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Finding Asian Satellite Solutions S atM a g azin e W o r l d wid e S a t ellit e Mag azin e June 2015 Mobility SATCOM In APAC ................................................. 28 A Pioneering, Australian Satellite Builder .......................... 34 The Language Of LNB + BUC ............................................. 42 Is Satellite Winning The Talent War? .................................. 46 Recent U.S. Space Policy Decisions .................................. 52 Why HTS Continues To Remain Relevant .......................... 56 Smaller + More Powerful SATCOMs .................................. 58 Claiming 4G Market Share In Untapped Areas .................. 60 Innovative Antenna Alignment On Ships ............................ 62 The Chinese Space Effort ................................................... 66 Executive Spotlight: Jeff Sare, Inmarsat ............................ 70 STNAlways Taking A Step Further .................................. 74 Ka-Band Capacity Planning ................................................ 76 Japanese Space Policy: A European Perspective ............. 82 Overcoming SATCOM Disruption ....................................... 84 Also featuring:
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June 2015 SatMagazine SatMagazine is published 11 times a year by SatNews Publishers, 800 Siesta Way, Sonoma, CA 95476 USA, Phone: (707) 939-9306, Fax: (707) 939-9235 2015 SatNews Publishers We reserve the right to edit all submitted materials to meet publication content guidelines, as well as for gra.m.mar and spelling errors, or to move articles to an alternative issue to accommodate publication space requirements, or remove content due to space restrictions. Submission of content does not constitute acceptance of said material by SatNews Publishers. Edited materials may, or may not, be returned to author and/or company for review prior to publication. The views expressed in SatNews Publishers various publications do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of SatNews Publishers. All rights reserved. All included imagery is courtesy of, and copyright to, the respective companies and/ or named individuals. Silvano Payne, Publisher + Writer Hartley G. Lesser, Editorial Director Pattie Waldt, Executive Editor Jill Durfee, Sales Director, Editorial Assistant Simon Payne, Develop.m.ent Director Donald McGee, Production Manager Dan Makinster, Technical Advisor Publishing Operations Robert Bell Yen-Wu Chen Elizabeth H. Evans Jos Heyman Veronica La Regina Andrej Lovsin Sheri Morita Garth Niethe Doreet Oren Russ Palmer Alvaro Sanchez Neil Suwansiri Chen Xun Senior Contributors Authors Mike Antonovich, ATEME Tony Bardo, Hughes R. Dutchik, Dutchik-Chang Communications Chris Forrester, Broadgate Publications Karl Fuchs, iDirect Government Services Bob Gough, Carrick Communications Jos Heyman, TIROS Space Information Carlos Placido, Placido Consulting Giles Peeters, Track24 Defence Koen Willems, Newtec 5 SatMagazine June 2015
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InfoBeam Stories ESA + Airbus Cement Copernicus Next Build ................ 6 KORE Wireless MSM / IoT Solutions In Australia ............ 7 Japan Awards Electric Propulsion Technology Patent ..... 8 SpaceX Launches TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSAT ........... 9 Kratos To Support Thaicom 8 + Brings A Ground System To Hodoyoshi-3 + -4 Satellites ....................................... 10 New, Advanced Data For The Nepal Earthquake Disaster Provided By Caltech + JPL ............................................. 12 Turkeys Gktrk-1 Satellite Enroute To Ankara AIT Center... For Environmental Tests .................................. 14 Speedy Ka-Band Satellite Internet Provisioning With New STMicroelectronics Demodulator Chip .......................... 16 Honeywell Aerospace Boosts Connectivity On Ground + In The Air ......................................................................... 16 VeriSats SatGuard Is OnGuard Against Annoying Satellite Interference ...................................................... 17 CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum Asks Is The Satellite Game Changing? .......................................................... 18 A Story Of Determination Supported By Inmarsat ..... 20 Blackbridge Keeps An Eye Out With RapidEye For The Climate Corp. + Farmers ............................................ 22 Euroconsult Reports Impressive EO Data Growth Forecast For LATAM ....................................................... 22 EUMETSATs MSG-4 Ships To Kourou For July 2nd Launch Date .................................................................... 23 Anniversary of ESAs Proba-V Picks Up 25 Million Aircraft Positions.. + Monitors Veggies ....................................... 24 Center For Strategic + Intl Studies Reveals Land Reclamation Dispute Using DigitalGlobes SatImagery 26 COM DEV Intl Unlocks Key Technology Access With Investment In Anokiwave ................................................ 27 SES Partners With I DO ITA Ku-Band Flat Antenna Goes Where Others Cannot ........................................... 32 Customizable C-Band Antennas Debut From Cobham Antenna Systems ............................................................ 32 Exelis + DigitalGlobeTwo Companies Create Single Platform ................................................................ 45 The Global Navigation Satellite Systems Market Offers Some Promising Possibilities .......................................... 48 At the 36th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment in Berlin, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus Defence and Space signed the development and production contract for the Jason-CS/Sentinel-6A satellite. Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 is a mission to carry out high-precision measurements of ocean surface topography. The contract is worth 177 million euros. The implementation of the second satellite will follow the approval of the program by the Council of EUMETSAT, the European meteorological organization, in June 2015 and it is co-funded by EUMETSAT and by the European Union via the Copernicus program. The satellites will measure their distance to the oceans surfaces with an accuracy of a few centimeters and use this data to map it globally, repeating the cycle every 10 days. Observing changes in sea-surface height using such a high level of precision provides insights into global sea levels, the speed and direction of ocean currents, and ocean heat storage. The measurements made are vital for modeling the oceans and predicting rises in sea levels. This data will also be used increasingly for weather forecasts and storm surge warnings. The Sentinel-6 mission is part of Copernicus, the European Earth observation program, and is a continuation of the program that was started in 1992 to collect satellite-based measurements of the oceans surfaces. Weighing around 1.3 tons, the Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 satellites will ensure that measurements are carried out on a continuous basis from the years 2020 and 2026 respectively, at an altitude of around and-a-half-years, will be overseen and managed by EUMETSAT in Darmstadt, Germany. Development of the satellites will be based on the highly successful CryoSat program. As with CryoSat, Airbus Defence and Space in Friedrichshafen will be the prime contractor for the space segment and lead the industry consortium on behalf of ESA. Thales Alenia Space France will construct the main instrument, a radar altimeter, whose predecessor is already being used on CryoSat-2, Jason-3 and Sentinel-3. Further instruments are being developed by NASA/JPL in the USA. The American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is also a partner of Sentinel-6/Jason-CS. airbusdefenceandspace.com/ www.esa.com/ InfoBeam : ESA + Airbus Cement Copernicus Next Build SatMagazine June 2015 6
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InfoBeam Stories KORE Wireless, a provider of Machine to Machine (M2M) wireless data networks, presented its expert knowledge and a customer showcase to CeBIT Australia with their M2M / IoT Zone. was an opportunity to exhibit a diverse range of key customer M2M MT Data and mCare Watch, all exhibited their unique solutions hailing tracking and telematics and global race vehicle tracking. This gave attendees a greater depth of knowledge and understanding on how the whole M2M ecosystem works by being able to interact with the products, see them in action and talk to experts about how they work. www.koretelematics.com/ InfoBeam : KORE Wireless M2M / IoT Solutions In Australia Eutelsats KA-SAT Access Being Replaced With tooway Business Solutions Services ............................................ 48 XCOR Aerospace Integrates Strakes To Lynx Mark I .... 49 SSTL Delivers FORMOSAT-7 To Taiwan ......................... 50 Thaicom Responds With SATCOM Equipment To Assist With Nepal Earthquake Disaster .................................... 50 TogethernessDauria Aerospace + ILS Planning Dual Launch Projects ............................................................... 54 United Nations Opens Satellite Resources For Emergency Response Teams In Nepal ........................... 54 AsiaSat-5 Bringing BBC World Service To APAC Via BT .............................................................................. 55 MTN Communications Delivers A Big Punch ................. 65 7 SatMagazine June 2015
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Features The Demand For Mobility SATCOM In APAC, 28 by Chen Xun, APT Satellite Company, Ltd. A Pioneering, Australian Satellite Builder, 34 by Jos Heyman, Senior Contributor A Primer On The Language Of LNB + BUC, 42 by Sheri Morita, Norsat International, Inc. And Speaking Of The SSPI Is Satellite Winning The Talent War?, 46 by Robert Bell, SSPI Property Interests In Space: Recent U.S. Policy Developments 52 by Elizabeth H. Evans, Dentons Why, After Ten Years, HTS Remains More Relevant Than Ever Before, 56 by Nile Suwansiri, Thaicom Smaller + More Powerful SATCOMs? Its Possible, With GaN, 58 by Garth Niethe, EM Solutions Claiming 4G Market Share In Untapped Areas, 60 by Doreet Oren, Gilat Satellite Networks Innovative Antenna Alignment On Vessels, 62 by Alvaro Sanchez, Integrasys The Chinese Space EffortAn Overview, 66 by Jos Heyman, Senior Contributor Executive Spotlight: Jeff Sare Vice President, Airline Market Development, Inmarsat, 70 A Business Uplink: STNAlways Taking A Step Further 74 by Andrej Lovsin, STN Ka-Band Capacity Planning, 76 by Russ Palmer, SED Systems The Japanese Space Policy: A European Perspective, 82 by Veronica La Regina Overcoming SATCOM Disruption, From RF Interference To Rain Fade, 84 by Yen-Wu Chen, Kratos ISI The Elwing Company has been formally granted its second patent patents for its breakthrough E-IMPAcT satellite electric propulsion technology. This new patent completes Elwings intellectual property holdings in Japan, allowing Elwing to offer Japanese satellite manufacturers its most advanced propulsion system design. power source or the implementation of non-mechanical thrust vectoring or oxidizing propellants, has been tested and proven at the Electric Propulsion and Plasma Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University (EPPDyL), and has undergone further testing at NASAs Propulsion Research and Development Laboratory, located at the U.S. Armys Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. Space Agencys ESTEC in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Gregory Emsellem, CEO of The Elwing Company, said, We look companies, who have clearly demonstrated their leadership in electric propulsion innovation with the record-setting Hayabusa mission, and recent contracts with Mitsubishi Electric in Qatar and Turkey. www.elwingcorp.com/ InfoBeam : Japan Awards Electric Propulsion Patent SatMagazine June 2015 8
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Advertiser Index the satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor, on behalf of the Turkmenistan Ministry of Communications. national satellite telecommunications system, ensuring enhanced, secure telecommunications for the country. The satellite is built on a Thales Alenia Central Asia up to the Chinese border and virtually all of Africa. The Turkmenistan Ministry of Communications will use Monacos 52 degrees East orbital position, via the Monaco-based satellite operator, Space Systems Thales Alenia Space was in charge of satellite design and manufacture, along with the manufacture of ground support equipment for the two satellite control stations, all associated services, provision of launch services and insurance. The Turkmenistan team received intensive training from Thales Alenia Space telecom satellite was produced and ready to ship in just 27 months, more than four months ahead of the contractual deadline. InfoBeam ABS (HK) Limited ...................................................................................... 3 Advantech Wireless ................................................................................. 2 AnaCom,Inc. ........................................................................................... 43 .................................................................. 65 Arabsat Satellite ..................................................................................... 15 AsiaSat ...................................................................................................... 1 AvL Technologies ..................................................................................... 4 C-COM Satellite Systems ....................................................................... 51 Comtech EF Data ................................................................................... 23 Comtech Xicom Technology, Inc. .......................................................... 45 CPI Satcom Products ............................................................................. 88 Crystal .................................................................................................... 29 DataPath ................................................................................................. 19 DEV Systemtechnik GmbH & Co. KG .................................................... 25 EM Solutions, Inc. (EMS) ........................................................................ 31 Global Link Productions Inc. .................................................................. 57 Globecast ................................................................................................. 8 ............................................................................................... 81 Integrasys ............................................................................................... 63 Intorel ..................................................................................................... 17 KRATOS .................................................................................................. 85 MEASAT Satellite Systems Bdn. Bhd ..................................................... 33 Mitec VSAT ............................................................................................... 9 ND SatCom GmbH ................................................................................ 39 Newtec CY ............................................................................................. 41 Novotronik ............................................................................................... 5 ONE CONNXT ....................................................................................... 27 Optimal Satcom ..................................................................................... 61 .................................................. 75 RUAG Space ........................................................................................... 67 SATPRO .................................................................................................. 35 SatService GmbH ................................................................................... 49 SED Systems (a division of Calian Ltd.) ......................................... 11 + 13 Superior Satellite Engineers SSE ....................................................... 47 TangoWave ............................................................................................ 37 Teledyne Paradise Datacom LLC ........................................................... 87 TERRASAT Communications, Inc. .......................................................... 55 Thaicom Public Company Limited ......................................................... 21 Ultra Electronics GigaSat ....................................................................... 69 Viking Satcom .......................................................................................... 7 9 SatMagazine June 2015
