Constellations - Explore Space Network Technologies with Industry Leaders

With billions of new devices coming online, satellite and network connectivity will become increasingly more complex and our expectations more demanding. In this episode of Constellations, we will look at what it will take to enable the new connectivity of the future. Our guests today are Rivada Space Networks' Chief Program Officer, Clemens Kaiser and Chief Commercial Officer, Ronald van der Breggen. Rivada is in the process of building a space network comprised of satellites linked by optical satellite technology. Our guests discuss the growth of optical technology and what it means for satellite data networks, the role of optical inter-satellite links in creating a space network, the trade-off between optical and RF technology and the implications of optical communications on satellite ground stations.

Digitally transformative technologies have been making their way across the satellite industry. From the core to gateways, in orbit and on the ground – there’s no denying that space communications is starting to become more like space IT. Hear a panel of experts from XipLink, Kratos, and NSR, an Analysys Mason company, discuss how digital transformation is changing satellite communications at the remote terminal also known as “the edge.”

On the Constellations Podcast, we’ll discuss how the government can pivot and adjust in the way it procures defense technology.  During this episode, Colonel Michelle Idle, the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California will discuss SSC’s Front Door Initiative to help improve their outreach into the commercial sector. Space Systems Command (SSC) is looking to capture the vast amounts of commercial space industry expertise as quickly as possible. The SSC is working on changing how they do business, both from how a requisition is received, how systems are acquired, and how they're delivered. Hear Colonel Idle explain how ongoing Industry Days help the government learn more about existing commercial expertise that can be leveraged, rather than reinventing the wheel.

On today’s Constellations Podcast, we’ll discuss emerging business and technology trends in Earth observation.  With us today is Aravind Ravichandran, founder of TerraWatch Space, a company devoted to providing insight to satellite Earth observation. In this episode, Aravind will discuss emerging business models and technical advances being employed by EO, such as  “space-as-a-service” and “satellite-as-a-service”, data fusion and onboard computing.  He will also discuss the difference between space strategy and data strategy and how they impact the EO industry. Listen as he discusses “sovereign earth observation”, essentially an EO strategy for national governments.

When satellites are 500 miles from their antennas, and aircraft are traveling at over 500 miles per hour, it is difficult to fathom ways to provide faster speeds and more reliable connectivity for passengers and crew. Listen to John Peterson, Iridium’s Executive Director of Aviation, as he helps us understand new technologies in the aero market that make it possible. Hear Mr. Peterson discuss how these technologies can improve performance and end-user experience and overcome the challenging physics of in-flight connectivity.

Guillaume Tanier, CEO and Co-founder of Leanspace, joined Constellations to discuss the benefits of software for space and satellite operations. Hear Mr. Tanier discuss the digitalization of the satellite ground segment including an explanation of the concept of digital continuity, the challenges of interfaces between providers, and how it is possible for developers to build their own ground segment in weeks, rather than years.

On this Constellations Podcast, we’ll cover a lot of territory... from space to the ground. Our guest today is Sita Sonty, Partner and Associate Director at Boston Consulting Group and their global lead for commercial space. In this episode, Sita will discuss the satellite revolution taking place in both space and on the ground Including the future of satellite connectivity, the growth of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites, the demand for multi-orbit antennas, and the virtualization of satellite ground systems.

5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks predicted to have more than 1.2 billion connections and cover one-third of the world’s population by 2025. The impact on the mobile industry and its customers will be profound, especially with the recent inclusion of satellites into the standard. This offers new opportunities for satellites to integrate with terrestrial networks to manage connectivity to cars, ships, planes and other IoT devices in remote and rural areas. Will this satellite and telco industry convergence be a revolution or an evolution? To share some research and insights on this question, we have with us today Yesmean Luk, a Senior Consultant at STL Partners. She has led and managed client projects with both operators and technology companies across a number of domains, including private networks, telco cloud, network slicing, edge computing and IoT.

On this episode of the Constellations Podcast, we’ll learn about the differences between OneWeb and OneWeb Technologies.  Kevin Steen, CEO of OneWeb Technologies, will discuss how demand for broadband connectivity continues unabated with many government agencies requiring services. This includes not only the military but border protection, prison bureaus, policemen and first responders. IoT itself is not the reason for a LEO constellation, it is about mission-critical connectivity with low latency and resiliency. Kevin describes the need for time-sensitive, critical decision-making capabilities, with bandwidth and latency being key for relevant data availability. Additionally, Kevin talks about connectivity in places that currently do not have broadband, such as polar regions or UAV applications – any place where decisions are based on information coming from the edge.

The satellite industry has gone through tremendous innovation over the last few years with the emergence of software-defined payloads and LEO and MEO constellations. These new satellite architectures bring much more capacity and the ability to reconfigure and adjust payloads to changing missions on demand. Ground segment providers are embracing approaches proven in telecom and IT to overcome the scale and automation challenges being faced in the satellite industry. This has led to discussions focused on how virtualization, software-defined networking, and orchestration can enable ground networks to become much more agile to meet the new capabilities in space. To shed some light on these IT/Telecom concepts and how they can be applied to the satellite industry, we have with us Luc-Yves Pagal Vinette, an expert in networking concepts such as SDN/NFV, the edge and disaggregated networks. He is also the Product Marketing Director for 5G Service Orchestration, Network Slicing and Service Assurance at Amdocs.