these capabilities are now integrated so deeply into critical warfighting functions, it’s incumbent upon satellite providers, and the agencies that procure them, to ensure that those capabilities are available, when and where those warfighters need them.

One of the greatest and ever-growing threats to providing these capabilities to the military is today’s cyber threat landscape. As the attacks from nation-state hackers and other malicious actors become increasingly sophisticated, the potential for mission-critical IT capabilities or applications to be comprised or denied has risen. When capabilities and functions provided by satellites are interrupted, warfighters can lose communication and situational awareness, military operations can fail, and in worst case scenarios, American lives could be lost.

According to Gossett, “Both industry and government have taken a hard look at this over the past several years. And we are taking actions collectively to address this landscape that we’re now deployed in.”

Reece pointed out that, “With the transition away from strictly MILSATCOM to bringing in more commercial SATCOM, this is becoming a more impactful topic to the warfighter.” Though the innovation from industry is imperative for the success of today’s military, commercial systems and equipment must go through thorough evaluations and inspection to ensure that they have best-of-breed cybersecurity posture.

To combat these risks and threats, federal government agencies, the military, and industry are coming together to ensure that space systems, and the satellites they run on, have gone through rigorous cybersecurity evaluation and testing in order to prevent cybersecurity attacks.

Within the last few years, the White House, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Space Force, and other federal agencies, have released directives and guidance specifically focusing on bolstering the cybersecurity posture requirements of current space systems and satellites, while simultaneously doing the same for new systems that are being brought into the market.

As space systems innovate and evolve in the future, cybersecurity threats will undoubtedly keep pace in their sophistication and boldness. It is imperative that new systems brought in from the commercial market have the highest level of cybersecurity possible. When these criteria are met, the federal government and military can rest assured knowing they are deploying space systems and satellites that were designed with the utmost innovation and security in mind.

One of these cybersecurity directives is the Space Policy Directive – 5 (SPD-5), which was released by the White House last year. SPD-5 serves as the nation’s first comprehensive cybersecurity policy for space systems. SPD-5 establishes key cybersecurity principles to guide and serve as the foundation for America’s approach to the cyber protection of space systems.

According to the directive, “It is essential to protect space systems from cyber incidents in order to prevent disruptions to their ability to provide reliable and efficient contributions to the operations of the nation’s critical infrastructure.”

Reece praised the directive by saying, “I was actually really excited to see this come out, because one of the things that our office has been doing for years is that integration that SPD-5 is asking for.”

Cowen-Hirsch echoed Reece’s sentiment by adding, “I think what SPD-5 has done is really elevate the focus of space as well.” She acknowledged that there have been many directives about systems cybersecurity, but she explained, “These have been largely focused on information systems, but not necessarily space. So that intersection between space and cyberspace and the threat vectors that we’re seeing, and the reality that the satellite is yet another node on those networks, is very significant.”

On the NIST side of the conversation, Poster explained, “At NIST, we do take SPD-5 as sort of a fundamental core basis of policy development for where we’re focusing cybersecurity efforts for not only satellites, but space systems.”

Not only does SPD-5 lay the groundwork for satellite cybersecurity policy, but it also underscores the importance of fostering “practices within U.S. government and commercial space operations that protect space assets and their supporting infrastructure from cyber threats.”

Luckily, many COMSATCOM providers are already meeting – or exceeding – the cybersecurity guidance in SPD-5. For example, SES is already ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing the recommendations in SPD-5. Gossett highlighted the fact that SES’s highly anticipated medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation, O3b mPOWER, is fully compliant with SPD-5. Gossett said, “We’ve spent significant time and effort trying to build in cybersecurity from a lifecycle approach into our latest satellite system, mPOWER…This is something that we bake in.”

The introduction of SPD-5 could ultimately provide two positives for the U.S. government and military. The creation of the guidance has established a baseline of security for commercial satellite services and solutions that can assuage any existing governmental concerns or fears about the security of satellite solutions. Seeing that a satellite service or solution meets the recommendations in the guidance ensures that the vendor puts a high priority on security and mission assurance.

