Worldwide Satellite Magazine

SatMagazine September 2023

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 Publishing Operations & Contributors Features

Silvano Payne The Forrester Report #1: SES—Much more cash to come from C-band..........................................................4
Publisher + Executive Author Author: Chris Forrester, Senior Contributor
The Forrester Report #2: Ariane 5 ends… but where is Ariane 6?.....................................................................8
Simon Payne Author: Chris Forrester, Senior Contributor
Chief Technical Officer LEO Satellites Orbit Estimations Using Precise Point Positioning...................................................................14
Author: James Bartle, Fugro SpaceStar
Bridging The Gap: Overcoming interoperability challenges.............................................................................18
Hartley G. Lesser Author: Alastair MacLeod, Ground Control
Editorial Director + Executive Author
Digital Twins In Action: How government can take flight in the virtual world................................................22
Author: Greg Porter, Sev1Tech
Pattie Lesser The Key To Delivering Change In Maritime Decarbonization Is… Collaboration...........................................26
Executive Editor + Executive Author Author: Inmarsat Maritime
Dynamic Predictive Routing For LEO SATCOM Networks................................................................................28
Donald McGee Author: Rob Hunter, CGI UK
Production Manager Enhancing Satellite Data With SDRs In Ground Stations.................................................................................32
Author: Brandon Malatest, Per Vices
An Alternative Software Development Approach For Evolving........................................................................34
Teresa Sanderson And Complex Space Systems
Operations Director
Author: Dr. Peter Mendham, Bright Ascension
Satellite-Based Earth Observation System Analysis And Trends....................................................................38
Sean Payne Authors: Allied Market Research Analysts
Business Development Manager 5G New Radio NTN: Why it will take the SATCOM market by storm...............................................................42
Author: Thorleif Astrup Holland, Gatehouse Satcom

Dan Makinster Evolving Connectivity At Sea + GTMaritime Update.........................................................................................44

Technical Advisor Author: Kirstie Williams, GTMaritime

Advertisers
Chris Forrester 2023 Milsat Symposium..........................................................................................................................................25
Senior Columnist
2023 Satellite Innovation........................................................................................................................................24
ACORDE Technologies, S.A...................................................................................................................................23
Karl Fuchs Advantech Wireless Technologies, Inc.................................................................................................................13
Senior Columnist
APSCC Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council.....................................................................................45
C-COM........................................................................................................................................................................7
Authors
Calian, Advanced Technologies.............................................................................................................................19
Allied Market Research Analysts Comtech.....................................................................................................................................................................1
James Bartle CPI Antenna Technologies.....................................................................................................................................29
Chris Forrester CPI SATCOM Products...........................................................................................................................................48
Es’hailSat.................................................................................................................................................................11
Thorleif Astrup Holland
Euroconsult: World Satellite Business Week........................................................................................................37
Rob Hunter
Hughes Network Systems........................................................................................................................................5
Lalit Katare
INTEGRASYS.............................................................................................................................................................9
Inmarsat Maritime Mission Microwave Technologies, LLC.................................................................................................................35
Alastair MacLeod ND SATCOM..............................................................................................................................................................2
Brandon Malatest Omnetics Connector Corporation.........................................................................................................................21
Resolve Optics.........................................................................................................................................................39
Dr. Peter Mendham
RF-DESIGN..............................................................................................................................................................17
Greg Porter
SatService GmbH....................................................................................................................................................31
Kirstie Williams
Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI)...........................................................................................43
STN STORITVE d.o.o...............................................................................................................................................47
Terrasat Communications Inc................................................................................................................................27
Tesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co. CG.........................................................................................................................41
W.B. Walton Enterprises.........................................................................................................................................33
Wavestream.............................................................................................................................................................15

SatMagazine is published 11 times per year by SatNews Publishers, 800 Siesta Way, Sonoma, California - 94576 - USA — Phone: (707) 939-9306 / Fax: (707) 939-9235 © 2023 SatNews Publishers
We reserve the right to edit all submitted materials to meet publication content guidelines, as well as for grammar and spelling errors, or to move articles to an alternative issue to accommodate publication space requirements, or remove
content due to space restrictions or unacceptable content. Submission of articles does not constitute acceptance of said material by SatNews Publishers. Edited materials may, or may not, be returned to authors and/or companies for
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the respective companies and/or named individuals. SatNews reserves the right to alter publication dates and print issue designations, based on industry event date changes and circumstances that are beyond the control of SatNews
Publishers or the company’s staff.

SatMagazine Page 3 September 2023

 The Forrester Report
#1
SES: Much More Cash To Come
From C-Band
However, tech problems
with mPOWER

Author: Chris Forrester, Senior Columnist

SES told analysts that, while the company was looking forward to
banking some $3 billion in cash from the FCC’s C-band compensation
scheme (and likely to be banked early to mid-Q4/2023) there was more
cash likely to be forthcoming, according to CFO Sandeep Jalan... and
to “stay tuned.”

Acting CEO Ruy Pinto and Jalan were briefing analysts after the
company’s results announcement which reported a near 10 percent rise in
overall revenues for the half-year. SES reported a very healthy rise of 9.8%
in overall revenues at 987 million feuros or the 6 months to June 30.

SES has — at least, to a certain extent — rebutted recent rumours of further

slippage in the launch schedule of next satellites in its important mPOWER
fleet. SES stated that two mPOWER craft (satellites 5 and 6) will launch during
Q3 — commercial service of the fleet will start later this year. mPOWER 7 and 8
will launch later this year. mPOWER satellites 9, 10 and 11 will launch in 2024.
However, there have been some issues (see below).

The key verticals revealed...

• Video division: 486 million euros, a fall of 5.2%, y-o-y.
• Networks division 501 million euros, growth of 3.1%
• (Mobility up 13.8%)
Contract backlog for SES as of June 30, 2023, was 4.7 billion euros (5.7 billion
euros gross backlog, including backlog with contractual break clauses).
“Management suggested they are able to quickly recover function and
suggested it was not worried on any short or long term impact. On mPOWER 5
and 6 craft management suggested the satellites were undergoing further tests
in Boeing’s facility and would be launched in Q3 for a late 2023 entry into service
date for mPower,” said equity analyst Sami Kassab from investment bank
Exane/BNPP.

Pinto said, “The strong start to the year continued into Q2 resulting in a solid
H1 financial performance and confirmation of the 2023 financial outlook.
Networks is growing on the back of strong performance in Mobility and robust
outturns in Government and Fixed Data. In Video, we have signed additional
important renewals which underpin the long-term cash fundamentals and value
of our direct-to-home neighborhoods. With O3b mPOWER expected to be
in commercial service by the end of this year, customers will benefit from an
expanded set of capabilities for flexible, guaranteed, and high-performance
connectivity to meet requirements in competitive, high growth segments,”
The prospects of more revenue, over and about the $3 billion, plus around $500
million in cost reimbursements from the refitting of filters and new reception
equipment for its North American clients and their head-ends, the prospects of
another slice of the C-band cake helped drive SES’ share price up more than
15 percent on August 3 to around €6.68 and a welcome improvement on its
lacklustre performance recently.
However, there was also bad news in the form of a sporadic malfunction of a
fraction of the electronic components on board orbiting mPOWER satellites.
“Given the recurring postponement of mPOWER satellite launches and in the
context of today’s disclosure of sporadic electronic malfunction, it is hard not
see a causality link between these tech issues and the delayed entry into service
of the constellation,” added Kassab.
mPOWER is the new fleet for SES’s O3b segment, and by any measure there
has been slippage on the launch – and thus revenue-generating – satellites.
However, on the more positive upside SES management argued that despite
increased competition from Elon Musk’s Starlink in Mobility, its maritime
revenues grew 30 percent and continued to perform well.
Kassab’s comments on the overall position at SES stated: “SES H1 results
were strong and marked by a return to positive group organic growth in Q223.
It confirmed its FY guidance and while the C-band money is not yet in the bank,
management announced a surprise share buyback programme (of €150m) and
clearly suggested that more cash returns was on the agenda. Today’s share
price spike is deserved but as long as mPower is not proving a commercial
success, shares are likely to remain volatile. We reaffirm our Outperform rating.”

SatMagazine Page 4 September 2023

 Eutelsat Video revenues tumble 8.3%
Return to growth next year, helped by OneWeb
The position at Eutelsat is complicated by its impending merger with
OneWeb, and the cancellation for the next three years of any sort of dividend
to shareholders. Eutelsat’s full year results – to June 30 - were mixed with its
Broadcast Video division (62% of income) falling y-o-y by 8.3% (like-for-like,
or 6.3% as reported) and representing the seventh year in a row that Video has
declined. But on the more positive side its fast-growing Mobile Connectivity
segment grew 26.8% (like-for-like, or 37.9%).
The numbers failed to impress ratings agency Fitch which downgraded
Eutelsat’s debt to BBB- (from BBB) and kept the business on
‘Rating Watch Negative’.
CEO Eva Berneke said that the expected merger with OneWeb would likely
close at the end of September. She added that OneWeb had achieved a
secured backlog of $900 million as at the end of June, and up $300 million since
October of 2022. She said Eutelsat is revising down the revenue projection for
the combined group for the coming fiscal year by 2% following delays in the
production and testing of OneWeb terminals for its satellites.
“Having the right terminals available with B2B customers is taking more time.
And in some cases flat-panel terminals have been delayed, but they are now
there,” Berneke said. “The trajectory for the outer years remains unchanged. Our
market expectations, as well as the strong synergy potential, give us confidence
in the value-creation the combined entity can generate in the long run.”
The lost revenues in its Video division reflected the end of contracts with
DigiTurk and the forced cancellation of contracts with Russia and Iran. Total
revenues were €1,131 million, down by 1.8% compared to the previous year.
Russian distribution of satellite channels is probably now lost forever given that
Eutelsat’s Russian clients have found alternate platforms and the Ukraine war
shows little sig of abating.
Berneke informed the market that this coming trading year would see a
restructuring of its revenue divisions. “As of June 30, 2023, the breakdown
of the Operating Verticals revenues will evolve to better reflect the respective
end markets which they address. The new framework will be altered from five
verticals (Broadcast, Data & Professional Video, Government Services, Fixed
Broadband and Mobile Connectivity) to four: Video, henceforth encompassing
Broadcast and professional Video, Fixed Connectivity, encompassing Data and
Fixed Broadband, Mobile Connectivity, and Government services.”
Q4 revenues stood at 286 million euros, down 2.3% like-for-like. Revenues of
the five Operating Verticals stood at 283 million euros, down 4.1% y-o-y and up
4.7% q-o-q on a like-for-like basis. Eutelsat’s all-important contracted backlog
also fell back. The backlog stood at 3.4 billion euros as of June 30, 2023, versus
4.0 billion a year earlier.
SatMagazine
“The natural erosion of the backlog, especially in the Video segment, more than
offsets the contribution of the EGNOS contract in Government as well as other
incremental contracts in Mobility. The backlog was equivalent to 3.0 times 2021-
22 revenues, and Video represented 59 percent of the total,” said Eutelsat.
Eutelsat said its future Video revenues are expected to be broadly in line with
market trends of a mid-single digit decline, excluding the effect of sanctions
which will be embarked for a full 12 months versus six months in FY 2022-23.
OneWeb’s revenues reached the $50 million objective at end-June 2023. For
FY 2023-24, the later-than-expected availability of terminals for key verticals
will lead to a delay in revenue recognition when compared to the objective
communicated in October of 2022. In other words, the company’s targets have
been missed.
Eutelsat’s 2024 Outlook: Video revenues are expected to be broadly in line with
market trends of a mid-single digit decline, excluding the effect of sanctions
which will be embarked for a full 12 months versus six months in FY 2022-23.
Government Services will continue to reflect the outcome of past and upcoming
US DoD renewals and a tougher comparison basis with FY 2022-23 due to the
abovementioned one-off DLR contract. Revenues will however benefit from the
EGNOS GEO-4 contract on HOTBIRD 13G, set to generate 100 million euros in
revenues over 15 years.
Both the Mobile Connectivity and Fixed Connectivity verticals are expected
to experience double-digit growth in FY 2023-24 on the back of the entry into
service of Eutelsat 10B and KONNECT VHTS, both with firm pre-commitments,
and positive commercial traction.
Eutelsat now forecasts between 1.32 billion euros and 1.42 billion euros in
revenues from its operating verticals for the coming 12 months.
Berneke also said Eutelsat, as part of a group featuring Europe’s largest space
companies, is preparing to submit a proposal for a role in the European Union’s
proposed multi-orbit connectivity constellation [by August 7th.]. The deadline
for the first round of proposals for Europe’s 6 billion euros IRIS² project
(Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite), is
August 7th.
Eutelsat and other satellite fleet operators Hispasat, SES and Airbus are part
of a large consortium of companies that made the only application. However, it
is far from certain that the EU will permit Eutelsat to be part of the consortium
given that the UK has a ‘golden share’ in OneWeb.
Eutelsat expects to receive $382m in compensation from the FCC under its
C-band agreement. Payment is expected in September and will be subject to a
30% tax payment.
Page 6 September 2023
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 The Forrester Report
#2
Ariane 5 ends...
but where is Ariane 6?
Author: Chris Forrester, Senior Columnist