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Kratos To Support Thaicom 8 + Brings A Ground System To Hodoyoshi-3 + -4 Satellites Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has announced that Thaicom Public satellite operator, awarded Kratos Integral Systems International (Kratos ISI) contracts for a Satellite Control Center (SCC) and a Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT&C) Station. Both will support the new Thaicom 8 satellite. The projects, which are direct contracts with Thaicom, were awarded to Kratos under two separate procurements. covering Thailand, South Asia and Africa and will serve customers needs for increased Ku-band capacity. Thaicom 8 is a GeoStar2 telecommunications satellite built by Orbital ATK. This will be the 16th Orbital ATK GeoStar satellite that Kratos control system for Thaicom 8 based on Kratos EPOCH command and control and management system with the ability to simultaneously control multiple satellites from different manufacturers from a single consolidated system. economical alternative to costly stovepiped command and control systems and provides Thaicom a control platform that can scale to support any future satellite The TT&C station, provided by the Kratos station for Thaicom 8 and will include an 11m C-band turning head antenna with a monopulse tracking system and fully redundant RF system. The antenna offers continuous wide-angle steering combined with high-accuracy pointing and tracking from its precision drives system, while the RF system is fully frequency-agile. As such, the system will support both nominal on-station and emergency TT&C operations. We are very honored by the trust Thaicom has shown in the quality of our products and services as well as our ability to provide the end-to-end satellite ground system that will the Thaicom 8 satellite, said James Kramer, continue to support the Asian satellite market. Additionally, the company has revealed that providing command and control for two microsatellites. developed by the University of Tokyo in the are now operational and transmitting earth observation images. the contract with Fujitsu Limited Japan development and testing of the microsatellites at the University of Tokyo and provide command and control for them once on orbit. The program is under the direction of Professor Shinichi Nakasuka, University of Tokyo, School of Engineering/Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The EPOCH T&C Server and the EPOCH Client modules provide command and control for the satellites. The Server provides complete off-the-shelf satellite telemetry and command processing for operations and test environments. The Client provides complete operations capability for real-time monitoring and control of all satellite and ground equipment systems and functions. GSD Camera to capture earth remote sensing images. image was successfully down-linked. Newly developed advanced components such as a high speed X-band transmitter and an ion propulsion system will also be tested on A Hetero Constellation experiment using two satellites with different capabilities in the same orbital plane will also be carried out. www.kratos.com/ www.orbitalatk.com / Artistic rendition of the Thaicom 8 satellite. Image is courtesy of Orbital ATK. Hodoyoshi-3 and Hodoyoshi-4 satellites. Photo is courtesy of the University of Tokyo. Kratos ISI EPOCH IPS screenshots. 10
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12 InfoBeam To assist in the disaster response efforts, a preliminary picture of what happened below Earths surface during the recent using a combination of satellite radar imaging data, GPS data measured in and near Nepal, and seismic observations from instruments around the world. The teams observations and models, produced through the Advanced Rapid include preliminary estimates of the slippage of the fault beneath Earths surface. The fault movement was responsible for the generating the April 25, 2015, earthquake Nepal with information and maps that show block-by-block building devastation, as well as measurements of ground movement at individual locations around the country. The modeled slip on the fault is shown as viewed from above and indicated by the colors and contours within the rectangle. The peak slip in the fault exceeds 19.7 feet (6 meters). The ground motion measured with GPS is shown by the red and purple arrows and was used to develop the fault slip model. Aftershocks are indicated by red dots. regional variations in topography. The barbed lines show where the main fault reaches Earths surface. As the number of orbiting imaging radar and optical satellites that form the international constellation increases, the expected amount of time it takes to acquire an image of an impacted area will decrease, allowing for products such as those we have made for Nepal to become more commonly and rapidly available, said Mark Simons, professor of geophysics at Caltech and a member of the years, this kind of information will be available within hours of big disasters, ultimately resulting in an ability to save more lives after a disaster and to make assessment and developing nations. colleagues in Caltechs Seismological Laboratory and at JPL have been developing the approaches, infrastructure, and technology to rapidly and automatically use satellite-based observations to measure the movement of Earths surface associated with earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and other geophysical processes. responders, to government agencies, and situational awareness, response and recovery after many natural disasters, Simons said. The same products also provide key observational constraints on our physical understanding of the underlying processes such as the basic physics controlling seismogenic behavior of major faults, Simons added. support from JPL, Caltech and NASA. www.jpl.nasa.gov/ www.caltech.edu/ The modeled slip on the fault is shown as viewed from above and indicated by the colors and contours within the rectangle. The peak slip in the fault exceeds 19.7 feet (6 meters). The ground motion measured with GPS is shown by the red and purple arrows and was used to develop the fault slip model. Aftershocks are indicated by red dots. Background color and The barbed lines show where the main fault reaches Earths surface. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
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14 Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio and SSM, have announced that the Turkish Ministry of Defense has been shipped to Ankara AIT center to start environmental tests. The global contract, signed by Telespazio as the prime contractor and the Turkeys Ministry of National Defense, comprises an Earth Observation (EO) satellite equipped with a high-resolution optical sensor, a satellite integration and test center to be built in Turkey, and the complete ground segment, in charge of mission control, in-orbit operation, data acquisition and processing. Tbitak UEKAE, Roketsan and TR Teknoloji. Thales Alenia Space built the satellite and developed the integration and test center in Turkey. Telespazio is the Prime Contractor and system integrator and, in addition is responsible for the ground segment, the satellite launch service and launch insurance procurement, the operations of the system including the Launch User. Turkish industry has been involved in the system design and development, as well as supplying some Gktrk-1 system satellite payload structure, Aselsan is in charge of the ground segment components image data reception and processing, Tbitak UEKAE in charge of the telecommand and telemetry ciphering devices and TR Teknoloji Derived from the Proteus platform developed by Thales Alenia Space, the Gktrk-1 satellite is now assembled and integrated and has been shipped to the new satellite integration and test center in Ankara, which has been designed to be able to integrate several satellites concurrently. Thales Alenia Space, in the frame of the Gokturk-1 contract with Telespazio, will be the turnkey integration and test center. The Class 100,000 clean rooms, spanning more than 3,000 square meters, will house all the latest-generation equipment needed for satellite integration and testing. Systems include a mechanical vibration test bench (shaker), a 950 cubic meter acoustic test chamber, a thermal-vacuum chamber measuring over 350 cubic meters, a compact antenna test range and supports for the deployment of solar panels and antennas. Other resources include the system to test the satellites physical properties (weight, center of gravity, inertia) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) test systems. Program is a very important milestone for Turkish space and satellite road map. So far, RASAT and Gktrk-2 satellites were manufactured indigenously, launched into the space and operating perfectly. Building on these heritage coupled with the experience gained over Gktrk-1 program, Turkey now intends to manufacture new Earth observation and communication satellite systems in Turkey within the state-of-the-art is intended to be used both for domestic and international programs. Luigi Pasquali, CEO of Telespazio said, Thanks to its wealth of experience in the Earth observation sector, Telespazio plays a leading role in the major international programs and, together with its partner in the Space Alliance can offer a wide range of stateof-the-art solutions to its customers. contractor, in managing the entire system and allowing, through the involvement of Turkish thus paving the way for future cooperation in the export market. Jean Loc Galle, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space, said, Thales Alenia Space will a high resolution optical observation satellite to an export customer and to have delivered new success of the Space Alliance offer and the capacity of Thales Alenia Space to be the natural partner to countries they want to expand their space program. Artistic rendition of the Gktrk-1 EO satellite.
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16 Speedy Ka-Band Satellite Internet Provisioning With New STMicroelectronics Demodulator Chip STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) has High-Symbol-Rate (HSR) satellite demodulator chip. bandwidth usage and increased throughput in with transponders aimed at using the higher frequency bands to send data via Ka-band communication satellites. Compliant with DVB-S2, DVB-S2X and DVB-S2 Annex-M1, this chip has been designed as part of the French Space Agency (CNES) THDSAT 2 program, fostering the development access via High Throughput Satellite (HTS) at a universal accessibility of satellite signals. as an important-to-address societal problem by National and Regional studies such as the European Unions Digital Agenda, said Eric Benoit, Head of Product Line, Headed Platforms, Consumer Product Division, STMicroelectronics. A fruit of our collaboration with CNES, the new satellite demodulator chip can deliver useful data throughput of up to 600 megabits per second in the Ka-band. This represents a valuable step change to what has been available, while simultaneously optimizing the the lower-frequency Ku-band. Together, this will help pave the way towards our common goal of broadband for all. With THD-SAT our ambition is to bring a 10X cost reduction of bandwidth with HighThroughput Ka-band Satellite to distribute downlink/uplink that would complement, (FTTH) deployment outside densely populated areas, said Jean-Philippe Taisant, Telecommunication Senior Project Manager, CNES. The availability of STMicroelectronics STiD135 demodulator chip is key to enabling the development of affordable satellite broadband modems. www.st.com/web/en/home.html Honeywell Aerospace has released the new aircraft to connect to a cellular network while on the ground and transition to a The new router enables connection to a variety of network sources, giving operators and stay connected while in the air or on the Honeywells CNX-250 router provides all necessary cabin network functions such as onboard Wi-Fi and telephone systems to keep passengers connected and productive while The CNX-250 improves on the existing CNX200 and will gradually replace it when its Like all CNX Cabin Gateway products, the CNX-250 eliminates the expense and inconvenience of purchasing separate hardware components. Lightweight and purpose-built, it meets the while delivering exceptional cabin communications to passengers via Wi-Fi and Ethernet for laptops, smartphones and other personal electronic devices. Passengers worldwide are hungering for better connectivity and more expanded Honeywell is continually developing new solutions to meet this demand, said Rebecca Sidelinger, senior director, Marketing and Product Management, Honeywell Aerospace. the new CNX-250 router means an aircraft doesnt have to taxi outside the hangar for connectivity when Wi-Fi is required for ground maintenance operations. Honeywell will be working with TrueNorth Avionics to provide the new CNX-250 product to business jet operators around the world. The new product will be available through Honeywells global network of authorized dealers and service centers. Honeywells connectivity products have the largest air transport installed base and are onboard almost every aircraft with current broadband solutions. https://aerospace.honeywell.com/en Honeywell Aerospace Boosts Connectivity On Ground + In The Air...