This peace of mind is what will drive the second benefit – opening the door for government and military organizations to benefit from the innovation and cost-savings that comes from utilizing commercial satellite services. It’s widely acknowledged across the government that commercial industry is now the leader in space innovation. By eliminating a barrier that may have kept some government and military organizations from eschewing COMSATCOM services for purpose-built satellites, SPD-5 is making that innovation available for these organizations at a fraction of the capital expense.

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GOLD (short for Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk) is a hosted payload that will be launched into orbit on board the SES-14 satellite. That launch is expected to take place later this month.

According to NASA, once launched and active, GOLD will, “…inspect the dynamic region of near-Earth space where space and Earth’s uppermost atmosphere meet.” This is an important mission since that little-understood region is, “…historically difficult to observe [and] responds both to the lower atmosphere below and the tumult of space weather from above.”

The show, airing live on the NASA Sun Science Facebook Page as well as NASA TV online will feature NASA scientists, Sarah Jones and Alex Young. They’ll be joined by frequent Government Satellite Report contributor and podcast participant, Todd Gossett, the Director of Hosted Payloads at SES Space and Defense.

During the show, the panel of experts will discuss GOLD’s mission, analyze why it’s important for the scientific community and the agency, and share details on the upcoming launch. They’ll also answer viewer questions about the program that are left in the comments. Use the hashtag #AskNASA on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to send in your questions!

Be sure to tune in today at 1 p.m. ET to learn about this groundbreaking science mission.

To access the show on the NASA Sun Science Facebook Page, click HERE. For additional information about GOLD and hosted payloads, click on the following resources:

• White Paper: What is a Hosted Payload
• NASA Strikes GOLD with Hosted Payloads
• What Exactly Do You Need for a Hosted Payload Program at a University?
• Understanding the Realities of Implementing a Hosted Payload Program at a University

The post “Going for GOLD: Exploring the Interface to Space” on NASA TV – Today at 1 p.m. ET appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Benefits of Academic Institutions Pursuing Hosted Payloads
The involvement of academic institutions in a hosted payload program may be unique, but it shouldn’t be particularly surprising. That’s because hosted payloads can deliver multiple significant benefits to any academic institution looking to gather satellite data for use in research and scientific pursuits – especially in such hot research areas as climate science.

Hosted payloads present many of the same advantages for academic institutions that other government agencies using hosted payloads, like the FAA, already experience. The most important of these being the conservation of time, resources and funds. The cost of building a spacecraft and launching it is extremely high. Which is what makes the concept of hosted payloads so appealing for government agencies and academic institutions, alike.

As Todd Gossett, Senior Director of Hosted Payloads at SES Space and Defense explained, “It’s a cheaper way to get into space. And that’s because they [universities] don’t have to procure an entire spacecraft [and]the entire support infrastructure that comes with that, such as the ground commanding infrastructure, antennas, operations center, etc. And they don’t have to procure a launch…really it’s because the unique attributes of a hosted payload program really match up with the funding and the infrastructure of the hosted payload customer.”

Understand the Challenges of Starting a Hosted Payload Program in Academia
That’s not to say there wouldn’t be some sizable challenges to overcome in order to put a hosted payload program in place at an academic institution. Even with the massive cost savings that hosted payloads offer, these projects can still cost millions.

This is the main deterrent that is pushing most academic satellite programs to focus on much smaller satellites like nanosats or cubesats. However, although these satellites offer a valuable learning experience, they simply can’t stay in orbit as long as a hosted payload on a GEO satellite, and they seem to be limited to LEO.

Find a Government Partner with Similar Goals
Of course, government budgets for scientific exploration are far larger than that of an academic institution. So in order to put a hosted payload program into action, the university will likely need to seek out a government sponsor with similar scientific goals.  “Seek out a government sponsor who is interested in the science that they could produce as a result of putting a mission into space,” Gossett explained. “That’s going to make it much easier for [universities] to obtain the requisite funding to put a science mission on board a spacecraft.”

Build Hardware that is Space Certified
Beyond funding, there is also the challenge of building payload hardware that is space certified. This is where partnerships with third-party vendors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Leidos, Ball Aerospace and some universities like University of Colorado, University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of California Berkeley come into play; they’re capable of building space-qualified hardware that both meet mission requirements and can withstand the harsh environment of space. Satellite vendors such as Boeing, Airbus Defense and Space, and Orbital ATK also provide experienced teams to integrate hosted payloads with the host satellite.