Artistic rendition of the Ariane 6 launch vehicle on mission.

July 4th was a good day for Arianespace’s hugely successful Ariane 5 rocket March 2014, Ariane 6 was projected to be launched in July of 2020. That date
which flawlessly launched a pair of satellites, those being a French military slipped, and slipped... and slipped again. As this column is being written, the
spacecraft and a communications technology testbed for Germany. new Ariane 6 vehicle is not expected to make the inaugural launch until 2024,
years later than originally planned.
The Ariane 5 carried the Heinrich-Hertz
test craft and France’s Syracuse 4B Arianespace and the European Space Agency
satellites into a geostationary transfer and that organization’s various production
orbit (GEO) from the French Guiana Space partners wanted Ariane 6 to be dramatically less
Center in Kourou on the northeastern coast expensive to fly than Ariane 5. Ariane 5 typically
of South America. charged up to 150 million euros, depending on
the task required. The design brief for Ariane 6
The success was a justifiable moment of talked about achieving about 70 million euros
praise for Ariane 5’s longevity — its first per flight, about half of the Ariane 5 price.
flight took place back in 1996 — and,
despite a few initial hiccups, the various The fee was not an accident, but represented
versions of Ariane 5 have completed 116 a direct element of competition to Elon Musk’s
launches. However, inevitably, there was SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.
also sadness, given that the July 4 launch
was the last for the Ariane 5 rocket. However, Arianespace had a few back-up
rockets in reserve. First, there was the long-
By now, there should have been an Ariane running relationship with Russia’s Soyuz rocket
6 launch vehicle ready to take over the family... however, the Ukraine invasion by
European, heavy-launch demands for Photo of the Heinrich-Hertz 4B An Ariane 5 lauch vehicle Russia ruined that scheme.
capacity — but it is late... very late. As of satellite, courtesy of OHB. liftoff. Photo is courtesy of
Arianespace.

SatMagazine Page 8 September 2023

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 Then there was Italy’s Vega suite of Arianespace says that by 2025, it could be flying 9 to 10 launches per annum
rockets. But in December of 2022, a (thanks to its ‘Block-2’ variant) and, specifically, that is stated with the Project
Vega-C launch failed shortly after Kuiper demands in mind. But Arianespace executives admit that the 9 to 10
take-off and that resulted in the rocket targets could slip to 2026 or 2027/28, “at the latest.”
being grounded.
As well as accepting delays, it is also becoming increasingly clear that
Worse, perhaps, a June test-firing of the Arianespace’s overall objective of reducing by 50 percent the cost of building
Vega’s engine was also terminated early. and launching these new versions will be missed. At best — according to the
Last year’s launch failure was blamed on European Space Agency —Arianespace will achieve a 40 percent reduction in
the rocket’s “throat nozzle” and its build and launch costs when compared to Ariane 5.
supplier (a Ukrainian company) cited as
being responsible. Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA, remains optimistic
and told journalists, “I have to say that it is too speculative to
Avio SpA is the Vega rocket’s builder and mention a certain inaugural flight date because we have to
the engine firing test was supposed to last master a number of technical challenges first.”
97 seconds, but the engine shut down,
losing pressure, after just 40 seconds. Aschbacher said Ariane 6 faces several key development
challenges: In the few next weeks, ESA has to make a
ArianeGroup is supplying a new Zefiro-40 decision on new, opto-pyro technology — a critical part of Joseph
Vega liftoff image is courtesy nozzle throat. Avio said in a June 29th. the rocket’s separation system. Aschbacher
of ESA. statement that the test showed no issues
with the new component. Then there’s the full, hot-fire test of Ariane’s
Vulcain engine is scheduled to take place in
“The new carbon-carbon material July; there are also reportedly problems with
showed a nominal performance, software development run by France’s space
closely linked to prediction,” agency, CNES.
Avio stated. “However, after 40
seconds into the test, another Once the engines are tested, it will be that much
anomaly was revealed, leading easier to firm up on a prospective launch date, the
to a reduction in overall pressure European space boss said.
performance of the motor.”
“We have made a lot of progress recently,”
The failure means it is back to ‘square one’ for Avio and ArianeGroup and Aschbacher said, while adding that the delays
means that the rocket is unlikely to return to launch duties this year. This remain “very serious” and that steps have been
delay only adds to the problems for Arianespace, given the long delays to the taken internally, including switching management
availability of the new Ariane 6 rocket. staff, to “get Ariane 6 onto the launch pad as
quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, Arianespace has provided a detailed time-table for the
introduction of the new Ariane 6 version. Another update came from the Ariane 6
Launcher Task Force set up with ESA’s top
As mentioned, Ariane 6 is already extremely late and the original objective management, the launch base prime contractor Photo of the Vulcain
was for the rocket to seamlessly take over the launch missions from Ariane (CNES), the rocket’s builder ArianeGroup, and rocket engine during a
hot fire test, courtesy
5. While managers have stressed that there are no major development issues service provider Arianespace. However, the of ESA.
remaining, it is likely that the new rocket’s inaugural flight will not happen until news was not good, with one influential observer
the first half of 2024. saying the new timetable is “impossible” and means that any prospects of a
winter 2023-2024 launch is now under extreme pressure.
Launch vehicle assembly at its Kourou (French Guiana) launch pad is
scheduled for this coming November. This will be followed by a test flight as The statement from ESA stated that, while tests of various components
soon as possible this coming winter. will take place throughout this summer of 2023, the actual Launch vehicle
assembly — i.e., the rocket — will not commence before November 2023. The
Arianespace is in the happy position of having 28 launches pre-booked, of statement read, “Launch vehicle assembly and beginning of the inaugural flight
which an 18 launch contract from Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband launch campaign — Following sea transportation of lower and upper stages
constellation is key. from France and Germany to French Guiana, this process will include in a full-
fledged flight configuration a final dress rehearsal.”

The Task Force has not offered any information as to a likely launch date for
the test flights. One contractor involved in the project (OHB) has publicly said
that the Ariane 6 debut launch would not happen until the early part of 2024.

In May of 2023, these problems came home to roost for Arianespace. It

emerged that Arianespace has lost an important contract to launch a major
satellite for Viasat. SpaceX’s launch of the massive ViaSat-3 Americas
satellite on April 30th seemed to cement Viasat’s loyalty toward SpaceX.
Amazon Project Kuiper terminals.

However, it is this Amazon contract that has generated worrying comments.

For example, industry consultant Tim Farrar (of TMF Associates) expressed
doubts that, by 2026, Arianespace will have achieved their target of 1,600
satellites on-orbit for Kuiper.

SatMagazine Page 10 September 2023

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 Dave Ryan, Viasat’s president of Musk, as of this writing, has his own challenges, not the least of such is with
space and commercial networks, his giant Starship project. But at least SpaceX has the ultra-reliable Falcon 9
in an interview with CBS News, (and Falcon Heavy) rockets, and at what might seem to be ‘bargain basement’
explained his dilemma and said, launch fees, when compared to Ariane 6 (and even U.S. competitors ULA and
“The Ariane, unfortunately, we had Blue Origin).
to change because they were having
difficulties getting the Ariane 6 ready Competition is healthy... and all of these rivals want to stay in business. But
to go, and then secondly, when the European industry, commercial operators, military and scientific missions all
[Ukraine] war broke out, some of the want to fly with a local provider. The fact of the matter is that Ariane can win
launches that they were responsible international contracts at competitive prices — not least among them being
for on Russian launchers had to Amazon’s Kuiper launches.
Artistic rendition of the Viasat-3 be transferred over to their Ariane
satellite, courtesy of Viasat. vehicles. That pushed us later in line. The world is watching Arianespace’s progress... and optimism is not exactly
So, it got so late that we had to put high at this moment in time!
that third satellite out for bid and we’re evaluating the proposals right now.”
Author Chris Forrester is a well-known broadcasting journalist,
Ryan’s comments suggest that there are only industry consultant and Senior Columnist for SatNews Publishers.
two possible alternates for the ViaSat-3 APAC He reports on all aspects of broadcasting with special emphasis on
satellite launch. They include another contract content, the business of television and emerging applications. He
for SpaceX or, possibly, a United Launch founded Rapid TV News and has edited Interspace and its
Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket. The successor Inside Satellite TV since 1996. He also files for
ViaSat satellite will be ready for launch around Advanced-Television.com. In November of 1998, Chris was
the middle of 2024. appointed an Associate (professor) of the prestigious Adham
Center for Television Journalism, part of the American
The ViaSat craft are heavy, with each weighing University in Cairo (AUC), in recognition of his extensive Chris Forrester
more than 6 tons. Viasat also wants each coverage of the Arab media market.
satellite to be orbited close to its target, orbital
position. SpaceX, on April 30th, used its Falcon
Heavy configuration which was comprised of
the main rocket and its booster, plus two ‘strap-
on’ additional boosters.