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17 VeriSats SatGuard Is OnGuard Against Annoying Satellite Interference VeriSat will be presenting its SatGuard, as part of the Satellite Interference Reduction Groups Tour at CommunicAsia, from June SatGuard is a unique tool with patent-pending technology for identifying the source of adjacent cross-polar interference (XPOL) caused by Burst Mode, TDMA VSAT terminals. The company is also part of the will also include VeriSats GSM (SatGuard-GSM) and SatScan, of satellite carriers and services. VSAT interference is widely reported as causing the majority of downtime, compared with other interference types, said Petter Amundsen, CEO, VeriSat. Our solutions give satellite operators the tools and technology to determine the source of VSAT interference in a matter of minutes, and will drastically amend that statistic. This years tour goes beyond just highlight the amazing technology advancements made in recent months, said Martin Coleman, Executive Director, the Satellite practical advice and guidance on the tools available, and what steps they need to take to become as interference-freevas possible. With the amazing amount of technology advancements made in recent months in dealing with interference, technology base is a formidable weapon in reducing interference. The use of smart modulation methods, better detection algorithms and reusing old methods with new thinking to really make future satellite products robust. verisat.no/ satirg.org/communicasia-interference-tour/
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18 is once again being held in Singapore at the beginning of June. The conference explores the latest developments and issues affecting the satellite June 1st at the Grand Hyatt Singapore, the one day event that brings together industry experts to examine a variety of hot topics and to exchange and discuss information critical to the development of the communications sector and related services across the Asiahttp:// www.casbaa.com/ftpdir/Emailblast/2015/ SIF2015/SingSIF2015Registration_ form(Regular).pdf The conference continues to grow from strength to strength with an impressive lineup of speakers and a good mix of Asian and global players in attendance. Last year approximately one hundred companies were represented with almost half of the delegates of the balance coming from Asia. Satellite services are instrumental in delivering television signals to the bulk of viewers across the region, and the satellite sector is an integral component of the multichannel TV industry in Asia. said Christopher Slaughter, CEO, CASBAA. The extremely important event in our calendar, number of satellite-related companies that are CASBAA members. This years welcoming Keynote speech will January of this year so for many this will be this capacity, said Kevin Jennings, Program Director, CASBAA. is a satellite and telecommunications industry veteran with experience in the media, generation of satellite solutions. The Deputy Minister of Communications and Tin, will also speak at the Forum and discuss Myanmars plans to launch its own satellite and the results of how a sovereign satellite will impact the country. The theme for 2015 asks Is The Satellite Game Changing? in acknowledgement of the ever-evolving industry landscape. The agenda for this years forum will touch upon the challenges the industry is facing as the very new technologies, delivery methods and consumer habits. Review the program here. As well as speaking with game changers and new kids on the block, the forum will discuss whether high throughput satellites are the answer to reducing costs for customers. Another panel session is provocatively titled Staring the Future of TV in the FaceA Watershed for the Satellite Industry? The roster of speakers encompasses the entire value chain of the satellite industry including: Satellite Bus Group, SKY Perfect JSAT PJ Beylier, CEO, SpeedCast Terry Bleakley, Regional VP, Paul Brown-Kenyon, CEO, MEASAT Thomas Choi, CEO, ABS Gregg Daffner, CEO, GapSat; Gonzalo de Dios, Associate General Michel de Rosen, CEO, Eutelsat Dr. Ali Ebadi, SVP, Space Systems Development, MEASAT Vern Fotheringham, CEO, LeoSat Yvon Henri, Chief, Space Services Huang Baozhong, EVP, APT Satellite Erwin Hudson, Programme Manager, ViaSat Ferdinand Kayser, CCO, SES Ethan Lavan, Director of Orbital Resources, Eutelsat, Deepak Mathur, SVP Commercial, AsiaBarry Matsumori, SVP, Commercial Sales and Business Development, SpaceX Deepakjit Singh, MD, Asia, Encompass Digital Media Soo Yew Weng, MD, Globecast Asia Bill Wade, President and CEO, AsiaSat also recognizes the generous support of the sponsors for this years event: ABS AsiaSat Boeing Eutelsat Intelsat JSat Lockheed Martin Marsh Measat SES SSL Telstra www.casbaa.com/events/events-calendar/ details/508-casbaa-satellite-industryforum-2015 Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the ITU.
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20 A Story Of Determination... Supported By Inmarsat Two stalwart soldiers are on a mission to navigate around the Greenland ice cap. Degrees North adventure team with critical communications as they attempt the worlds ice cap by an amputee. The six strong team, led by amputee Peter Bowker, a former member of the British Armed Forces, will cover the near 600 km crossing of the ice cap from Kangerlussuaq in the West to Kulusuk in the East. While battling temperatures as low as -37 degrees Celcius, they will be estimated that this world record attempt will communication services for the crossing of providing two ultra-portable Explorer 510 BGAN terminals, which are smaller than a standard Explorer 510 is one of a new generation of BGAN terminals, which provides endusers with wireless connectivity for their smartphones, tablets and other devices. The user controls the BGAN terminal via a and Android devices. The team will also be taking with them solar panels and wind-up batteries for recharging the devices and a tracking platform to enable authorized users to see real-time position information as they cross the ice cap. The extremely lightweight solar panels have be used to provide power to the Explorer 510 network, will allow the progress of the 65 Degree North team to be monitored in realtime through position information delivered The adventurers will use the state-of-the-art communications equipment for medical and emergency back-up and to share their journey in real-time with the media and supporters. The team can be followed on Twitter @65degnorth, Facebook or via their website, www.65degreesnorth.co.uk Andy Start, President, Global Government challenge and we are very proud to be part of such a unique adventure. Effective communications will be key to the teams success and we know our technology is perfectly suited to help support the 65 Degrees North team on their challenge, no matter what the conditions. Senior Patron of 65 Degrees North, Major General Andy Keeling, said, On behalf of the The timely and generous state-of-the-art communications equipment has guaranteed us peace of mind on all fronts. Families, supporters and donors will now be able to track us and talk to us, and of course our ability to deal successfully with any unexpected medical problem is hugely enhanced our safety, and undoubtedly chances of success. We are all very grateful. team to maintain consistent and reliable contact with the outside world, even when the weather and conditions reach their most extreme. This will ensure they can communicate with their families and support teams at all times during the trek. Crucially, team doctor Meinir Jones will be able to use one of the ultra-portable Explorer 510 BGAN terminals to liaise with medical specialists, if she has any concerns about the effect 10 hours a day on skis and the harsh conditions have on Peters amputated limb, sending images or conducting live video consultations. engineered for the toughest environments, and has an unrivaled battery life of eight hours; 160 sends GPS location data and a text message to a pre-set contact number, and a tracking capability which transmits location information. before being injured and medically discharged in 2012, is making the record attempt to raise funds for the UK charity Help for Heroes. 65 Degrees North is supported by the Endeavor Fund, set up by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry to support sporting and adventure challenges undertaken by wounded, injured and sick service personnel or veterans. www.inmarsat.com/
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22 BlackBridge has entered into an agreement with The Climate Corporation to provide areas across the U.S. for use in The Climate Corporations products and services for farmers. This imagery is part of the BlackBridge Monitoring Program for Agriculture that has been running in North America since 2013. BlackBridge uses the RapidEye constellation high-resolution imagery over the major North American agricultural areas throughout the growing season. The Climate Corporation uses this imagery, along with imagery from previous seasons, information for farmers to evaluate crop health and identify issues before they impact yield. Clint Graumann, director of North America, to see the companys high-resolution imagery being used to help farmers through The Climate Corporations products and services. Corporation is doing with our imagery, said Graumann. The companys decision-making tools put an incredible amount of information extracted from our imagery into the hands of the farmer. The Climate Corporations director of product management, Evin Levey, reinforced the value of high-quality satellite imagery in the companys services. We use satellite imagery as an essential foundation for our predictive models and are pleased to be working now with BlackBridge as a provider of that imagery, said Levey. By combining agronomic data with RapidEye information to help farmers better understand how their crop is performing through the season. With that better understanding, farmers can make decisions to address issues early and maximize their crop production. www.blackbridge.com/ www.climate.com/ According to Euroconsults newly released report, Earth Observation Requirements & Solutions in Latin America American Earth Observation (EO) market brought about by growing demand for Earth observation data and services, and governments growing investment into the application to support this demand and help to develop national Earth observation industries. of the most dynamic markets globally. As Earth observation systems developed is $193 million. This number is expected to increase substantially as further countries in the region are expected to invest in the application, and current investing countries expand their satellite portfolios. Consequently, the number of Earth observation satellites launched from Latin American programs is anticipated to grow to more than 25 over the coming decade, compared to just six launched in the last ten years. Demand for Earth observation data market in Latin America is estimated at sales are attributed to the defense sector, with natural resources monitoring, infrastructure and engineering, and energy following, said Ricardo Topham, Consultant at Euroconsult and editor of the report. Brazil represents the largest national market, totaling a third of all data sales, followed by Mexico. Demand is foreseen to continue to grow strongly, with a 10 percent CAGR forecast commercial data market. Multiple factors are expected to support this growth: Robust demand from defense. Although impacted by the gradual increase of national proprietary systems, this supply is for image intelligence solutions. Demand in natural resources mainly related to national forest monitoring programs, especially in Brazil and Mexico. Infrastructure and engineering demand driven by Brazil and Mexico and their plans to invest billions of dollars in development projects over the next decade. Colombia and Chile are also foreseen to undertake projects to update road networks and public transport infrastructure. Demand in the energy (oil, gas, minerals) sector, mainly in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. Countries will be effected in the short to medium term related to the drop in oil prices; however the region remains resources-rich with new ventures expected to emerge. www.euroconsult-ec.com/shop/
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23 EUMETSATs MSG series of geostationary satellites is vital to ensure the safety of lives, property and infrastructure, through its critical value for the nowcasting of high impact weather. They are operated as a twosatellite system providing both full disc imagery over Europe and Africa every 15 minutes and rapid scan imagery over Europe every after launch and commissioning. As Meteosat-11, it will ultimately bridge the gap between Meteosat-10 MTG satellites, expected to be launched in 2019 and 2021. (Meteosat-11) will also expand the 35-year climate records accumulated by the Meteosat series since 1981. satellites resulting from the successful cooperation model with the European Space Agency (ESA), which is responsible for the user and system requirements the procurement of recurrent satellites on its behalf. EUMETSAT develops the ground systems required to deliver products and services to users and to respond to their evolving needs. EUMETSAT also procures all launch services of users. All MSG satellites are manufactured by a European consortium led by Thales Alenia Space. www.eumetsat.int/ www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space
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24 main task of monitoring vegetation growth across Earth, the minisatellite is also picking signals from thousands of aircraft. Launched two years ago, Proba-V has picked up in excess of 25 million positions from more than 15,000 separate aircraft. the feasibility of follow-on orbital constellations now being readied for operational aircraft monitoring. seven days per week, apart from occasional maintenance or upgrading, said Toni Delovski of the DLR German Aerospace Center, overseeing the experiment. Weve shown that detection of aircraft can work from space with no showstoppers, despite the fact that these signals were never designed to be picked up from so far away. from their host aircraft rather than omidirectionally, making them harder to detect from orbit. With a single satellite, our detection footprint is relatively small, about 1500 x 750 km, but for an operational service a constellation of satellites is envisaged to provide worldwide coverage. Smaller than a cubic meter, Proba-V is nonetheless carrying several technology experiments as well as its main wide-swath Vegetation camera, which tracks changes in plant growth across the entire planet every two days. DLR and Luxembourgs SES company added an experiment to detect Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) aircraft signals from space. These signals are regularly broadcast from aircraft speed, position and altitude. All aircraft entering European airspace are envisaged to carry ADS-B in the coming years. DLR contributed the receiver carried aboard Proba-V while SES has provided the experiments ground segment, encompassing the processing needed to decode the signals, including compensating for factors such as frequency-shifting caused by the motion of Proba-V relative to the aircraft. The focus of the experiment is on the large parts of the world without radar and less dense airspace of the U.S., Western Europe and Southeast Asia. aircraft very precisely, with separation distances down to 5.5 km. However in the rest of the world, such as over the Atlantic, minimum separation distance goes up by a factor of 10, to 93 km. Space-based ADS-B offers a method of safely reducing separation distances everywhere, improving safety. DLR and SES are working with national air navigation service providers in Australia, Portugal and Namibia to check Proba-V observations against the facts on the ground. We are still working to improve the system, with ongoing software upgrades, and investigating anomalies, Toni adds. Right now, some makes of aircraft are more easily detected than others, which typically comes down to the age and make of their ADS-B systems. An operational ADS-B detection system is while SES is working with ESA to determine the market for a European version. then we will certainly need a minimum of two systems, Toni concludes. We couldnt have a situation where the sole service suddenly goes down, and aircraft in the middle of the ocean need to spread out. www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_ Engineering_Technology/Proba_Missions Artistic rendition of the Proba-V satellite. Image is courtesy of European Space Agency. An Arianespace Vega launch vehicle lifts off with Proba-V aboard from Kourou, French Guiana. Photo courtesy of Arianespace. Proba-V detecting aircraft. Image courtesy of ESA.