Finally, owner-operators such as SES Space and Defense can operate the host satellite, facilitate operations of the hosted payload, and downlink and disseminate mission data using the company’s existing satellite command and control and ground infrastructures, all invaluable resources to a typically lean academic team.

For universities and other academic institutions to successfully take part in a hosted payloads program, they likely will need to find a government partner with similar scientific goals in mind to sponsor the project, and a third-party vendor to support the hardware and infrastructure needs of that project. Like most academic pursuits, a hosted payload program is a collaborative effort.  However, should an academic institution put in the work and build a team – similar to the one behind the NASA GOLD program – the benefits could be well worth their effort.

To learn more about hosted payloads and their benefits, check out SES Space and Defense’s whitepaper entitled, “What is a Hosted Payload” or watch the Hosted Payloads Video here.

The post Understanding the Realities of Implementing a Hosted Payload Program at a University appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Now, two years later, GOLD is rapidly approaching completion and launch. In just the past few weeks, it was announced that the GOLD payload was successfully installed on SES-14, taking yet another giant step towards launch and operation.

But GOLD is noteworthy for many reasons besides its mission to measure densities and temperatures in the thermosphere and ionosphere. It’s notable for how it’s going to get there – as a hosted payload aboard a commercial geostationary (GEO) satellite – a method for getting payloads into orbit that is not widely adopted and utilized across the federal government.

It’s also notable for who is helping to make the entire program a success. GOLD is being developed and operated by an interesting mix of organizations – including NASA, the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), the University of Central Florida, Airbus Defence and Space, and SES. In fact, GOLD represents the first time universities and a commercial spacecraft operator will team up to enable a NASA science mission.

To learn more about the GOLD program, this unique partnership and why GOLD is so exciting to the space industry, we sat down with the people working to make GOLD a reality across some of the disparate organizations that are part of the program, including:

• Todd Gossett: the Senior Director of Hosted Payloads at SES Space and Defense
• Richard Eastes: the GOLD principal investigator at the University of Central Florida
• Rory Barrett: the GOLD Project Manager at LASP
• William McClintock: the GOLD deputy principal investigator at LASP

During our discussion, we talked about how GOLD will assist NASA and the scientific community in research and observations, we identified the different roles and responsibilities that each of the organizations are playing the GOLD program, and discussed why the program is both historic, and a learning experience for government and the space industry.

Here is what the GOLD team had to say:

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To learn more about hosted payloads and their ability to give the federal government and the United States military faster, cheaper and more efficient access to space, click here to download the white paper, “What is a Hosted Payload?”

Image courtesy of Airbus Defence and Space.

The post NASA Strikes GOLD with Hosted Payloads appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Originally started as a pilot program, the CIC has been successful in bringing together space entities from the public and private sector, and working to help reduce or eliminate instances of interference and other issues. In fact, in a recent interview with Via Satellite, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Brian Brown, deputy commander at JFCC Space, was asked just how frequently military and industry at the JSpOC have worked together to overcome these challenges, and he replied:

“Almost everyday, just based on how different networks and things are set up in the satellite communications environment, we deal quite often with RF interference. With our commercial partners we were able to help smooth that process through, help understand how communications will work between us and them, and how they can help us understand that environment and mitigate those things. We frequently observe inadvertent interference, which the CIC helps us work through…”

For additional information on why the CIC was introduced, the benefits that it’s delivered to the military and the reasons why it was formalized, we sat down with two satellite experts that have recently returned from a trip to the JSpOC – Todd Gossett and Jeff Rowlison. Todd is the Senior Director of Hosted Payloads at satellite provider, SES Space and Defense. Jeff is the Vice President of Government Affairs, also with SES Space and Defense.

During our discussion, we asked Todd and Jeff why the JSpOC was created, why the CIC was introduced, what the CIC has accomplished and how they anticipate the role of the CIC will evolve into the future. Here is what they had to say:

The post Driving Collaboration Between Industry and Military – a Look at the JSpOC CIC appeared first on SES Space and Defense.