Image of a ULA Vulcan liftoff,

courtesy of the company.

SatMagazine Page 12 September 2023

 LEO Satellites Orbit
Estimations Using Precise
Point Positioning
Author: James Bartle, Business Development + Commercialization, Fugro SpaceStar

Quite common for satellites in Low

Earth Orbit (LEO) is for them to be
equipped with a Global Navigation
Satellite System (GNSS) receiver
to obtain real-time positioning,
velocity, and timing, used for orbit
determination of the satellite.

Additionally, GNSS data is commonly

used to enable and optimize onboard
remote sensing payloads, providing
position as well as precise timing
information.  Until now, however,
onboard GNSS positioning accuracy
has been limited in comparison to the
commercial offerings on Earth.

On Earth, global positioning

augmentation techniques, such as
precise point positioning (PPP) are
used to allow end-users to obtain
absolute, high accuracy positioning
in real-time by using precise GNSS
orbit and clock corrections, multi-
frequency GNSS observation data
as well as precise observation
modelling in the end-user positioning
engine. These techniques can
provide centimeter level accuracy,
in real-time, which enable a host of
innovative professional applications
across industries that range from
surveying to agriculture and maritime
and more.

In LEO, however, it is typical for

performances to range from meter
level in the best cases, although
more often accuracies that are in the
region of tens of meters. Currently,
where greater accuracy (sub-metre)
is required, raw GNSS data is
downlinked for post processing on
the ground to obtain a precise orbit
determination (POD) solution. While
desired levels of accuracy can be
obtained in this way, time latency is
incurred, and that adds additional
pressure to what is often limited, downlink capacity. positioning at sub-decimeter level, velocity at less than five millimeters per
second, and a sub five nano second timing solution, a tenfold improvement on
When improved mission performance is linked to enhanced data quality and existing GNSS solutions.
to reduced latency of information to the end user, there is an emerging trend
for satellites to have increased levels of onboard capabilities. With latency
reduction being a key driver of performance, Fugro, a leading supplier of Delivering PPP Corrections To LEO
satellite positioning services to the maritime industry, was inspired to leverage
the firm’s expertise in PPP to develop a high accuracy solution known as To generate corrections and to deliver them to LEO, Fugro leverages its existing
SpaceStar® to deliver high accuracy GNSS positioning in real-time onboard proprietary ground infrastructure that is designed to meet the demanding
LEO satellites.    requirements of its global satellite positioning business. This infrastructure
consists of a ground network of more than 100, globally distributed, reference
SpaceStar® was successfully demonstrated in orbit in Augustof 2022 with receiver stations that are all equipped with high-end, geodetic hardware
sub-decimeter positioning being achieved in real-time. This state-of-the-art that continuously observes the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and
technology was implemented on hardware with a low size, weight, and power QZSS constellations.
(SWaP) footprint and achieves nominal, real-time performance accuracies of

SatMagazine Page 14 September 2023

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 Onboard
Architecture
For the demonstration, the
architecture onboard the satellite
saw the SpaceStar® software
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radio (SDR) and flown as a payload.
The expectation is that future
architecture options will also see
SpaceStar® integrated directly at
the GNSS receiver level. In both
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with the Fugro L-band tracking
and demodulator software for the
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correction signal and the Fugro
SpaceStar® position engine.

Onboard, the L-band correction data

is decoded and forwarded through to
the position engine software which
Fugro reference receiver network used for GNSS multi constellation observations for generation of orbit/clock corrections applies the corrections to the raw
GNSS measurements that is received
Raw observation data from the network is processed at Fugro facilities, where it from the onboard GNSS receiver, to then output the high accuracy position,
is used to generate the GNSS orbit and clock corrections. The correction signal velocity, and time telemetry, in real-time, onboard the satellite
is then distributed to users in LEO on L-band via a network of geostationary
satellites that deliver global coverage. When the software is integrated at the SDR payload level, the system is enabled
to be receiver agnostic as long as the receiver meets the minimum, specified
requirements of being capable of receiving dual frequency,
observation data and compatible with more than one of the
major GNSS constellations.    
  
Potential Applications For
High Accuracy Positioning
As well as the incremental improvement of existing
applications that suffer from latency, real-time, high
accuracy, precise onboard orbit determination (P2OD)
has the potential to unlock areas of radical innovation
in nascent fields such as on-orbit servicing and other
automated applications where post processing and
associated latency is not an option.

RF remote sensing
Techniques, such as such as synthetic aperture
radar (SAR), radio-occultation, reflectometry,
and RF-geolocation, can all require precise, orbit
determination that necessitates the use of ground-
based post processing which has an inherent level
of built-in latency. For some end users, this is not
of concern; however, there may be other users who
are concerned predominantly with rapidly changing
events, where latency is undesirable and directly
diminishes the value of the information. Additionally,
some applications also use formation flying
techniques that can also benefit from precise real-time
positioning of each of the satellites.

Thruster calibration
Thruster calibration and precise orbital maneuvers
have the potential to be more efficiently enabled.
Direct measurements of delta-v can be observed
in real-time to levels of accuracy of less than five
millimeters per second. This, potentially, enables
better on-orbit characterization of on-board thrusters
and that could lead to more efficient fuel usage and,
potentially, longer mission life.

Distribution of corrections on L-band to LEO users via geostationary satellites

SatMagazine Page 16 September 2023
 Collision avoidance
Collision avoidance and fleet management in LEO has become an
important topic as the risk of conjunctions rise due to increasingly
congested orbits. Highly accurate, real-time positioning onboard
the satellite has the potential to enable and improve the safety of
autonomous satellite collision avoidance systems, reducing false
alerts and unnecessary avoidance maneuvers.    www.fugro.com/spacestar
Rendezvous and proximity operations
Emerging on-orbit servicing applications can significantly benefit
from precise onboard, orbit determination. In close approach and
docking application, it can help to enable the approaching spacecraft
to safely achieve the desired relative position, alignment and velocity
during target approaches which, when combined with other onboard
sensors, can help to reduce the risk of collision.
Inter satellite laser link (ISLL)
ISLL requires that, during initial acquisition, the transmitting satellite
locates the position of the receiving satellite before the laser
beam can be accurately pointed. Typically, this is done through
traditional RF; however, this could be enhanced and made more
efficient with the use of accurate positioning technology. Precise,
on-board position and time can also help in facilitating ground-to-
space, laser-based communications, both in signal acquisition and
increased bandwidth, owing to less uncertainty of the LEO orbit
and better time synchronization.
SatMagazine
LEO-PNT  
LEO-PNT systems will require accurate onboard orbit determination
and time synchronisation (ODTS). It is anticipated that LEO
PPP solutions will play a role in providing a viable solution to this
challenge that is both effective and commercially viable.
Author James Bartle leads the business development and
commercialization activities for Fugro SpaceStar.
He may be contacted at Ja.bartle@fugro.com
Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting
and analyzing comprehensive information about the Earth and
the structures built upon it. Adopting an integrated approach
that incorporates acquisition and analysis of Geo-data and
related advice, Fugro provides solutions. With expertise
in site characterization and asset integrity, clients are
supported in the safe, sustainable and efficient design,
construction and operation of their assets throughout the
James Bartle
full lifecycle. Employing approximately 10,000 talented people
in 57 countries, Fugro serves clients around the globe, predominantly in the
energy, infrastructure and water industries, both offshore and onshore. In
2022, company revenue amounted to 1.8 billion euros. Fugro is listed on
Euronext Amsterdam.
Page 17 September 2023
 Bridging The Gap
Overcoming interoperability challenges: Keeping remote renewable assets connected
Author: Alastair MacLeod, Chief Executive Officer, Ground Control
The ability of different systems and devices to
communicate and work together seamlessly —
interoperability — has transformed industry. In the
renewables sector, interoperability is key to keeping
remote renewable assets including wind turbines, solar
installations, and energy storage systems connected.
Renewables businesses face a number of challenges,
especially when creating a network that is secure,
cost-effective and, ultimately, operates as one.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has already enabled
unprecedented levels of connectivity, data collection, Alastair MacLeod
and analysis across industry, and the renewables
sector is no exception. IoT devices can be used to monitor the performance of
renewable energy assets such as turbines and generators, using real-time data
to improve efficiency and reduce downtime.
However, these devices rely on interoperability to function effectively. IoT
devices must be able to communicate with each other and other systems,
such as cloud-based platforms and data integration tools, to deliver increased
efficiency, cost reduction and improved sustainability.
Why does interpretability matter? In the renewables sector, interoperability is
essential for ensuring that all hardware and software systems can communicate
with each other, regardless of the manufacturer or technology used. As
renewable energy assets are often located in remote locations, where terrestrial
coverage is intermittent or unavailable, it can be difficult to maintain connectivity
and monitor performance.
SatMagazine
Real-time data exchange between different systems, allows for more accurate
and comprehensive data management. Given the inherent unpredictability of
wind, sun, and water patterns, the ability to improve the speed and accuracy of
output forecasting can be a game changer.
This data can also be used to inform predictive maintenance ensuring at-risk
parts are replaced before failure, avoiding costly downtime. The early detection
of turbine damage, for example, can save wind farm owners millions annually.
And the same goes in myriad other examples in solar and other renewable
settings and environments where early intervention is crucial.
What’s more, interoperability makes it easier to add new systems and devices
to existing infrastructure, making it more scalable and adaptable to changing
energy needs. This is especially important in the renewables industry, where
new sources of energy are constantly being developed and added to existing
energy systems — secure, stable connectivity with the grid is essential.
One of the most significant challenges to achieving interoperability is
communication and integration issues between different hardware and
software systems. renewable energy systems are often composed of different
components and technologies that may not be compatible with each other. For
example, solar panels from one manufacturer may not be able to communicate
effectively with inverters from another manufacturer. This can result in
inefficiencies, data silos and increased costs.
Interoperability can increase the vulnerability of renewable energy systems
to cyber attacks. When different systems and devices are connected and
exchanging data, it can create new attack vectors that may not have been
considered in the design of the original system.
Page 18 September 2023
Making space accessible, reliable
and competitive.
Companies around the world trust Calian for their Talk to Calian today.
communication systems, products and services. For Stop by stand 1.F47 at IBC 2023 and talk with our experts
over 50 years, we’ve excelled at: in person, or contact:
• Satellite, terrestrial wireless and wired application Dan Baril, SVP, Space
infrastructure dan.baril@calian.com
• Antennas, RF systems, gateways and network 1-306-933-1585
management solutions
Darren Schlageter, VP, Communication Ground Systems
• End-to-end resource orchestration and service
at.commsystems@calian.com
management solutions
l-306-933-1471
• Electronics design, manufacturing, testing and
certification Peter Waskowic, VP, Satcom Products
at.satcom@calian.com
• Customized engineering solutions
1-306-933-1580
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Russ Palmer, VP, Software Defined Solutions
at.gateways@calian.com
1-306-933-1485