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26 Mischief Reef is no misnomer considering these circumstances. reclamation at two sites in disputed South China Sea waters, recent satellite pictures reveal, but analysts say the scale of the work is dwarfed by reclamation work being done by China. The images, taken late last month by DigitalGlobe and shown on the website of the Washington-based Center for Strategic expansions at Sand Cay and West London Between August 2011 and February 2015 square meters. Vietnam also appears to have added defensive structures, including trenches and gun emplacements, it said. At West Reef, which is part of the London 65,000 meters of land have been reclaimed with new structures, including a harbor, being added, the organization said. The work appears to have started in August of The Spratlys are considered a potential claimant nations have expressed alarm as China has embarked on massive and speedy reclamation activity. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, locking that nation into disputes with several Southeast Asian neighbors. Chinas claims overlap those of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. China has undertaken major reclamation work on seven Spratly features in the last year. Chinese activity is clearly on an entirely different scale, said Vietnam expert Jonathan London of Hong Kongs City University. Vietnam appears to be now trying to strengthen its position with added urgency, London said. Not only is there a sort of regional arms race but a rush to claim maritime areas, rock features and things of this nature, in disputed waters in the region which is a key global trading route, he added. Some $5 trillion of sea-borne trade passes through the area each year. Chinas islandbuilding in the Spratlys has been seen as part of an attempt to assert its territorial claims by establishing physical facts in the water. more than a reef until last year when China began reclamation work. a 3.1 kilometers (1.9 miles) runway. The country also appears to be undertaking work at a feature known as Mischief Reef, just 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the southwestern Philippine island of Palawan. Vietnam has an airstrip on the largest Spratly 2000 and can accommodate helicopters or small planes. csis.org/ Sand Castles of their ownVietnamese expansion in the Spratly Islands, Satellie imagery is courtesy of DigitalGlobe.
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27 COM DEV Intl Unlocks Key Technology Access With Investment In Anokiwave and supplier. COM DEV is participating in Anokiwaves recent Anokiwaves advanced technology. Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate and jointly pursue opportunities in the space market. The satellite industry is experiencing rapid innovation that is enabling satellites to achieve reduced mass and lower costs. COM DEV has helped drive this innovation, and continues to invest in an R&D roadmap that will help its customers take advantage of the emerging applications envisioned for satellites. Anokiwave is a technology leader in the development and supply of microwave and millimeter wave active electronically scanned array (AESA) and silicon core integrated circuits for commercial terrestrial and government systems. COM DEV has an established heritage in the space industry and will become Anokiwaves strategic partner for that market. Anokiwave has developed some very advanced technology that nicely complements our own product roadmap, said Michael Pley, CEO of COM DEV. We are pleased to be able to support their continued growth, and look forward to working with them to develop the next generation of products for the satellite communications market. Anokiwave is proud to partner with COM DEV, a market leader in satellite communications equipment manufacturing, said Robert Donahue, CEO of Anokiwave. We look forward to a long-term successful relationship on the eve of what is expected to be a rapid expansion of commercial space deployments. www.comdev.ca/ www.anokiwave.com/
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The Demand For Mobility SATCOM In APAC By Chen Xun, Executive Vice President, APT Satellite Company, Ltd. he ongoing demand for broadband connectivity stretches from land to every corner of the Earth. There is no doubt that maritime connectivity. As is true with other regions around the globe, we see demand for mobility picking up and this market section will continue to experience strong growth capacity via conventional satellite capacity for both IFE and maritime connectivity services. The launch of the APSTAR-9 satellite in October of this year will further expand APSTARs coverage for mobility applications to a much broader especially in China, there is a huge potential due to the demand for mobile broadband connectivity as this region has the busiest maritime shipping routes and fastest growing airplane market in the world. APSTAR-9 Satellite is designed to meet the increasing demand for coverage in this vast region. The new satellite is equipped with broad Cand Kuband coverage, with the Ku-band optimized for mobility applications. This optimization is comprised of three beams to cover a large ocean area. One of the outstanding features is that the transponder capacity is interconnected among all of the beams. This means the customer will be able to use their existing teleport facility, even if the vessels or airplanes are located in the coverage of other beams. For the maritime market, the main demand in APAC is derived from large vessels, such as cruises, luxury sailing ships, large cargo vessels, with the bandwidth requirements being management, real-time surveillance, remote diagnostic maintenance, and so on. The demand our company is experiencing is also derived from the and affordable bandwidth subscriptions. VSAT is now playing the major role in this market. More and more newlybuilt vessels are fully equipped with VSAT equipment as the default equipment is still considered expensive for many ship owners, crews communication services offered via maritime connectivity. The fastest growing demand is for Ku-band, mainly due to the smaller size and lower cost of the antennas. The typical link ranges from 512 kbps up to 2 to 3 Mbps on 1m diameter T SatMagazine June 2 015 28
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Ku-band stabilized antennas. C-band remains a welcome technology as the frequency is highly reliable and offers more throughput applications, such as passenger communication and government applications. In addition to connectivity and crew welfare, more ICT applications are implemented, and many of them are running on crews mobile devices. For the energy industry, satellite communications prevail as reliable and real-time connections are provided, monitoring is fully enabled, and offshore platforms for remote areas are more easily implemented. Advanced development of the asset management. Todays advanced technology enables the extraction of more data for transmittal to shore sites for comprehensive site analysis and threedimensional simulation modeling. Big Data and rich content also require more bandwidth. Other emerging applications, such as telemedicine, real-time video as well as recreation for staff (telephone, email and the Internet) also highlight the need for satellite communications in the offshore market. This demand is currently being driven by airline companies who are listening to passenger demands for IFE and other SATCOM services while in the air. The expectation is that more and more regulators will be revisiting their restrictions and more and We have observed that many investors and service providers are already actively involved in this market segment. Currently, the typical bandwidth per airplane is 8 to 12 Mbps. In the future, this bandwidth is expected to reach 50 Mbps or more. A satellites capability to handle such bandwidth demands will be one of the key elements for business growth in this area. Satellite operators need to design and build suitable connectivity applications. APT Satellite believes that, with new innovation in equipment and technology, the reduced cost of satellite connectivity will attract more customers to engage in satellite based mobility applications. The launch of APSTAR-9 Satellite is just one step of our overall plan. The company has commenced with the procurement of the next generation of APSTAR satellite, which will maritime routes. The new satellite will also carry High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capacity for several strategic regions and will serve land and mobility applications with lower cost structures with higher throughput solution. APT Satellite has also discussed with partners a capacity collaboration with other satellites to take advantage of on-orbit APSTAR satellites. In this manner, we can provide comprehensive regional as well as global coverage to meet our customers growing demands for connectivity. APSTAR-9s coverage beams. Artistic rendition of the APSTAR-9 satellite. SatMagazine June 2015 30
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Since October of 2014, the APSTAR-9 satellite entered its assembly, integration and test (AIT) phase. The manufacturer CAST carried out AIT in its High Bay located in Beijing. The components for platform have all been installed and SPT1 (Satellite Performance Test) started, mainly verifying electrical interfaces between each on-board subsystems and ground testing equipment. In parallel, payload units are mounting on COMM panels and the satellites End-to-End test ended early in 2015. Launch service progressed as scheduled, with launcher structure, main engines and electrical system being manufacturing normally the AIT was started in March. As of this writing, all the milestones of the APSTAR-9 satellite program are in line with the schedule and the satellite will be launched in the second half of 2015. APSTAR-9 is a DFH-4 series platform provided by CASC (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation). APSTAR-9 will be located at 142 degrees East and will replace the APSTAR-9A satellite. APSTAR-9 is equipped with 32 Cand 14 Ku-band transponders. The C-band transponder consists of East Asia, suitable for video broadcast, VSAT networks, and cellular backhaul More info: www.apstar.com/ APT Satellite. Mr. Chen is responsible for technical operations and engineering of APT both the satellite and telecommunications industry. Mr. Chen holds a Bachelors Australia. Before joining APT Satellite he worked for China Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corporation. 31 SatMagazine June 2015
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32 Industry Days. The antenna is produced by Korean be available in major European markets. The small size of 566x300mm means that this new antenna can be discreetly installed where standard parabolic antenna may not be suitable, such as apartment blocks in cities. Versions with an integrated Wi-Fi router are also available for the camping market. the distribution of live HD and UHD satellite broadcasting through an in-home Wi-Fi network and can serve up to eight different displays (smartphone, TV, table PC, laptop computer, etc.) simultaneously. With two output, the antenna can also be connected to existing satellite receivers. development and mass production of high with SES, we are now able to integrate the enables live satellite television distribution via WiFi to tablets and smartphones, an important product feature especially for the camping market. products that are compatible with the Thomas Wrede, Vice President, Reception Systems at SES. These developments were strongly driven and supported by the annual possible without joint industry efforts. We continue to leverage the advantages that satellite communications offer, shaping our industry and creating a high performance, sustainable ecosystem. www.ses.com/ www.selfsat.com/ Cobham Antenna Systems has developed a range of dual-polar C-Band antennas All antennas in the range incorporate interleaved elements, which provide dual vertical and horizontal (V&H) polarization, within a single compact, rugged and stable polarization, if required. With one unit replacing two single C-Band antenna creates vital space and for installation in an aerodynamic blade for airborne applications as well. A standard range of directional, sector, spring and non-spring mount omni-directional antennas is also available. The range makes use of technology that can readily be scaled to operate in different frequency bands and customized antennas can be developed to meet a wide range of gain and beam width requirements. www.cobham.com/