calian.com/advanced-technologies
 In addition, currently there is no universally accepted standard for renewable
energy systems, which can make it difficult for different systems to
communicate and exchange data effectively. This can lead to inefficiencies,
reduced data quality, and increased costs.
What’s more, often renewable energy assets such as wind turbines or solar
farms, are located in remote areas. These areas may experience intermittent or
even complete lack of traditional terrestrial coverage, which can make it difficult
to establish reliable connection for data exchange and remote monitoring.
The can be little doubt regarding the importance of resilient and ubiquitous
connectivity. At present, a mere 15% of the Earth’s surface is supported
by conventional terrestrial communications infrastructure, some of which is
complex, vulnerable and expensive to maintain. Satellites, in contrast, can
provide global coverage and are comparatively resilient — unaffected by, for
instance, natural disasters.
In our own blog “The role of 5G and Satellite technology in Industry 4.0,” we
discussed the three key areas where satellite can complement 5G and terrestrial
networks, augmenting network reach to include rural, remote areas, embedding
redundancy and, of course, additional backhaul capability.
As assets such as reservoirs and wind turbines are in remote, rugged
environments often it’s not financially viable to build or maintain the infrastructure
required to support these assets via terrestrial or fiber connectivity. In fact,
a recent survey by Inmarsat found that 91% of business leaders felt satellite
connectivity was key to improving the effectiveness of IoT solutions.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly then, satellite has become an increasingly popular
solution for assets outside traditional terrestrial coverage to ensure reliable,
blanket network coverage.
Important considerations for satellite integration include regulatory (spectrum
allocation and licensing, for example), while others are capital, not least of
which is the cost of deploying satellite-enabled devices. In short, hardware
compatibility and power management are important considerations for anyone
looking to introduce satellite IoT modules into their network.
Satellite IoT (satIoT) modules typically use different communication protocols
and hardware interfaces than traditional IoT devices.Therefore, ensuring
the selected modules are compatible with existing hardware and software
infrastructures are extremely important. Selecting modules that support the
communication protocols and physical interfaces required by your network is a
key to success.
In addition, satIoT modules may require different power management strategies,
due to their reliance on satellite connectivity and potentially, long battery life
requirements. Modules that are designed to operate efficiently in low-power
environments and able to implement power management strategies that minimize
power consumption and maximize battery life are also crucial selections.
Finally—cost. Due to the added complexity and technology required to support
satellite networks, satellite modules and, indeed, satellite airtime, can be more
expensive. However, there are several ways this can be integrated within a
network to ensure the correct balance of performance and cost is obtained.
Just one such example — in the case of one of our customers managing a water
treatment works, sensors used LoRaWAN to transmit data to a hub. The hub
then optimizes the data payload to reduce transmission costs and transmitted
this via satellite only when cellular connectivity was unavailable. This solution
has proven quite successful and stands as an impressive showcase of the
possibilities available with integrated networks.
Network integration must be seamless. Thinking about interoperability and
integration more generally, it’s key that renewables organizations evaluate
hardware and software solutions and consider implementing systems and
components that are designed to work together. Though not always possible,
it’s important to consider factors such as compatibility, data exchange
standards as well as communication protocols. By selecting solutions that are
designed to work together, companies can streamline communications and
improve efficiencies.
SatMagazine
APIs (Application Programming Interface) provide a standardized way for
different systems to communicate and exchange data, while data integration
tools enable companies to consolidate and manage data from multiple sources.
By leveraging these tools, companies can improve data quality, reduce data
silos, and streamline communication between different systems. Simply, APIs
and data integration tools are powerful tools for achieving interoperability.
Moreover, cloud-based solutions can play a critical role in enabling remote
connectivity for renewable energy systems. By storing data in the cloud,
companies can access data from anywhere with an internet connection, enabling
remote monitoring and management of renewable energy systems. Cloud-based
solutions also provide a scalable and cost-effective way to store and manage
data, enabling companies to optimise energy resources more effectively.
Managing growth and the related costs can be extremely challenging. In Europe
in 2022, solar and wind power generated 22% of all electricity, according to
European Electricity Review 2023, outstripping fossil fuel (20%) for the first
time. However, according to Wood Mackenzie Power, $8.5 billion was being
spent on unplanned repairs and corrections caused by component failures in
wind operations.
Though the substantial growth in renewables demonstrates a clear appetite for
the global commitment to hit eco targets, this must be balanced with managing
economic investment. Given that many of these costs can be mitigated with
reliable monitoring and control, preventative maintenance, especially for devices
in hard-to-reach areas; it’s no great surprise that satIoT is becoming increasingly
popular within the renewables sector.
Ultimately, the renewables industry has had to cope with managing remote and
harsh environments for many years and has done so adeptly, evolving with the
technology to support remote management. There will always be challenges
of course, but with satellite, issues associated with operation visibility and
control could be a thing of the past. With the availability of reliable connectivity
anywhere on the planet, renewables operators have the chance to turn what
was once a major challenge into a cost saving and efficiency bearing advantage.
Author Alastair MacLeod is the Chief Executive Officer at Ground Control.
He joined the company in October of 2020, having previously led the team
at Teralytics, and had senior roles at Orange and Solera. With a background
in tech, telco, SaaS, DaaS, and big data, Alastair is well equipped to guide
Ground Control through the firm’s evolution.
Established 20 years ago in 2002, Ground Control uses satellite
and cellular technology to connect people and things, particularly within
hard to reach, remote areas — from wind farms to fishing fleets and first
responders to forestry workers. Ground Control designs and builds its own
hardware covering the entire spectrum of connectivity requirements, with
manufacturing facilities in the UK, and in the United States. The company’s
long—term partnerships with airtime providers such as Inmarsat and Iridium
mean that it has access to the most competitive and comprehensive airtime
plans, taking full advantage of their service evolutions in ways that make
Ground Control’s customers’ challenges easier to solve. Ground Control
works within a multitude of Governments and industries, including Oil & Gas,
Utilities, First Responders, Maritime, the Environment and Agriculture from
all over the globe.
Page 20 September 2023
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 Digital Twins In Action
How government can take flight in the virtual world
Author: Greg Porter, Senior Systems Architect, Sev1Tech
Digital twin technology has revolutionized the manufacturing industry,
creating a way for organizations to predict and solve for nearly every
challenge from lifecycle management to unplanned work stoppages.
Even though we don’t think of the federal government as a manufacturer,
agencies from the Department of Defense (DoD) to DOE and beyond, build,
deploy and manage some of the most expensive and complex vehicles,
machinery and equipment on the planet.
Because of this, digital twins presents an opportunity to streamline government
operations and maintenance, making them more effective and efficient, as well as also
enhancing and emboldening everything from national security to lifesaving discoveries.
Defining The Digital Twin + The Role In Government
Taking a step back, to understand the meaning and components of this
technology is quite instructive. Simply put, a digital twin is a computer-
generated, virtual representation of a physical object, process, or environment
that mirrors its real world counterpart as a way to predict future behavior.
Using technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML),
a digital twin replicates everything about the physical asset, including all of its
functionality and behavior, using smart sensors that collect real time data. These
virtual representations can use that incoming information along with simulation
and modeling technology to game out real world, operating scenarios.
Integrating any flow of changing information that changes in the physical
twin will automatically update the digital twin. Because of that process,
organizations can interact with the model to monitor changes and predict
future events.
Like most emerging technologies, the evolution of digital twins has been
innovated and iterated in the private sector. However, the federal government
isn’t lagging far behind.
SatMagazine Page 22
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in February
of this year as part of the agency’s spotlight series that dives into why this new
tech matters and how agencies can use the technology.
The GAO notes that the term digital twins was actually coined by NASA
engineers in the 1960s — they applied the concept by building physical and
computational models of the Apollo 13 mission vehicles on the ground that were
adapted to match the vehicles’ changing conditions in space.
It has taken more than 50 years to arrive at our current iteration of the term
digital twin, but similar to some of the most foundational technologies since the
dawn of computing, the concept was born out of federal innovation.
Digital Twins In Action
NASA is still engaging with digital twins, but in a much more complex way than
the agency did around Apollo 13. The space agency’s Michoud Assembly
Facility in New Orleans manufactures and assembles critical hardware
components for exploration vehicles under development.
The engineers building and maintaining the processes for these mission-
essential parts will use digital twins as a virtual walk through the facility. This
means employees will be able to work at the facility without physically being on
site, while still being fed real time information.
Some of the goals with the digital twin work for NASA are to improve the
efficiency and quality of maintaining the facility and managing the needs of the
NASA program. This should ultimately lead to decreased downtimes, improved
communication and decreased costs. To that end, the agency is equipping the
Michoud-specific digital twin with some futuristic capabilities, including:
• Interactive holographic models and AI generated asset placements
based on historical movements of the assets.
• Simulating complex crane lifts or asset moves across the factory.
• Real-time monitoring and alerting of the state of the factory through
IoT connected sensors.
An important complement to the digital twin
at the Michoud facility is NASA’s use of a
digital thread. This will be the single source
of truth for information flowing into the
digital twin.
This virtual pipeline will connect the various
disparate systems like requirements
databases, system architecture tools,
project lifecycle management tools and 3D
modeling software.
Connecting these systems through the
digital thread will ensures that the digital
twin is using data in real time and also
allows project managers, engineers, IT and
security professionals to holistically view
all data from all systems throughout the
entire organization.
For many industries, deploying a digital
twin is a way to reduce costs, improve
production and test supply chains. For
the government, the benefits go a step
further, reaching through everything
from national security to healthcare to
interstellar discovery.
September 2023
 There are many innovative technology and moving parts underpinning digital
twins, but taken together and deployed properly, they can work seamlessly to
optimize some of the biggest challenges facing government.
Digital twins have the potential to
change the way federal agencies
serve both the public and their
individual missions.
sev1tech.com
SatMagazine
Author Greg Porter is a Senior Systems Architect at Sev1Tech. He
has been with the company since October of 2021, leading the
Artificial Intelligence team as well as the company’s Digital Twin
and Digital Thread efforts. For more than 12 years, Greg Porter
has been a noteworthy leader in the IT industry. Prior to Sev1Tech,
he was a Senior Systems Architect at Geocent, leading data
analytics for logistics and Hadoop cluster projects, and Senior
Big Data Administrator at Honeywell FM&T, where he was
responsible for Big Data infrastructure design, configuration,
installation, and security. Greg Porter has been honored with
multiple Innovator of the Year awards for his contributions to Greg Porter
Sev1Tech and, formerly, Geocent. He holds a master’s degree
in Data Analytics from Western Governors University.
Page 23 September 2023
 SILICON VALLEY

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SPACE VALLEY SPACE WEEK: PART I

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 SILICON VALLEY

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SPACE VALLEY SPACE WEEK: PART II

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 The Key To
Delivering
Change In
Maritime
Decarbonization
Is... Collaboration
Partnerships, consortiums, and combined studies will be pivotal to the
realization of zero-emissions shipping
As the second of two panel discussions at Inmarsat’s Shaping Connected
Future Seminar during this year’s Singapore Maritime Week, Sustainability:
Delivering Change explored how the maritime industry could enable high-
value connected solutions to address its environmental challenges.
Moderated by Chakib Abi-Saab, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at
Lloyd’s Register (LR), the discussion drew on the insight of panellists Elisa
Woodward, Chief Operations Officer, Vallianz Holdings; Lynn Loo, Chief
Executive Officer, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD);
and Sarah Greenough, Head of Maritime Sustainability and Supply Chain
Excellence, BHP.
SatMagazine
Lynn Loo opened proceedings by explaining that GCMD, as a “neutral
convenor,” can add value in particularly complex pilots and trials by “bringing
people across the sector together to collaborate.”
As an example, she pointed to GCMD’s
carbon capture pilot, which, unlike most
comparable trials, covers the initial capture
of carbon dioxide as well as its offloading
and recycling. Various stakeholders are
involved in the project — including LR as
the appointed classification society — and
this level of collaboration, Loo explained,
will be vital to creating “end-to-end
solutions” for maritime decarbonization.
Reiterating the importance of collaboration,
BHP’s Sarah Greenough said, “Industry
forums and consortiums provide the
opportunity to bring together a cross
section of the industry —– vessel owners,
fuel providers, class and charterers — and
that’s how we will achieve rapid change.
It is equally important that we rethink our
relationships in the ecosystem so that
competitors become partners in developing
green corridors and aggregating demand to
influence the industry at a much faster rate.”
Expanding on Greenough’s point, Elisa Woodward of Vallianz described
“non-equity partnerships” as a vital element in realising environmental
ambitions. “To achieve your decarbonisation goals, you need to look across
the ecosystem to find the right partners – because there’s no way you can do it
by yourself. Commercially, it’s just too difficult. Collaboration is key to making
things happen.”
According to Greenough, “ecosystem
partnerships” are one of the two “critical
enablers” of BHP’s decarbonization
strategy, with the company working
together with other organizations to
deliver on future fuels or onboard
innovation, for example.
The other critical enabler is “data
democratization.” Having successfully used
data analytics to optimize safety and cost
efficiency, BHP increasingly examines the
sustainability credentials of the company’s
chartered vessels, measuring emissions in
real time to inform its chartering choices,
said Greenough.
Page 26 September 2023
 Emphasizing the role that charterers can play in elevating industry-wide
sustainability standards, Woodward referred to a leading energy company to
which Vallianz provides its offshore services. The charterer requires service
providers to demonstrate environmental measures such as energy-saving
devices (ESDs) or digitalization strategies when bidding on a contract.
Woodward explained, “Older vessels even need to be converted to be eligible
for the tender process.”
While ship owners, such as Vallianz, are responding to these demands,
charterers themselves are facing pressure from consumers. “BHP produces
nickel for electric vehicles, and the end customer wants full traceability from
mine to car,” explained Greenough. “These expectations force businesses to
put systems in place to trace emissions throughout the value chain, and this is
something we will see more of in shipping, too, as the sector is held to higher
levels of accountability.”
Despite the industry facing mounting pressure to minimize its environmental
impact, a recent survey conducted by GCMD in partnership with Boston
Consulting Group serves as a reminder that not every maritime company
moves at the same pace. Of the approximately 130 owners and charterers
surveyed, 70% described decarbonization as “very important”, but only 50%
reported having a net-zero target in place, and even fewer — 30% — had
established a “pathway to net zero.” These companies, Loo said, can be divided
into three groups: “frontrunners,” “followers” and “conservatives.”
“What we found is that the pain points for the frontrunners differ from those of
the conservatives,” she explained. “The frontrunners worry about technological
uncertainty and commercial viability, but the conservatives haven’t even
established a decarbonisation strategy or division, meaning education and
contextualisation are crucial for this group.”
SatMagazine
Given the significant proportion of ship owners and charterers falling into the
conservative category, Loo continued, “education is a low-hanging fruit for
GCMD and classification societies like LR. If we can properly contextualise the
problem and the portfolio of solutions available, it goes a long way to bringing
the conservatives up to speed.”
With maritime decarbonization ultimately dependent on the widespread
deployment of alternative fuels, GCMD recently conducted a pilot study aiming
to define operational and safety guidelines for ammonia bunkering.
Pending regulatory approvals, the project will facilitate the first ship-to-ship
transfer of ammonia in the Port of Singapore. “The idea is to take baby steps,
to build confidence and competence in the ecosystem,” said Loo.
In the meantime, cost-effective, interim solutions such as slow steaming and
ESDs can help maritime companies reduce their carbon footprint and comply
with existing regulations. However, as the panellists agreed, delivering the
change needed to achieve zero-emissions shipping will rely on collaboration
throughout the industry.
www.inmarsat.com/en/solutions-services/maritime.html
Page 27 September 2023
 Dynamic Predictive Routing
For LEO SATCOM Networks
The size and complexity of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) SATCOM constellations
introduces substantial new challenges for network traffic engineering. As
the number of companies offering low latency SATCOM connectivity via
LEO increases in number, the cost and performance will be key to achieving
market share.
Delivering the best service to customers in this increasingly competitive
marketplace is driving operators to consider new technologies to scale-up
capacity while ensuring service performance and controlling expenditure
Managing a LEO SATCOM network is challenging because of the continually
changing network geometry that is unlike anything found closer to the ground.
Historically, LEO networks have reduced management complexity by reducing
network flexibility and over-allocating capacity. Finding a way to make the
complexity manageable, while fully exploiting the network capabilities, allows
operators to simultaneously increase capacity and performance.
To address this challenge, CGI has collaborated with TESAT-Spacecom, a
renowned leader in telecommunication payloads and laser communications,
and has developed the Dynamic Predictive Routing (DPR) network traffic
engineering solution.
Built for the next-generations of mega-constellations, DPR demonstrates
communications performance improvements by using a new type of
networking solution which is proven on space-qualified hardware operating
under realistic network conditions.
DPR blends CGI’s comprehensive expertise in Artificial Intelligence
(AI) and leverages CGI’s Machine Learning (ML) accelerator platform
AccelerateAI360, and a 50 year history of delivering complex and
successful projects and solutions within the European and North American
Aerospace markets.
SatMagazine Page 28
Author: Rob Hunter, SATCOMs Consultant, CGI UK
The vision at the heart of all mega-constellation systems is a Very Wide Area
Network (VWAN) with low latency that can outcompete land-based fiber systems.
One area where mega-constellation systems shine in comparison to
Earth-based competition is delivering lower latency and higher throughput
communications over long distances with fewer gateways. Optimizing the
network routing to reduce the number of gateways used substantially drives
down the total cost of system ownership.
Delivering an efficient service over long distances requires a routing concept
that manages multi-orbit meshed networks with no prior knowledge of the
traffic profile. Using traditional Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing to, for
example, send a message from London to New York always privileges the same
connection path crossing the Atlantic, thereby creating congestion bottlenecks
and neglecting other potentially available links.
The dynamic nature of these links is also quite challenging for traditional
routing algorithms to manage. Heuristics such as the Dijkstra or Bellman-Ford
algorithms only work with a network as it is now; if conditions change due
to delay or fault, then the entire routing table must be recalculated and the
forwarding elements updated, adding overhead and delay which accumulate in
a negative feedback cycle.
Many operators choose to solve this problem by modifying their chosen routing
heuristic to accommodate these factors; mostly, this involves simply increasing
the amount of raw compute used, either in terms of the number of factors being
considered or the frequency at which updated routing tables are generated.
Neither of these approaches is a cost-effective solution to the problem.
Sustaining ever greater constellation numbers only increases the compute
demands and cost, so this is certainly not an effective way to compete in the
long term in what are increasingly established and highly efficient markets.
September 2023
 Visit CPI at
IBC
Amsterdam
Sept. 15-18
Booth #1.C67
 CGI’s Dynamic Predictive Routing is a traffic engineering solution based
on a centralized routing concept, implementing an SDN (Software Defined
Networking) and using a Graph Neural Network (GNN) to model the dynamic
properties of the network.
Graph neural network model architectures are highly applicable to network
graph formatted data and benefit from the cross-application of a decade of
research in convolutional neural networks (CNN) and ordinary, deep neural
networks (DNN).
SatMagazine
Many optimizations developed for CNNs and DNN can immediately be applied
and tested on the more recent GNN architectures.
GNNs are highly attractive for this problem as they can maintain a
representation of the network as it changes over time and that resolves
the limitation of applying traditional routing heuristics to highly dynamic
network topologies.
While the computational cost of training the model is high, the cost is
borne once during the training process which can be performed on a
specialist system — such as CGI’s AccelerateAI360 platform — away from
the mission system.
Delivering service operations using the trained model is low compute and
it remains stable for as long as the network is in a stable configuration. By
including realistic faults in the model training, CGI can also accommodate fault
scenarios without the need for retraining.
CGI’s Dynamic Predictive Routing framework supplies a lightweight and
self-contained solution designed to integrate with existing mission systems as
cost-effectively as possible.
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 Enhancing
Satellite
Data With
SDRs In
Ground
Stations
Author: Brandon Malatest,
Chief Operations Officer
and Co-Founder, Per Vices
Satellite communication (SATCOM) is evolving at a rapid pace, with
increasing demands for higher bandwidth and the need to accommodate a
higher channel count impacting available SATCOM services.
Traditional hardware-based receivers often struggle to keep up with these
requirements due to their limitations in scalability and flexibility. However,
Software-Defined Radios (SDRs) offer a game-changing solution by
providing capabilities for high bandwidth and high channel count reception in
ground stations. There are many benefits that SDRs bring to operators in terms
of high bandwidth and high channel count reception and this is revolutionizing
satellite data reception.
One of the primary advantages of SDRs is their ability to support high bandwidth
reception. As the demand for faster data transfer rates continues to grow, traditional
hardware-based receivers face challenges in meeting these requirements.
SDRs, on the other hand, can leverage their software-based processing
capabilities to efficiently handle higher bandwidths. By employing parallel
processing techniques and optimized algorithms, SDR-based ground stations
can receive and process large amounts of data in real-time, enabling the
reception of high-resolution satellite imagery, video streams and other data-
intensive applications with ease.
Furthermore, SDRs excel in supporting a high channel count, allowing ground
stations to receive signals from multiple satellites simultaneously. Traditional
hardware-based receivers often require separate hardware components for each
channel, resulting in increased complexity and cost.
SDRs, with their inherent flexibility, can handle multiple channels through software
configurations, eliminating the need for dedicated hardware for each channel.
This feature reduces costs as well as simplifies ground station operations, thereby
enabling the reception of data from diverse satellite constellations or multiple
satellites that are operating on varying frequency bands.
The flexibility of SDRs also enable ground stations to adapt to different
modulation schemes and frequency bands, further enhancing their high channel
count capabilities.
Satellites employ various modulation schemes, such as QPSK, 8PSK, or QAM,
depending on the data rate and bandwidth requirements. Traditional hardware-
based receivers often specialize in specific modulation schemes, making it
challenging to receive signals from satellites using different schemes. SDRs,
with their software-defined nature, can dynamically switch between modulation
schemes and adapt to the specific requirements of each satellite, ensuring
optimal reception performance across a wide range of satellites.
SatMagazine Page 32
Moreover, SDRs facilitate the implementation of advanced signal processing
techniques to enhance high bandwidth and high channel count reception.
Techniques such as adaptive filtering, channel equalization, and error correction
can be implemented in software, allowing for efficient and real-time processing
of multiple signals.
These techniques help mitigate the effects of fading, interference, and noise,
resulting in improved reception quality and higher data throughput. SDR-
based ground stations can adaptively adjust their processing parameters
based on the received signal characteristics, ensuring reliable reception even
in challenging environments.
Another key advantage of SDRs is their scalability. As SATCOM systems continue
to evolve and new satellites are launched, the demands for higher bandwidth
and increased channel count will only intensify. SDRs offer a scalable solution
that can easily accommodate future requirements through software upgrades
and reconfigurations. This scalability eliminates the need for frequent hardware
replacements, reducing costs and downtime for ground station operators.
Additionally, SDRs enable ground stations to stay up-to-date with the latest
satellite technologies and frequency allocations, ensuring compatibility with new
satellite systems without requiring significant infrastructure changes.
In terms of high bandwidth reception, SDRs leverage their wideband capabilities
to receive and process a broad range of frequencies simultaneously. They
can cover multiple frequency bands, such as L-, S-, C-, and Ku-band, without
the need for separate hardware for each band. This flexibility enables ground
stations to receive signals from different satellites operating on various
frequency bands, expanding their access to satellite data sources.
When it comes to high channel count reception, SDRs offer the advantage of parallel
processing and multi-channel capabilities. Ground stations equipped with SDRs can
receive and process multiple channels simultaneously, allowing for the reception of
signals from multiple satellites or different transponders within the same satellite. This
capability is particularly beneficial for applications such as Earth Observation (EO),
where data from multiple satellites or sensors need to be collected and processed
simultaneously for comprehensive analysis and monitoring.
Additionally, SDRs can employ advanced beamforming techniques to enhance
reception performance in high channel count scenarios. By dynamically
adjusting the reception beam direction and focusing on the desired signals,
SDR-based ground stations can improve the signal-to-noise ratio and minimize
interference from adjacent channels. This beamforming capability allows for
more robust and reliable reception of signals, especially in environments with
high signal density or complex interference patterns.
September 2023
 SDRs such as Per Vices Cyan provide high bandwidth and high channel count
reception for ground stations.
Protect Your Earth Station
Furthermore, SDRs facilitate the integration of multiple reception antennas or
phased array systems, enabling ground stations to receive signals from different
Antennas from Ice, Snow,
Rain, and more
directions simultaneously. This diversity reception enhances the resilience and
reliability of satellite data reception, as it reduces the impact of signal blockage
or fading caused by obstructions in the environment. By combining signals
received from multiple antennas or phased array elements, SDR-based ground
stations can improve the overall reception quality and increase the chances of
capturing weak or degraded signals.