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ome years ago, I made an argument for affordable nanosats, which are also referred to as CubeSats. This argument was based on the involvement of non-renumerated participants, such as students, educational leaders, volunteers or do-ityourselvers and would include the use of off-the-shelf hardware for the satellite build. When combining these aspects, the cost of nanosat construction was seen to be quite affordable. Following a successful construction process, the only major cost item would then be the actual launch of the satellite into orbit. owner of the primary payload (for instance, a communications satellite). These costs would not be directly related to the mass of the primary Other components of the launch vehicle are, however, variable with the mass of the payload. Additional costs would be limited to the installation of the launch deployment pod on the framework that would support the principal satellite (or some other part of the launch vehicle) and the additional fuel required to lift the additional 1 kg for the satellite plus approximately 1 kg. that would represent the launch pod, i.e. 2 kg. additional hardware to be lifted. A suggestion was made that the launch vehicle provider and/or the commercial satellite-to-be-launched owner might wish to offset this cost in exchange for the generation of goodwill. my own doorstep, that being Western Australia Stuart McAndrew, who calls himself an amateur satellite builder, is creating his own 5x5x5 cm pocketcube in his suburban shed and he becoming a new growth technology hobby branch. A Pioneering, Australian Satellite Builder S SatMagazine June 2015 34 Stuart McAndrew and his OzQube-1
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Jos Heyman Please tell the SatMagazine readers about your background and your interests. Stuart McAndrew worked. Originally this meant pulling apart toys to see how they worked, but fortunately that evolved into the construction of various electronic kits, the high cost of hiring an aircraft in order to obtain a Commercial Pilots Jos Heyman How did you become involved in your satellite project? Stuart McAndrew smallsat revolution. Late in 2013, there was a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for the PocketQube Shop, which was to fund the establishment of an online store for the mechanical structures of a new form factor of nanosatellite called a PocketQube. November 2013 was also the time Dnepr rocket. One of those PocketQubes, $50SAT or Eagle-2, was transmitting telemetry on the 70 cm HAM radio band, and the satellite builders had called out to radio amateurs for reception reports. They provided information using PC software that could decode the telemetry from the audio output of the radio signal. that showed what the PocketQube platform was capable of accomplishing. PocketQube project. We discussed the need for the establishment of a standard for the internal PocketQube components. Such would allow anyone creating board level systems for a PocketQube to enable their by CubeSats. OzCube-1 36 SatMagazine June 2015
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38 38 in using PCB design software to make an electronics project, as well as starting to tinker around with Arduino.com projects [ Editors note: Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software and is intended for anyone involved in creating interactive projects. thought that building one would be a unique way to develop such skills for myself as well as demonstrate that a satellite could be built by someone who doesnt have access to the resources that universities or government organizations often have available to them. After thinking about what kind would create an Earth Observation (EO) satellite. Jos Heyman Why are you undertaking the OzQube-1 project? What are your objectives and motivation for this effort? Stuart McAndrew One reason was purely for the fun of the project. Space is cool, so making something to travel into space sounded like a really fun idea. However, it turned out that this kind of fun involves lots of work and learning about Another reason is because of the potential of the form factor. Even size commercial satellites, the price of hardware and launch is well over building a satellite whose hardware cost is under $1,000 has the potential to open up the industry. A huge number of students studying STEM subjects at high school or university would be able to have the opportunity to learn about the space industry in a highly practical way. Jos Heyman Please describe the OzQube-1 design. What are the individual components and the actual payload. Are you using commercial-off-the-shelf products in your CubeSat build? Please explain what products you have decided to use, and why. Stuart McAndrew OzQube-1 is logically structured like many CubeSats and other small satellites. Solar cells are used for power generation, an EPS to charge the onboard battery and manage power to the other subsystems, a CDH module, a radio module and a payload module. Each subsystem is a PCBs conforming to the PQ60 standard. [ and electrical interfaces for a PocketQube satellite. ] All of the electronic components are COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) parts, generally rated on many CubeSat missions, but they are often low resolution VGA Megapixel sensor. Only small changes are required to make it ready for space. The EPS board is unique in that it is required to have a hole in the middle charging, separate battery and 3.3V rails, both with current limiting switches as well as a separate switched circuit for the payload with its own current limiting switch. chipset and possesses a massive 1W RF power output, so it will only be performing burst radio transmissions in order to conserve power. This chipset was chosen so that the reception of the signal would be easy to accomplish with a basic antenna and a USB dongle. The radio modules The CDH module is based around an Atmel Atmega 328p microcontroller, the same as the one used in an Arduino Pro Mini and also contains a time clock). OzQube-1 + internals. SatMagazine June 2015 38
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Jos Heyman How far are you into the project at this point in time? Stuart McAndrew developed an adapter for the CDH board to enable software development CDH board. Two of the three different solar panel boards are on their way, with the last board still in the design phase. The EPS will soon get a second some improvements. co-ordinated and functioning. Jos Heyman What cost factors have you experienced and what is your budget to complete OzQube-1? Do you have any partners working with you on the project and, if so, what expertise do they bring to your work? Stuart McAndrew Starting a new hobby from scratch involves the procurement of the and components to perform surface mount soldering. Staying with the low the task. cost per satellite will be well under $1,000 when completed. The project Jos Heyman How will you fund OzQube-1? Have you considered a crowd sourcing Stuart McAndrew So far, the project has been self-funded. The raw cost of components, PCBs and structural hardware required for a single satellite, as stated, will be below $1,000, not taking into account development time. Developing conjunction with more carefully selected components. Jos Heyman How will OzQube-1 be launched? Given the size of your PocketQube, the most appropriate factor seems to be as a ride share payloadhave any launch companies expressed interest in assisting in this endeavor? Stuart McAndrew Currently, the only way to get a PocketQube into orbit is as a tertiary payload. The only deployer developed so far for PocketQubes is the MRFOD (Morehead Rome Femtosatellite Orbital Deployer.) The upcoming The UniSat-7 satellite will be a secondary payload on a Dnepr launch vehicle. Gauss Team are the launch services provider for the Unisat satellite and are offering the space in the deployer on commercial terms, which is currently about 15,000 euros. complete their development, the number of low cost launch opportunities for PocketQubes will increase. Jos Heyman Once OzQube-1 is on orbit, what are the next steps? What do you plan to do once OzQube-1 has been launched? Stuart McAndrew Making contact with OzQube-1 and validating the operation and and to communicate that imagery back to the ground. The imagery will be transmitted using a variety of radio formats and modulations. hardware and home-made antennas. This, in turn, may inspire others to try their hand at receiving data, or even try and build a satellite of their own. Jos Heyman Do you see yourself continuing to work within the small satellite environs in the future? Stuart McAndrew will position me to be part of the SmallSat movement in the future, whether such is via direct involvement with other missions, or whether its by enabling others to develop their own missions through the mission ideas for PocketQubes that require some more R&D and other specialist skills. Australian consultancy specializing in the dissemination of information on educational as well as commercial organizations. An accountant by profession, Jos is the editor of the TSI News Bulletin SatMagazine June 2015 40
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42 42 he satellite industry is full of people, myself included, who do If these challenges sound familiar to you then read onthe goal of this and why they truly matter. Before we move on, a comment on decibels (dB). A decibel is not really a unit of measurement like watts or volts or degrees. Rather, this is a unit used to quantify the ratio between two things (usually power or intensity) on a logarithmic scale. The use of a logarithmic scale allows us to compare large and small numbers without a bunch of annoying zeros getting in the way. As a reference, 0 dB equates to 1, 10 dB equates to 10, 50 dB equates to 100,000 and 100 dB equates to 10,000,000,000. The key element to remember is the difference between two numbers that are both stated in dB can be quite a bit larger is a good to keep in mind when you are products. I recommend the Wikipedia article on decibel if you would like to read more information on this topic. Lets begin our adventure by looking at an attribute that I have found particularly challenging: voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR). A quick the minimum RF voltage along the line. Im sure this is meaningful to the illuminating explanation of what is going on. For me, the easiest way to think about VSWR is as a way to quantify the would have a VSWR of 1:1all of the power that enters the device would exit. This, of course, is not what happens. A certain amount of the power A Primer On The Language Of... LNB + BUC T SatMagazine June 2015 42
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43 The goal, of course, is to minimize this loss in order for as much power as between 2:1 and 4:1 may not seem that large, but in reality, 2:1 is pretty input and output interfaces of a device. Once you know what the VSWR is, you can use that ratio to calculate return loss, which is the loss of power caused by a discontinuity, such power backwards into the system. Return loss is measured in dB, and counterintuitively, the greater the return loss is in decibels, the better. Note that for historical reasons, return loss is sometimes shown as a negative number. When this is the case, the measurement should be called Conversion gain is a measure of the difference between the power of an input signal and the power of an output signal. Gain is given in dB, and larger numbers are better. Gain between 50 dB and 60 dB is generally In the case of LNBs (Low-Noise Block Downconverter), this means amplifying the very weak signals received from a satellite approximately deciphered by a modem. In the case of a BUC or SSPA this means amplifying the power that is received into the device by approximately 500 to 1,000 times in order for the outgoing radio waves to have enough energy to reach their targeted satellites. As you can imagine, this results in a great deal of energy and explains why it is unwise to stand in the path of a transmitting antenna. a system would continue to increase at the same rate as the power going in and higher gain would always be better. Unfortunately, this is not the case. At some point, the output power begins to drop off relative to the input power and trying to increase gain past this point ultimately leads to distortion, saturation and ultimately damage to the device. A bit more on this topic will be presented later in this article. across the output frequency of a product and is measured in decibels peakto-peak (dB p-p), either across the entire operating band of the device or over any 40 MHz (40 MHz is generally the bandwidth of a single satellite transponder). This can also be measured across a temperature gradient or over time. The closer this number is to zero, the better, as very low numbers mean you will witness consistent behavior of the device across its operating parameters. which makes perfect sense as higher wattage products provide higher data rates and higher throughput. The cost of products increases as wattages get higher, and those costs can be quite high indeed for higher power units.
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44 these devices, mainly due to a lack of standards. Sometimes, especially for where there is a 1dB difference between the theoretical linear gain and the deviates from linear: Plin. There is no easy way to convert the output power at one of these points to output power at a different point. Any time you are to understand what the output power is at these three points. If this is the only way you can be certain you are comparing apples with apples. strength coming into the LNB is so very low that is not possible to saturate or over-drive the device during normal operations. in. To go back to basics, the function of an LNB within a system is to extract a signal of interest from the microwaves collected by the antenna, and then to amplify that signal and mix it with the L.O. frequency to create the at all. This means that the modem will reliably receive a very narrow band transmission, leaving adjacent frequency bands available for other uses. transmission, this is not a problem, as the resulting output frequency will still be acceptable to the modem. Note that products with high L.O. stability are more expensive than those with low L.O. stability. External reference LNBs, which use a locked external signal that does not vary at all, are even more expensive. Which L.O. stability is best depends on the input requirements of the modem and what the intended use of the modem. Noise is measured in dB and is caused by the unwanted electrical contributions of a devices components. As one would guess, the closer to the strength of the signal received from the satellite is low enough that too much noise can completely overwhelm the signal. As an aside, there is an interesting challenge in RF design relative to noise: input circuits that are designed for low noise frequency tend to have higher VSWR and vice versa. created in the phase of a waveform, and can destroy the orthogonality polarization of the microwave path between a satellite and an antenna can be destroyed, making it impossible to determine which of the data streams a particular bit belongs to. Phase noise is measured in decibels relative to carrier per hertz (dBc/Hz), and large negative numbers are better than those closer to zero. Note that phase noise is more of a problem for low data rate transmissions such as voice than for high data rate transmissions such as HDTV as there is less ability for the modem to correct for lost bits. is a measurement of the strange things that happen as gain begins to go nonlinear and power begins to misbehave. This misbehavior results in unwanted, in-band frequencies being generated within the system, causing distortion. Spurious is measured in decibels relative to carrier (dBc) at the rated power for the product. A negative number, the further from zero the db is, the better. Note it is important you understand if the rated power is P1dB or Psat when theoretical linear gain and the actual gain curve is smaller at P1dB than it is at Psat, so there will be fewer peculiarities occurring at lower power levels. which you can build your knowledge and make wise product decisions. www.norsat.com Circular 16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)
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45 Exelis and DigitalGlobe, Inc. have agreed to provide a new commercial offering of cloud-based ENVI Earth science analytics for the DigitalGlobe Geospatial Big Data (GBD) platform. remote sensing analytical software used by government, academic and private industry organizations to extract meaningful information from imagery and sensor data. The agreement will enable all imagery users and customers of Exelis and DigitalGlobe to easily combine powerful the vast DigitalGlobe image library to solve challenging environmental, natural resource, and global security problems. This agreement between Exelis and DigitalGlobe creates a single platform that customers can effectively use to solve challenging problems opportunities, said Chris Young, president of Exelis Geospatial Systems. This platform removes the logistical challenges that have inhibited this sort of innovation such as processing power, data storage and hardware cost. Designed and built by Exelis, has been used for more than 25 years to extract meaningful information from geospatial data. decisions regarding mineral exploration, precision agriculture, environmental degradation, national defense and more. DigitalGlobes cloud-based GBD offering is a PaaS (Platform as a Service) model designed to create a new ecosystem in which partners and developers can leverage their expertise and an application programming interface, global scale. www.exelisinc.com/ www.digitalglobe.com/
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46 described the emerging competition among companies for a short supply. The consulting company predicted that the ability to competitive advantage in a global economy. Events have proved McKinsey correct beyond the companys wildest dreams. The most obvious example is the new class of asset is talent. Those companies are relevant to the satellite business because some have announced blue-sky satellite projects as well as because they form part of the competition for talent faced by the satellite industry. Society of Satellite Professionals multinational, multi-company study of talent in the satellite business. Are We Winning the War for Talent? asked how well the experienced incumbents of our industry are stepping up to the challenge laid down by McKinsey, and started a dialogue about collective actions to improve performance. The End Of An Era Of Stability The human resource executives of satellite companies know what they are up against. Particularly in the Washington DC area, one executive told us, the challenge is The challenge is particularly acute as the industry is used to having a workforce that does not change. We have had a stable workforce with low turnover for decades, said another executive. On the macro level, the stability of the workforce seems set to continue. Drill in the business. Our company has typically had a lot of long-term contracts different today. dont have a robust pipeline, said an HR executive with one of the largest satellite operators. Our workforce is aging and we the right skills sets, particularly for entry-level positions. Another executive framed the issue even more starkly. His major concern is protecting the talent pipeline in our company. We to other companies because we cant match their offer. We focus on protecting managerial and technical expert positions. description of a company, and perhaps an industry, on the defensive in terms of talent attraction, recruitment and retention. Defense is important, a war with it. Filling The Pipeline While protecting its existing talent, the industry faces the need of its workforce over the next And Speaking Of The SSPI... Is Satellite Winning The Talent War? SatMagazine June 2015 46
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47 decade. Forty-two percent of our multinational sample of employees was 55 or older, and a surprising 10 percent have exceeded the standard retirement age of 65 and continue to work full time. However, the graying of the industry may also be an overhyped story. Thirty percent of our respondents were age typically reach their peak in earnings and responsibility. Work on replacing the pending group of retirees appears to be already underway. attraction programs focused on youth. We have a successful internship program, said one HR leader, and we are working to enhance it with job-shadowing opportunities and more advanced work-study programs. When you get past the largest companies in the industry, however, there is much less of a structured approach. A remarkable 56 percent of human resource executives reported that their companies have no formal internship or work-study program. What some of them have instead is an informal program, typically led by a self-appointed individual with a passion for mentoring young people. When the self-appointed leader leaves or retires, however, the effort typically falls apart because it has not been institutionalized within the organization. Lack Of Recognition That is not how global tech companies get the job done. And it is particularly short-sighted, given how little recognition our leading-edge in attracting graduates, said a respondent to our survey, because our industry is not as well known as others. There are a lot of graduate opportunities in other industries that offer higher pay. Even students passionate about space know shockingly little about the only attendees of the annual Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) conference. The young people in the room were mostly graduate students in engineering involved in space activities at their schools. At the end of the workshop, the most common comment from the audience At a recent trade show in Washington, DC, the current Chair of SEDS put the matter starkly in front of the attendees during a panel session on education. correct, that 80 percent of life is just showing up, the satellite industry so far may be missing out on 80 percent of the talent it needs to power growth in a more competitive and demanding future. Robert Bell is the executive director of the Society of Satellite Professionals Are We Winning the Talent War? Robert can be reached at rbell@sspi.org. The report may be downloaded at no www.satelliteworkforce.com 47 SatMagazine June 2015
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48 The Global Navigation Satellite Systems Market Offers Some Promising Possibilities Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is a technology that allows any user having a compatible device to determine their position, velocity and local time by processing signals from satellites in space. GNSS signals are provided by a variety of satellite positioning systems, including GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou or regional SBAS. The GNSS market comprises both products (receivers and devices) and services using enabler. The global core GNSS market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 9 percent during 2015-2020. Global Navigation Satellite Systems Market Outlook 2020 deciphered the market dynamics in important segments thus clearly highlighting the areas offering promising possibilities for companies to boost their growth. The report studies the market by its major application and location based services, transportation (further divided into road navigation, rail navigation, air navigation and marine navigation), surveying activities and agriculture. The GNSS application market is further studied by region viz. North America, The report provides a complete overview of the GNSS market globally. All the current trends and drivers coupled with potential growth areas of the GNSS industry have been evaluated in the report. Furthermore, the report provides a profound knowledge of opportunities in the industry for different companies in the chapter named Opportunity Assessment. Additionally, to provide knowledge of the prospects for GNSS players on the geographical front, our report provides a comprehensive knowledge of 10 of the most worthwhile GNSS markets around the world: U.S. Canada U.K. France Germany Russia Japan China South Korea India The report includes information about the present state and future outlook of the LBS and Telematics market in these countries along with information about their personal navigation systems such as U.S. GPS, Chinas BeiDou, Europes Galileo, Russias GLONASS, Finally, the study looks into the competitive landscape covering business overviews, developments and strengths and weaknesses analyses of each of the players. All in all, the report would help clients analyze the driving forces and understand the opportunities existing in this industry. Additional info www.reportlinker.com/p02770661summary/Global-Navigation-SatelliteSystems-Market-Outlook.html Eutelsat Broadband has a new, improved range of tooway Business satellite broadband services designed to meet the needs of SOHO, SMB and large corporates located across Europe, North Africa and large parts of the Middle East. The new services, which will replace the current KA-SAT Access business offering, are faster, more business customers. tooway Business offers broadband packages with a wide range of data allowances up to 200GB a month and a a full array of customizable options including guaranteed bandwidth speeds. tooway Business is ideal for organizations are slow or unavailable and for businesses that for critical applications such as disaster recovery or back-up. tooway Business is available today via Eutelsat Broadbands range of authorized distributors across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. tooway Business broadband includes a range of solutions: monthly data allowance and is ideal for Prosumers or monthly data allowance and is ideal for small and medium size enterprises. respectively for larger corporates. allowance for businesses that need machine to machine or simple data communications continue to be available. Europes fastest satellite download speeds of up to 22Mbps and upload speeds of up to 6Mbps. A host of additional, optional chargeable features are available for businesses to help make the most of their service. eutelsatbroadband.com/ Eutelsats KA-SAT Access Being Replaced With tooway Business Solutions Services
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49 InfoBeam spacecraft fuselage. spacecraft is currently being assembled at XCORs Hangar 61 in Mojave, California. noted XCOR President and Chief Today marks another solid milestone in our progress toward series of important moments that will accelerate Lynx development, he added. With the strakes bonded to Lynx, we have an open path toward the integration of a number of subsystems, and this means we will now start electrical wiring, plumbing, installing the control system, and populating the landing gear bays, added Chief The strakes make up a large portion of the Lynx aerodynamic shell. Each strake is partitioned into four independent fuel tanks that are kerosene to the Lynx engines. Each strake also houses a main landing gear assembly and two reaction control thrusters that the Lynx will use to make attitude adjustments while outside of the atmosphere. www.xcor.com/