SDRs revolutionize satellite data reception in ground stations by providing high

bandwidth and high channel count capabilities. Through their software-defined
processing, SDRs efficiently handle large amounts of data, support multiple
channels, and adapt to different modulation schemes and frequency bands.
The advanced signal processing techniques implemented in SDRs further
enhance reception quality and data throughput. With their scalability, flexibility,
wideband capabilities, parallel processing, beamforming techniques, and antenna
diversity integration, SDRs offer a comprehensive solution for ground stations to
meet the ever-increasing demands of satellite communication systems.

As the satellite industry continues to push the boundaries of high-speed and

data-intensive applications, SDRs will play a vital role in ensuring reliable and
efficient reception of satellite data.

www.pervices.com

Author Brandon Malatest is the COO and co-founder of Per Vices

Corporation, a leader in Software Defined Radio technology.
Antenna De-Ice Systems:
Brandon has an honour’s degree in Physics with a specialization
in Experimental Physics from the University of Waterloo in
Ontario, Canada. On graduating, Brandon started his career as
a research analyst and statistician at one of the largest market
research firms in Canada and later joined Victor Wollesen to co- Snow Shield
found Per Vices. Since starting Per Vices, Brandon has authored
many thought leadership articles based on software defined
radio (SDR) technology.
Brandon Malatest
Per Vices, a leader in software defined radios, offering the highest channel
count and bandwidth SDRs for the satellite ground station market. The
high performance radios with exceptional signal processing capabilities,
and advanced hardware features enables customers to leverage Per Vices
SDRs to achieve superior performance, enhanced flexibility, and future-proof
solutions. Contact solutions@pervices.com to learn more about the • 24/7/365 Support & Field Services
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SatMagazine Page 33 September 2023

 Faraday Phoenix: one of 40+ spacecraft powered by Bright Ascension’s software. Courtesy of In-Space Missions Ltd

An Alternative Software
Development Approach For
Evolving + Complex
Space Systems
Author: Dr. Peter Mendham, Chief Executive Officer, Bright Ascension
The Software Challenge
An increasing number of small satellite missions make use of multiple
spacecraft, usually through constellations with scheduled replenishment.
Each new addition to the system often involves the development of new The responsibility of connecting such a mixed system together is on the
mission capabilities or satellite platforms, making this process progressively software side. Even so, the current market does not offer an efficient end-to-end
more challenging to efficiently maintain and support these applications. technology for a growing satellite system. Numerous standalone products and
patchy solutions tend to be disjointed, fragmented and poorly integrated. This
Only a few years ago, space companies tended to be vertically integrated and results in significant costs, risks, delays to market and service delivery.
develop their technology in-house. However, as the New Space market has
matured, we have seen a significant surge in industry vendors and suppliers As an example, consider a typical mission where onboard software is developed
who specialize in specific parts of satellite manufacturing, launch and operations at roughly the same time as the rest of the spacecraft is getting built – e.g.,
and offer innovative engineering to the market. payload development, hardware specification and configuration. Sooner or later,
system requirements inevitably start to change and evolve
Cutting-edge and highly specialized technology, often at lower cost, was a
godsend for satellite owners and developers, but it also meant that many of This has a knock-on effect on the software infrastructure, including both the
them ended up managing numerous spacecraft with different capabilities, flight and the ground sides: onboard software, payload software, operations
different hardware systems or even from different manufacturers.Although software, or service delivery software, which may be developed by different
this may be a lucrative tactic from the cost point of view, the complexity of teams or even different vendors.
managing and operating such a constellation is a significant challenge.

SatMagazine Page 34 September 2023

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 Any change — no matter how small or insignificant — needs to be captured
and reflected across the entire mission software system, regardless of who
is responsible for each individual software package. This requires a superior
level of communication, coordination, and integration, which is often
problematic to achieve.
The more complex the space system becomes as it scales up, the more
challenging it is to efficiently manage this constant process of change. Any
modification needs to be accounted for — not only during the development
stage, but also throughout the life on-orbit — as new satellites, capabilities,
and hardware are added to the fully functioning constellation.
An Alternative Approach
Bright Ascension is a leading space software technology provider in the
New Space industry. Over the past 11 years, the company has powered an
impressive variety of more than 40 missions with flight and ground software
products. Bright Ascension’s team has now embarked on a new journey to
develop an innovative new suite of products that promises to revolutionize the
software development approach and create an end-to-end infrastructure to
efficiently manage a complex space system.
The Technical Solution
The new product suite is based on Bright Ascension’s innovative and flight-
proven GenerationOne technology that is both modular and model-based.
Combined, these two elements create a powerful foundation for re-shaping the
traditional software development approach.
“Modular” aspect means that all products in the suite are based on reusable
components, designed to create limitless combinations of software units, like
constructing with building blocks. These components can be library-based,
available with the product, and cover any standard functionality. Or they can be
completely bespoke, created for unique mission-specific capabilities. Combining
components like building blocks means that any software package can be
developed much quicker, with greater reliability and at a lower cost.
But it’s the “model-based” aspect of GenerationOne that really makes the new
product suite stand out. The software generates a machine-readable overview
of the system which automatically captures any change and shares it across the
entire software infrastructure. For example, if there is any change on the flight
side – e.g., a software update or new hardware or even a new spacecraft – the
operations software can automatically “see” the new elements without the need
for manual configuration.
Real Mission Application
Let’s say you manage and develop a small constellation to provide
communication services or Earth Observation (EO) data to customers on the
The Bright Ascension’s Team
SatMagazine
Bright Ascension’s Mission Control Software
ground. As you are building a new cluster of spacecraft, you recognize the need
for additional software functionality.
You also discover brand new cutting-edge hardware technology that you
would like to try — even if that means a completely new OBS on your
spacecraft. Finally, you find out that some of the hardware you previously used
is discontinued and must be replaced. Typically, in order to implement these
changes for your next mission you would need to start software development
from scratch and ensure it integrates into your fully functioning and operating
space system, which is a mammoth task in itself.
Bright Ascension’s new product suite will significantly simplify these processes.
The modular structure of the software means that components written for one
spacecraft can be easily reused on another and combined in new ways to
achieve new functionality, so you do not have to start from the ground up and
waste invaluable time, effort, and cost.
Once ready, the new software package needs to be integrated into your space
system. Being model-based, the constellation will automatically “see” the new
additions and reflect them across the entire ground-space system with almost
zero configuration on your part.
Bright Ascension has completed the hard work for you. Their end-to-end
product suite helps you get it right from the very beginning and create a
software infrastructure that is easy to manage, scalable, future-proof and
designed to grow with your space system without unexpected surprises and
unmitigated risks.
The Next Steps
Bright Ascension’s end-to-end software suite will contain 9 highly-integrated
products and will cover the entire end-to-end value chain – from developing,
testing, flying, and operating a spacecraft to managing system performance and
delivering space-based data to end users.
The early release of the first product in the suite is expected in October 2023
and Bright Ascension plans to release more information and reveal product
names, functionality and first screenshots at the Smallsat Conference in Logan,
Utah, in August.
brightascension.com
Author Dr. Peter Mendham is the Chief Executive Officer at
Bright Ascension.
Dr. Peter
Mendham
Page 36 September 2023
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 Author: Lalit Katare, Market Research Consultant, Allied Market Research
Satellite-Based Earth
Observation System
Analysis and Trends

Satellite-based Earth Observation (EO) is carried out with the aid of satellites
orbiting around the Earth to view, observe, identify environmental change,
and formulate maps. This process uses remote sensing techniques to collect
information on chemical, physical, and biological aspects of the Earth.
The information collected through remote sensing is used for several
applications such as weather and terrain mapping, reconnaissance and
intelligence missions, agricultural monitoring and management, and synthetic
aperture radar imagery. In addition, collected information is used by the defense
sector for border monitoring, disaster management as well as other, crucial
military missions.