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50 has forecasting constellation to the National Space Organization (NSPO) in Taiwan, where it has successfully passed a series of systems checks. The FORMOSAT-7 spacecraft has been designed by SSTL using heritage avionics and it has been assembled at the Companys cleanroom facilities in the United Kingdom, where SSTL is currently building the remaining FORMOSAT-7 platforms for the constellation. The payloads for the spacecraft are being supplied by NSPOs mission partner, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States, and they will be integrated to the platforms in Taiwan where a full set of spacecraft system tests will be performed. Luis Gomes, Director of Earth Observation FORMOSAT-7 spacecraft to our customer is an important milestone in the program and the satellite has arrived safely and in full working order. SSTL is continuing to work on for the constellation at our cleanrooms here in the UK and at the NSPO site in Taiwan, where our engineers are involved in the next phase of payload integration and testing, so its an extremely busy phase in the mission for the collaborative team. The FORMOSAT-7 constellation is a joint civil mission between the Taipei Economic and Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States are the respectively. The new constellation will collect atmospheric data at low and mid latitudes and improve both regional and global weather forecasting for over 5000 registered users of the data data in support of climate studies and ionospheric science. Launch is targeted from 2016. www.sstl.co.uk/ Artistic rendition of the FORMOSAT-7 satellite. Image courtesy of SSTL. been deployed to Nepal to help reconnect the region as disaster recovery continues The 7.9 magnitude earthquake, which hit Nepals capital Kathmandu and its surrounding areas on Saturday, April 25, has claimed thousands of lives and rescue efforts are underway. Nepals telecommunications infrastructure was also destroyed, further hindering relief efforts. Thaicom PLC has now deployed a satellite communications network to be set up in the affected areas, along with an engineering team to get the system up and running so vital communications can be reinstated. Suphajee Suthumpan, Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO, said, Everyone at Thaicom is praying for the victims and their families and we share our heartfelt sympathy and condolences for the massive life losses and damages resulting from the Nepal earthquake, much of which is still emerging. During crises such as these, satellite is often the only system available for vital communications communications since the earthquake. We hope it goes some way towards alleviating the suffering and helping with the continued search and rescue efforts, as well as enabling individuals to contact friends and relatives. This communications network has been delivered in conjunction with partners from various sectors, such as Thaicoms country representatives, business partners and government agencies from domestic and international alliance. Thaicom has provided assistance after numerous disasters, such as the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and both the China and Christchurch earthquakes, among others. When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in November 2013, Thaicom provided satellite communications and instigated a support network among various business partners. the affected areas. satellite, provided critical services such as disaster zones. www.thaicom.net/
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52 becoming increasingly relevant. progressed to the point that there is now a distinct need for further regulation of property interests in space. Today there are private companies with plans to set up lunar bases and human colonies on Mars. Energy companies are being established to invest in technologies to mine asteroids and the moon. China and Japan have completed successful missions to the moon. 2 One of the China missions was to successfully launch technology to return lunar samples, potentially in contemplation of future extraction. 3 The existing international legal convention with respect to the ownership of interests in space is the United Nations Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (the Outer Space Treaty). The treaty, signed by more than 100 nations, and 5 by the United States, was designed to ensure that space would be used for peaceful purposes and that no nation could assert a sovereign claim over assets and properties discovered or known to be existing in space. The United Nations Moon Treaty of 1979 (the Moon Treaty) 6 states even a sovereign nation or a private entity is prohibited. The Moon Treaty also prohibits the harvesting of natural resources from the moon, unless done in accordance with an international regime established to govern the extraction of such resources. 7 to by only 13 nations. None of the three primary space faring nations, the United States, Peoples Republic of China or Russia, signed or supported the treaty; therefore, the Moon Treaty is not legally enforceable against those nations. Because the Moon Treaty speaks directly to the private ownership of extraterrestrial property and the Outer Space Treaty does not, some commentators suggest that, by failing to sign or ratify the Moon Treaty, the United States has not relinquished private ownership rights in respect of the moon and other space assets ( i.e. ownership claims without national sovereignty). 8 the regulation by the sovereign nations of the outer space activities of its private entities: The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty. 9 While it is clear that this international framework is completely inadequate for the future commercial landscape, recent legislative and federal agency action evidences that the process of regulating, and incentivizing, private United States. 10 Act, was introduced to the 113th Congress. The President through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other appropriate federal agencies to: (i) facilitate the commercial exploration and utilization of asteroids resources to meet national needs, (ii) discourage government barriers to the development of economically stable industries for the exploration and utilization of asteroid resources in outer space in a manner consistent with the existing international obligations of the United States, (iii) promote the right of United States commercial enterprises to explore and utilize resources from asteroids in outer space and to transfer or sell such resources and (iv) develop the frameworks necessary to meet the international obligations of the United States. Once introduced, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Science, was considered along with appropriations for the national space program.. Congressmen considering the bill made comments evidencing that they are ready to pass the baton from national, sovereign programs to private programs, as the private sector and scientists represent the best way to maximize limited resources. 11 HR 5063 died in the 113th Congress with no further action, but it has been reintroduced into the current Congress as HR 1508 on March 19, 2015. habitats for outer space, the FAA issued a policy letter in which the federal agency made statements recognizing the private sectors need to protect its assets and personnel on the moon or on other celestial bodies. 12 The letter permitted Bigelow Aerospace to proceed with its contemplated commercial activities on a non-interference basis. 13 While the FAA policy letter does not purport to grant ownership rights on the moon, the FAA has bestowed upon Bigelow Aerospace certainty of knowing, as the founder, Robert Bigelow, explained, that somebody else isnt licensed to land on top of you or land on top of where exploration and prospecting activities are going on, which may be quite a distance from the lunar station. Prohibiting others from landing on Bigelows licensed portion of the moon (whether or not adjacent to the lunar stations) gives Bigelow de facto ownership of that lunar land (at least in respect of other US companies). tremendous implications for international space law. They show that the United States is ready to support (and allow) private companies to invest 15 in a manner that is directly contrary to the provisions of the Moon Treaty. While the Moon Treaty is not binding on the United States, and does not have the force of international law, it is important to remember that the Moon Treaty is not binding on China or By Elizabeth H. Evans, Partner, Dentons Property Interests 1 In Space: Recent U.S. Policy Developments W SatMagazine June 2015 52
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53 the Russian Federation or many other countries which may sponsor private companies seeking properties on the moon or in space. Accordingly, other sovereign nations could grant licenses and incentives easy to see how messy it could get. We can only hope that these proposed U.S. regulations and policy statements in support of commercial space companies will be the catalyzing ingredient to establish a muchneeded international dialogue with other sovereign nations with respect to reworking the international treaties currently governing property interests in space. become acute. Footnotes 1 This article will speak only to legal property interests that are not intellectual property interests. Another article will need to address intellectual property rights for items constructed and created in space. http://www.science20. com 3 4 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and as a federal law. Like federal law, the treaty remains in effect unless Congress treaty or the treaty is determined to be unconstitutional by a federal court. 6 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Listner, The Space Review, http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1954/1 8 Could Legal Loophole Lead to Land Claims on Other Worlds? Cosmic Log, however, apply to companies organized in, or citizens of, countries which had The full name of the act is the American Space Technology for Exploring Resource Opportunities in Deep Space Act. 11 One Small Step for Man, One Giant Step for the Commercialization of the 13 To the Moon! FAA Boosts Commercial Lunar Ventures, NBC News.com, March 14 Bigelow Aerospace to encourage private ventures to contribute to human missions in space and on the moon. See To the Moon? Bigelow Aerospace and 53 SatMagazine June 2015 Upcoming: A Special Conference Event SPACE LAW: CURRENT AND FUTURE ISSUES Tuesday June 9, 2015 This conference will address a wide variety of issues and practice areas that are part of commercial space activities. They range from long-established activities like remote sensing to the new challenges of cybersecurity to the emerging issue of mineral rights in Space. Each panel will consist of recognized authorities and industry experts, including preeminent private and government lawyers, industry leaders, and key government decision makers. We will have a keynote address by Dr. George C. Nield, Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC. networking with other practitioners in the space and legal community, including a reception after the conference that will be hosted by the Forum on Air & Space Law.Robert Span, Chair, Forum on Air & Space Law The Program Planning Committee is comprised of: Karen Dacres, Planet iQ Elizabeth Evans, Dentons Joanne Gabrynowicz, Ole Miss Indra Hornsby, Space Flight Industries SCHEDULE Registration and Continental Breakfast .Welcome & Program Overview From Here to Ubiquity: The Current and Future State of Commercial Remote Sensing Law This panel will focus on the evolving state of remote sensing law and policy, in light of the tremendous growth in the remote sensing space industry, advances in technology and changing business models. Coffee Break Building Blocks of the Frontier: Legal Aspects of Space Resources Utilization This panel will focus on clarifying the status of space mineral rights law on a national and international level, and discuss the political and policy considerations that may shape the development of a space mineral rights legal regime. Post-Export Control Reform Challenges: To Go Where No One Has Gone Before A panel of experts will look at how export control reform has (or has not) changed the legal, regulatory and commercial landscape for the space community and its suppliers. Networking Lunch with speaker Dr. George C. Nield, Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC . A Cosmic Threat: Cybersecurity Issues in Space Panelists will discuss steps they are taking within their organizations to address cybersecurity issues, including adequately framework and regulations will be examined. T he General Counsels Panel: What Issues Keep You Awake At Night? General Counsel from some of the leading facing their companies and the industry, future trends and what keeps them up at night. Their valuable insights will inform and stimulate your thinking. Reception For additional details, please visit www.americanbar.org/groups/air_space.html
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54 Dauria Aerospace (Dauria), of Moscow, Russia, have signed an agreement to collaborate on opportunities to launch timeframe. that both companies will mutually cooperate on identifying spacecraft that can be dual lower Dauria spacecraft supporting the upper launch vehicle. spacecraft that could be paired with Daurias ATOM spacecraft and together, the companies would assess the technical feasibility. The ATOM spacecraft weigh between 10501500 kg and provide satellite TV, telephone and broadband communications. basis to evaluate the commercial environment would serve the global satellite industry. Phil Slack said, This agreement establishes an excellent foundation for our partnership with Dauria for dual launched spacecraft. This is an operators who want a cost effective solution to launch their smaller spacecraft. satellites to be launched in a timely manner with competitive pricing for the companion spacecraft. This also represents another positive example of U.S.-Russian cooperation in space activities. We look providing outstanding access to space, www.ilslaunch.com/# in Nepal, the United Nations Platform for Space-based information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), a program under the United (UNOOSA), is supporting the disaster response efforts by making openly available all satellite-based resources. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8 and a depth of 15km, resulted in the deaths of more than 3,500 people and injured a further 7,000. people have been left homeless. To support the rescue efforts, several agencies are involved in producing satellite-based information into an easily accessible format. Satellite-based information is vitally important to help aid agencies target their relief efforts, by showing the areas and roads destroyed by the earthquake so they can reach people in need more quickly. How can space technology be applied to disaster risk management and disaster management? The Space Application section contains information on those space-based mechanisms established by space agencies of various countries and services, on their worth noting that this information covers the full disaster management cycle, all Earthdirected space technology, and all types of major natural or man-made hazards. The Emergency Mechanisms section provides an overview of the most relevant mechanisms Major Disasters. The understanding of these is a prerequisite to ensure rapid access to the products and other relevant information generated by these mechanisms. guidance on space applications and how case studies outline the underlying principles, advantages, restrictions, and accessibility of data and services are offered to inform the user and to support his decision making. at un-spider@unoosa.org
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55 InfoBeam Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company with BT to deliver BBC World Service Asia These services are being distributed in C-band on AsiaSat 5 from the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East to BBCs short and medium-wave transmitter sites, as well as to FM partners and re-broadcasters in Asia and Australasia. The services, which are tailored to the region, constitute an essential part of BBCs global distribution service. With AsiaSat 5, the BBC services are reaching an ever-growing audience in Asia. William Wade, President and Chief expanded our portfolio of information and entertainment services on AsiaSat 5. This partnership between AsiaSat and BBC offers a diverse range of high quality content from one of the worlds leading public service broadcasters to a broad Asian audience. Mark Wilson-Dunn, Vice President BT Media & Broadcast, said, Our successful partnership with AsiaSat enhances our distribution services to BBC in terms of service performance and audience reach in Asia. www.asiasat.com/ Artistic rendition of the AsiaAt 5 satellite. Image is courtesy of SSL.