SatMagazine Page 38 September 2023

 The growth of EO systems has been propelled due to a surge in demand
for big data technology to generate accurate insights on collected data,
advancements in EO satellite technologies and high demand for high-
resolution, imaging services.
In recent years, there has been an exponential increase in EO data volume
which, in turn, is proliferating the demand for big data technologies to infer
actionable insights on numerous global challenges, such as climate change.
EO satellites produce vast amounts of data each day that are required
to be stored, processed and regularly analyzed. EO data is generated in
heterogeneous formats, semantics, modalities, and resolutions, propelling
the need for big data technologies to process and analyze complex data in
a faster way. This requirement results in a high complexity of data sets that
requires pre-processing, multi-level fusion and analytics. Therefore, variety,
veracity, and volume apply to this kind of dataset, driving the need to deploy
big data analytics to generate accurate insights.
However, the rise in the use of alternative EO technologies and the lack
of skilled and trained personnel are factors that hamper the growth of the
market. In addition, competitors from alternative technologies are hindering
the growth of the satellite-based EO market.
Major enterprises such as Google and World View Enterprises, and several
startups such as Zero 2 Infinity, are investing in the R&D of high-altitude balloons
which, in turn, is expected to affect the demand for satellite-based EO.
In addition, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as drones have been used
for EO applications, such as archeological surveying, climate studies, and traffic
monitoring. These applications from alternative technologies will impact the
growth of the market during the forecast period.
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SatMagazine
Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis has created uncertainty in the market, a
massive slowing of the supply chain as well as an increase in panic among
customer segments. The impact of the pandemic has resulted in delayed
development and launch of satellites, a slowdown in the operation of the key
players and a shortage of components.
The pandemic has caused delays in the development of several projects. The
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Blackjack program, which
is aimed at demonstrating a new communications network for the military in
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was scheduled to be launched in 2022. The launch is
expected to be delayed due to shortages of microchips and other electronic
components.
Moreover, space agencies used satellite data to track and monitor planet-wide
changes in the environment during COVID-19.
For instance, in 2020, NASA collaborated with European Space Agency
(ESA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to use their
scientific capabilities in EO for monitoring planet-wide changes in the
environment and human society.
These agencies created the COVID-19 Earth Observation Dashboard to
combine satellite data with analytical tools for tracking changes in air and
water quality, climate change, economic activity, and agriculture, and to
enable the public and policymakers to monitor the short-term as well as the
long-term impacts of pandemic-related restrictions.
One of the major factors positively affecting the growth of the market is the large
number of satellites that have been launched by the various agencies, such as
NASA, European Space Imaging, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
• Radiation resistant
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Page 39 September 2023
 Additionally, the European public funding landscape includes programs such
as Horizon Europe, and European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI),
for product development, research, and innovation. Plus, the European
Space Agency (ESA) Business Incubator and Acceleration Centers and the
Copernicus Start-Up Program encourage early-stage investments.
Some leading companies operating in the satellite-based EO market include
Airbus S.A.S., Furuno Electric Co., Ltd., Inmarsat Global Limited, Intelsat
S.A., Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), L3Harris Technologies, Inc.,
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Planet Lab,
Raytheon Technologies Corporation, SkyWatch, STMicroelectronics N.V.,
The Boeing Company, and Thales Group.
Most manufacturers are adopting contract and product launches as their key
strategy to gain traction in the market. For instance, in June of 2022, NASA
awarded a $6 million, 12 month contract extension to Spire Global, Inc., a
leading global provider of space-based data, to deliver EO data to the agency.
Under this contract, Spire will continue to deliver a comprehensive catalog of
earth observation data, associated metadata, and ancillary information from its
constellation of more than 100 multipurpose satellites.
As per the AMR analysis (above, right column), the global, satellite-based EO
market was valued at $5,712.0 million in 2021 and is projected to reach $11,329.1
million by 2031, registering a CAGR of 7.2%. During the analysis period, North
America accounted to be the highest revenue contributor, whereas Asia-Pacific is
estimated to have the fastest growth accounting to be 8.2% from 2022 to 2031.
SatMagazine Page 40
Many companies operating in the satellite-based EO market are
headquartered in North America. This is one of the prominent markets
for satellite-based EO owing to the high adoption of satellite data among
government and military agencies.
Government and military organizations are investing in satellite communication
and navigation services through the launch of several smallsats. The increase
in the number of applications in commercial sector,s such as agriculture,
real estate, civil engineering, energy, and fleet management, has increased
the adoption of satellite-based EO. Technological advancement in the
telecommunication industry and the rise in demand for EO are expected to
drive the market during the coming years. These factors provide significant
opportunities for players operating in the satellite-based EO market.
www.alliedmarketresearch.com
Lalit Katare is a market research consultant with more than
eight years of experience. He specializes in analyzing and
interpreting data related to the transportation industry and
has provided insights and recommendations to businesses
and organizations that operate within the transportation
sector, helping them to make informed decisions regarding
their products, services, marketing strategies, and overall
business operations. He has helped multiple enterprises,
such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, Caterpillar,
Komatsu, Bombardier, and Lockheed Martin, among
others, identify new revenue opportunities in high-growth
niche markets such as IoT, autonomous vehicles, the
electric and hybrid ecosystems, on and off-highway Lalit Katare
vehicle ecosystems, and aerospace verticals. As a
consultant, he has strong research skills and is proficient in gathering,
analyzing, and interpreting data from a variety of sources, including market
reports, surveys, interviews, and industry publications. He is skilled in supply
chain analysis, forecasting, matrix modeling, data analytics, and competitive
intelligence and uses various tools and software to extract actionable
insights from large datasets. He performs competitive analysis to assess
the strengths and weaknesses of key players and analyze factors such
as market size, growth potential, customer segmentation, target markets,
and competitive landscape to provide recommendations on market entry
strategies, product positioning, and pricing strategies.
September 2023
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 5G New Radio NTN
Why it will take the SATCOM market by storm
Author: Thorleif Astrup Hallund,
Senior Business Development Director, Gatehouse Satcom
As the global, mobile communication industry eagerly awaits the next
connectivity revolution, all eyes are fixed on the goal of providing seamless
coverage anywhere on the planet. 5G New Radio NTN is more than likely
to become the technology that will lead straight to an efficient and much-
desired fusion of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.
Much has been said and written about 5G New Radio (5G NR). However, the
information is often delivered in contradictory terms as numerous trade media and
industry analysts offer their differing opinions on this subject. This tends to muddy
the waters and makes it far harder to understand what 5G NR actually is, how it
works, what advantages the technology brings to the table, and — perhaps most
importantly — how 5G NR will affect mobile communication in the future.
Understanding 5G NR
As most smartphone users are aware, the introduction of 5G gave access to
capabilities which were unheard of in earlier generations. But to reach the
full potential of 5G mobile networks, a new radio-access technology known
as 5G NR has been specified by 3GPP, the standardization organization for
mobile telecommunications.
5G NR defines how compatible devices, such as smartphones, IoT-devices and
gateways, connect to 5G NR network infrastructure to transmit data wirelessly
and also introduces several, major improvements, such as:
Enhanced speed and capacity
5G NR deliver significantly faster data speeds and higher network
capacity, enabling ultra-fast downloads, high resolution streaming,
and improved overall network performance.
Lower latency
With lower latency, 5G NR delivers near-instantaneous response times,
opening doors for real-time applications like autonomous vehicles,
remote surgery, and immersive augmented reality experiences.
Improved reliability and coverage
5G NR offer improved reliability, enabling mission-critical applications
that demand robust and uninterrupted connectivity.
New and innovative use cases
5G NR unlocks new possibilities for transformative use cases such
as smart cities, remote industrial automation, artificial intelligence
and augmented reality, revolutionizing industries, and empowering
novel applications.
SatMagazine
A Serious
Business Enabler
For years, satellite communication
has been based solely on stand-
alone proprietary technology,
independent of the standardization
efforts driving revenue growth for
terrestrial mobile communication.
Fortunately, this is about to change.
Soon, 5G NR signals will beam down
from space and support terrestrial 5G
mobile communication infrastructure.
This will give satellites and other non-
terrestrial networks a new and highly
competitive edge as they become
an essential factor in the offering of
powerful, seamless connectivity to
millions of customers anywhere on
the planet.
5G NR also gives non-terrestrial communication companies the opportunity to
take advantage of the large-scale economies in the terrestrial industry to lower
their cost of user equipment and service prices to more competitive levels.
A New Level Of Interoperability
By unifying 5G standardization of non-terrestrial and terrestrial technology,
the barrier between different satellite systems will be eliminated, allowing end
users to roam freely between the terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks of
various operators.
This will be one of the biggest advantages of 5G NR standardization as it
becomes much easier for the terrestrial mobile communication industry to
work with satellite operators and other non-terrestrial vendors and provide
strong end-to-end service management as all parties are operating on the
same 3GPP standard.
The 3GPP 5G NR standardization will allow the non-terrestrial communication
industry to reach mass markets due to higher interoperability. The benefit of this is a
huge increase in the number of potential customers and an opportunity to tap into a
more developed, high-volume supply chain, saving development time and costs.
Where is 5G NR Today?
Most terrestrial network operators currently focus on delivering 5G services to
areas currently covered by older, cellular technologies. At the close of 2022,
there were 229 commercial 5G terrestrial networks around the world, and the
unique capabilities of non-terrestrial networks can drastically expand their reach.
This is the reason why there are now numerous public announcements related
to the development and testing of 5G services via non-terrestrial networks,
especially concerning these types of use cases:
Broadband internet
High-speed, low-latency mobile broadband internet via satellite
in remote and rural locations. This is typically accomplished by
satellites beaming internet to a dish on the users’ roof, which then
passes the signal on to a Wi-Fi router.
Direct-to-smartphone
The first 5G NR-compatible smartphones have already hit the
market, and in the coming years, many more will follow. As it is still
early days simple services like emergency messaging are the first on
offer. But with the advance of 5G NR, new high-speed services will
most certainly be launched.
Page 42 September 2023
 However, just as 5G-technology in terrestrial network needs to evolve from
the current roll-out state to the full potential of gigabit speeds and millisecond
latencies, non-terrestrial 5G-technology must also follow its own, evolutionary
path to complete integration.
Easier Said Than Done
What may be simple to achieve in a terrestrial network can be extremely
complicated in a non-terrestrial network. For instance, how do you provide
direct-to-smartphone connectivity from a satellite constellation? This is a real
challenge due to factors such as access to spectrum, link budgets, high doppler
shifts, increase in latency due to interference from terrain, weather, and a range
of other factors known to disrupt wireless networks.
The efforts are worth the investment, as the value proposition of a 3GPP
standardized, 5G network is crystal clear: non-terrestrial networks can
significantly strengthen the 5G experience, where terrestrial networks cannot —
particularly regarding mobility and mission-critical communications. By doing
so, non-terrestrial networks represent a golden opportunity to extend 5G service
coverage of enormously large areas where traditional terrestrial networks have
limited reach or cannot operate feasibly.
A Match Made In Heaven
5G NR standardization is by far the most promising opportunity to create
new business models involving both the terrestrial and non-terrestrial
communications industries.
SatMagazine
As non-terrestrial networks will not provide the same capacity as terrestrial
systems, they are likely to be viewed as complementary, rather than competing
systems. This will undoubtedly lead many companies to join forces in the pursuit
of mutual benefits.
There are still technical challenges to overcome before seamless, non-terrestrial and
terrestrial network experiences can be achieved, but with the development of 3GPP
5G NR-compliant solutions, huge steps will be taken in the correct direction.
gatehousesatcom.com
Thorleif Astrup Hallund has more than 25 years of experience
with product and business management in telecommunication
companies and tech startups. Currently, he holds the position
of Senior Business Development Director at Gatehouse
Satcom, spearheading business development with a particular
focus on 5G products for non-terrestrial networks. Gatehouse
Satcom is a full member of 3GPP and actively contributing to
the standardization through extensive knowledge of satellite
communication. For further inquiries, please contact Thorleif
Astrup Hallund at: tah@gatehouse.com
Thorleif Astrup
Hallund
Page 43 September 2023
 Evolving Connectivity At Sea
Standardization and secure maritime-optimized solutions needed
Author: Kirstie Williams, Regional Head of Development, GTMaritime

Calls For Data Standardization

“Advances in digitalization and connectivity at
sea – and the resultant explosion of vessel data
– emphasize the need for standardisation,
collaboration and secure maritime-optimized
solutions,” said Kirstie Williams, Regional
Head of Development, GTMaritime.
Advances in maritime digitalization and satellite
connectivity have brought the maritime industry
access to higher bandwidths than ever previously
available, allowing shipping companies to replicate
shoreside IT and software set-ups onboard their Kirstie Williams
vessels. The results are being seen in more consistent
processes and streamlined IT management.
This is providing shipowners with a great opportunity to invest in new and innovative
vessel management techniques. However, ensuring that the chosen connectivity
solution is fully optimized for ship operations requires attention to detail.
Many of the new solutions now available to shipping have been designed based efficient and seamless ship-to-shore data transfer infrastructure.
on high bandwidth connections, while bandwidth on board is still typically much
lower than in shore-based operations centers. This means caution is advisable
to ensure that vessel infrastructure is not pushed toward or over its limits. Even
with the increasing bandwidth available to owners, those using conventional
office software tools on board, for example, need to remain mindful of potential
knock-on effects for other daily ship operations.
What is clear is that the growing number of software tools and connectivity
solutions on the market, and the resultant proliferation of data, amplify the need
for the data standardization that is currently missing from the maritime industry.
Although individual software providers generally use consistent data structures,
in many cases, these are incompatible with those offered by other providers.
With a lack of common software infrastructure, not all systems can be integrated
and the same data is often transferred multiple times using different software
tools. The industry should, therefore, look to establish standards for the storage
and exchange of data — a need that is becoming ever-more apparent as the
variety of connectivity options and data transfer solutions available to shipping
companies increases.
One key to a solution will be the willingness to collaborate. Data sharing by
shipowners is essential in order that software solutions evolve in ways that
support the soaring volumes of data being produced as well as a reliable,
Ultimately, the industry requires software tools that are optimized for use at
sea, ensuring routine business tasks, such as email and file sharing, have
minimal impact on crew connectivity and other important bandwidth-dependent
services. Such solutions should also offer reliability, security, compatibility with
other systems and the flexibility to work on any connection.

In addition, much of the new connectivity has been made possible by the launch
of new, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. While LEO constellations are widely
regarded as the solution to shipping’s bandwidth concerns, further research is
needed to determine LEO network cyber-security strength as well as levels of
service and the back-up options available when data is fully consumed.

SatMagazine Page 44 September 2023

 In that same way, shipping’s operational needs are increasingly demanding
seamless compatibility with different networks. GTMaritime’s market leading
product — GTMailPlus — is a maritime-optimized, email service that facilitates
integration with popular office software suites, thereby allowing ship- and
shore-side personnel to use familiar tools while benefiting from stable, secure,
bandwidth-efficient data transfers.
GTMailPlus is also compatible with any network type — whether LEO, GEO,
Wi-Fi or LTE — to provide secure and efficient data transfers, regardless of the
service or combination of services the shipowner uses.
With Greater Connectivity Comes Greater Risk
Another vital consideration for shipowners looking to mirror their IT set-ups, is
cybersecurity. Although the enhancement of interconnectivity between vessels
and shore-based operation centers is a largely positive development for the
maritime industry, this does entail risk.
By unifying onboard and onshore software, shipping companies expose their
vessels to the same cyber threats as they face on land. As the volume of
data being transferred from ship to shore rises, so do the opportunities of
cyber-attack.
In the past six months, GTMaritime’s solutions have provided protection
against 1.7 million known viruses, prevented more than 90,000 malware
attacks that were unknown to standard antivirus services, and blocked over
5.3 million spam messages.
Against this background, shipowners require software tools that are not
only optimized for use at sea, but tools that provide protection of the data
and endpoints to ensure vessels are fully protected — without impacting on
business communications.
#APSCC2023
SatMagazine Page 45
Reflecting GTMaritime’s holistic approach to vessel security, the company
offers a range of end point protection solutions for vessels to provide scalable,
intelligent, and strong protection without impacting productivity.
Provided in partnership with Crowdstrike, customers receive an end point
detection and response (EDR) solution with AI based next generation anti-
virus. This includes the ability to isolate single devices to protect the rest of the
network, different levels of firewall protection, a security operations centre and
threat hunting, along with access to support 24/7 in the event of an incident.
In addition, to address the increasingly pressing issue of vessel cyber security,
GTMailPlus also features an enterprise-grade security suite as a standard,
offering robust protection from threats that include zero-day attacks. This
comprises applications for Anti-Phishing, Antivirus, Spam Management and
Advanced Threat Protection.
As maritime connectivity evolves, shipboard software tools are more advanced
and prevalent, and maritime data becomes more abundant. Care must be taken
to ensure that shipping companies are equipped to seize the opportunities while
mitigating for risk.
Standardization, collaboration and secure, maritime-optimized solutions will
be integral to ensuring that the full benefit of digitalization is accessible to all
industry stakeholders.
www.gtmaritime.com
September 2023
GTMaritime
Update
Phishing penetration test
measures crew vigilance
GTMaritime offers a penetration testing service free of
charge which allows customers to evaluate the ability of
their personnel to identify phishing attacks
Hackers are constantly trying to come up with new ruses
to outwit software-based protections. For this reason, crew
cannot afford to become complacent in the belief that, with
a technological safety net in place, everything reaching
their inbox is trustworthy and can be taken at face value.
On the contrary, they must remain vigilant: the few malicious
messages that do arrive will more likely resemble an
authentic request or employ advanced social-engineering
techniques, which make them harder to recognize.
Quality ship operators understand this and take a holistic
approach to cyber defence. To supplement the work done
by technological tools such as GTMailPlus by GTMaritime,
they routinely remind staff to stay alert and offer training on
what to look out for.
However, it can be difficult to gauge exactly how well
these measures are working or to identify areas that would
benefit from improvement. In the same way that cyber
criminals are constantly refining their techniques, ship
operators too must continually adapt.
GTMaritime includes a free phishing penetration test as
part of their service to customers. These realistic but
ultimately harmless simulated attacks offer an effective way
of gathering quantitative evidence on the alertness of the
frontline staff most exposed to hoax emails.
By revealing weaknesses in training provision, the free
service allows customers to pinpoint where educational
resources can be enhanced or redirected, knowledge gaps
plugged and awareness raised.
Test results revealed weaknesses
GTMaritime recently completed a two-round penetration
test for an established shipping company. For the initial
test the vessel operator sent to 16 of its captains a
spoof message appearing to come from a Port Authority
requesting basic identifying information about the vessel
and its owner.
SatMagazine
Half correctly identified the message as a phishing attempt
and ignored it, but half supplied the information asked for.
Of the latter group, in no case was the message escalated
to management for advice on how to proceed.
The 50-50 split certainly raised pulses at company
headquarters, as the spoof email was written in poor
English and emanated from a mysteriously unnamed port
authority — both common traits that should ring alarm
bells. To determine if the same result would be found if
more detailed information was requested, a second test
was employed.
This time the message that supposedly came from a port
authority had a personalised subject line that mentioned
the target vessel’s name and IMO number. There is
mounting evidence of cyber criminals including references
to familiar people or organisations, adding a veneer of
authenticity that encourages the targeted recipient to lower
their guard. The rogue message then asked for a host of
sensitive particulars and security details, which if passed on
to pirates could jeopardise the safety of vessel and crew.
The response showed a marked improvement over the first
test. Eight recipients immediately detected something was
amiss and ignored the request. Encouragingly, three were
suspicious enough to seek guidance from head office.
Although head office personnel were kept in the dark about
the test, they reacted correctly, advising vessels not to
send any data and also alerted the IT department.
Even so, five vessels still obligingly followed the
instructions in the message without properly considering
either the safety or commercial ramifications of sensitive
information falling into the wrong hands.
Path to enhanced education and procedures
Following the penetration tests GTMaritime supplied the
vessel operator with educational materials for both staff
and IT personnel. The operator took an enlightened view to
the results, seeing them as an opportunity to learn rather
than apportion blame. It later shared the full findings in
a company-wide security bulletin in the hope that using
real data rather than hypothetical scenarios to present the
dangers would drive home the need for vigilance.
GTMaritime believes that technological and human
components are equally important in developing cyber-
resilience. While customers can rely on GTMartime to
handle the technical defences, the exercise described above
plainly demonstrates the usefulness of penetration testing in
bringing to light and addressing the human-element.
To take up the offer of a free Phishing Penetration Test
please contact marketing@gtmaritime.com
Page 46 September 2023