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56 56 ue to the emergence of High Throughput Satellites (HTS), the have the systems reached their full potential, or is there yet more to Making History First launched ten years ago, the impact of HTS tends to be summed up by a few frequently-seen phrases; more throughput, lower cost per bit, multiple narrowly focused spot beam technology, all of which enables conventional satellite operators. Of course, describing them in this arguably limited way does not do justice to the game-changing innovation HTS have capabilities was kick-started. Designed for high-speed, two-way broadband communication over an is capable of maximizing the available frequency for transmission and increases bandwidth by a factor of 20 when compared to traditional KuWith the advent of this new technology came new capabilities, revolutionizing service providers respective offerings. The provision of be provided to urban areas, HTS have enabled previously underserved and unserved areas to receive the same sort of high-speed broadband as urban areas. Meanwhile, the satellite manufacturing landscape has been transformed, with traditional equipment manufacturers competing with their previous customers by becoming satellite operators and satellite service providers. The Rise + Rise Of HTS Fast-forward to 2015 and HTS have proven their staying-power with widespread use in consumer broadband applications. As the systems grew in popularity, the debate over the effectiveness of the so-called closed and open business models has continued, with the industry yet to agree discussion often spurring innovation. Currently, systems take the form of either closed or open architecture, with the former giving satellite operators complete control over the entire chain of service to sell almost directly to the end customer, and the latter customer, with VSAT providers being able to package the space segment believe we will see even more variation on infrastructure as different technologies continue to emerge. The different variations of HTS architecture has seen the range of applications it is used for begin to expand. Traditionally, broadband via HTS was targeted at consumers in rural and remote areas. While this remains a key area, the last few years have brought about an increasing Why, After Ten Years, HTS Remains More Relevant Than Ever Before... D Artistic rendition of Thaicoms IPSTAR satellite. Image courtesy of Thaicom. SatMagazine June 2015 56
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57 trend of HTS being used to provide connectivity in schools, on trains and buses and even for maritime crews and airline passengers. With HTS having grown so popular, then, the question industry experts express is: Have these satellites now reached their full potential, or will the New Horizons report, High Throughput Satellites: On Course for New Horizons use of HTS will continue to increase, with global capacity usage on HTS systems 2023. This is, in part, due to the satellite operators continued quest to reduce OPEX. This means that a satellite being used to deliver just one service is being seen far less frequently. For HTS, an even greater broadening of horizons to move beyond consumer broadband and into new applications will be experienced. According to Euroconsults report, additional applications which offer the most potential for HTS use include Civil Government and Enterprise The opportunity for satellite operators to move into the Cellular Backhaul cellular technologies, which require higher bandwidth backhaul channels to When providing this kind of coverage in ex-urban and rural areas, the distance between cellular base stations makes it cost-prohibitive to pursue terrestrial means. This opens up the prospect for satellite backhaul to be continue to extend 3G services to ever more remote areas, making HTS ideally positioned to support the backhaul of 3G data services. Even markets such as the oil and gas industry, which requires high capacity as costs when combined with high capacity but smaller terminals. Even after ten years, HTS continues to represent the next generation of the future, demand for these qualities will only increase, with service providers increasingly looking to run more than one service with the same capacity and new technologies continuing to emerge to support this and HTS. new era of satellite communications and the company remains committed years... and beyond. www.thaicom.net/ 57 SatMagazine June 2015
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58 58 their Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) based counterparts. Higher impedance also means that it is easier to achieve broader bandwidths. new Block Upconverter (BUC) designs for use in satellite communication transmitters. Such designs seek to maximize the advantages of GaN devices by making more powerful and reliable units in smaller footprints. Higher Linear Power the current and voltage are able to swing from rail to rail. This gives the maximum output power. Considering Ka-band FETs only produce about 7-8 dB gain per stage and that all these FETs run off the same input than 15 percent. GaN FETs have been designed to operate closer to class-B or deep AB. That is, they operate with the gate voltage biased closer to the off condition so that the current is essentially clipped when the voltage with some trade-offs. produces no harmonic content when operating within its voltage limits. As the FET is moved from class-A through to class-B, it uses less DC power. However, the spectral content increases, which leads to higher harmonic and intermodulation distortion products. There is another point close this point, if a short circuit is applied to the second harmonics, then it is output power. Another downside of operating in classAB is that Pout (Push Out) no longer soft gain compression over a wide input power range. This effect is exacerbated in GaN PAs where the device characteristics add further to the slow gain roll-off. However, it is possible to bias the GaN device deep in class-AB such that the soft gain compression somewhat corrects itself. Figure 1 ( left column, bottom ) shows a comparison of the gain response deeper in class-AB is also lower, as seen by the dip in the third-order from Figure 1 that a Ka-band GaN PA biased deep in class-AB will reach this linear power when the gain drops by 2dB with respect to the small are the same, the achievable output power should also be higher than in it was actually about 1dB higher. Such improvement by adjusting the bias suggests that further improvement may also be possible by introducing a predistortion linearizer. A predistortion linearizer can be modeled in one of two ways. One way is to think of the linearizer as correcting the power transfer curve, its saturation point. An ideal predistortion linearizer would exhibit the cancel one another. By Garth Niethe, Technical Design Lead, Ka-Band SATCOM Products, EM Solutions Smaller + More Powerful SATCOMs? Its Possible... With GaN G Figure 1. Ka-band GaN PA under different drive conditions. Figure 2. Equivalent ways of conceptualizing the operation of a predistortion linearizer: gain and phase correction (top); intermodulation injection (bottom) SatMagazine June 2015 58
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59 59 A second way of visualizing a predistortion linearizer is that it actually creates opposite-phase intermodulation products that mix with the intermodulation products of the main PA. Both of these concepts are presented in Figure 2 on the previous page. One of the most common forms of predistortion in communication systems is to use digital techniques at baseband (Digital Predistortion). Using this technique, canceling the thirdthrough to the seventh-order intermodulation distortion products by more than 30 dB at a particular power level is possible. However, this technique has several drawbacks and is not often used in SATCOM BUCs. baseband signal when it is being generated by the modem. This would characterized for operation with a particular baseband generator (modem). respect to the input power. PA responds slightly differently when abruptly changed from low-to-high power as it does when it changes from high-to-low. The digital predistorter is simply not fast enough to compensate for this effect. The preferred option to linearize SATCOM BUCs is to use analog predistortion. These circuits generally work by driving an active element, such as a diode or transistor, into saturation and coupling the intermodulation products, at some predetermined phase, back onto the main signal path. Due to their inherit nature, analog circuits are able to respond much more rapidly to changes in power level and are not as susceptible to memory effects. GaN PAs and incorporates it into their latest generation of Ka-band upconverters. Figure 3 below shows a comparison of the spectral regrowth output power (blue), and the PA with the same bias and output power but with EM Solutions linearizer turned ON (red). As can be determined from the plot, the spectral regrowth in the adjacent channel has been improved by more than 10 dB. Although the spectral regrowth in the alternate (next adjacent) channel is worse, the transmit with lower adjacent channel interference warrants use of the linearizer. Compact Designs One of the limiting factors in SSPA designs is the ability to effectively GaAs, it is possible to make higher power units in smaller form factors. to deliver 16W saturated output power in the smallest form factor in the market. Using GaN, EM Solutions Ka-band multiband nanoBUC can achieve 25W saturated power in the identical form factor, using the same DC current consumption and is also able to achieve this result over the entire 28 GHz to 31 GHz bandwidth. Another example is EM Solutions top-of-the-range Ka-band multiband nanoBUC, whose GaAs based predecessor was able to achieve 50W linear power with a typical power consumption of just under 500W. The GaN based product is able to achieve the same linear power and draws only 350W DC power. This reduction in DC power compared with its GaAs predecessor means the FETs are running substantially cooler and the whole unit has a higher reliability. SATCOM market. Such devices intrinsically offer more linear power across with an upconverter and optimized linearizer, higher power densities are made possible, with feature rich performance in small footprints. Additional information regarding EM Solutions may be viewed at www.emsolutions.com.au/ Garth Niethe is a technical design lead for Ka SATCOM products at EM Solutions, an Australian designer and manufacturer of advanced microwave modules and systems for satellite and wireless broadcast communications networks. telecommunications applications. He then spent a number of years working for Ka-band satellite market. Figure 3. Comparison with the linearizer OFF (blue) and ON (red). (Modulation scheme is OQPSK, 2.048 MBit/s, 1/2 rate Viterbi) 59 SatMagazine June 2015
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60 60 By Doreet Oren, Director, Product Marketing, Gilat Satellite Networks hen Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) dream of expanding their network into untapped regions, a primary consideration is how to handle the exponential growth expanding network. For MNOs to upgrade their existing network with additional cell towers convincing a customer who has signed up with one mobile service carrier to switch carriers, and the ongoing cost of having to pay other carriers high a market are at a distinct disadvantage. By providing a connection within days rather than years, MNOs can leapfrog competitors relying on slowerto-deploy backhaul technologies. To win this contest, rapid deployment is a must. Here, satellite backhauling has a huge advantage. Fiber and microwave backhauling solutions represent substantial CAPEX costs, are time-consuming and often not feasible when satellite solution provides a connection to the core LTE network. Several factors mitigate satellite backhauls CAPEX expense. One is the grow, MNOs can relocate equipment purchased and deployed for satellite backhaul elsewhere as needed. Of course, an equally important consideration is ensuring a quality user experience, and here Gilats satellite backhaul solution VSAT that reaches the record-breaking speed of 200Mbps. At this speed, this VSAT devices, a feat that is unique in the satellite industry. An obstacle inherent in satellite communications is the inevitable delay that limits throughput and performance. Capricorn is unique in the industry in having overcome this barrier. Gilats patent-pending embedded acceleration techniques compensate for the delay, maintaining a user experience that is indistinguishable from terrestrial solutions. Another important point to consider is that new satellite technologies are lowering the cost of satellite connectivity. According to industry analysts, this trend is expected to continue well into the future. The main reason: Highbandwidth costs to as much as a twentieth of their previous rates. This breakthrough has helped position satellite communication as a cost-effective alternative for delivering broadband while reducing operating expenses. Another cost variable is the backhauling access scheme. When providing a goal is to save money by using exactly the amount of bandwidth that meets the subscribers performance needs. For this reason, MNOs must determine TDM/TDMA or TDM/SCPC. and SCPC wastes satellite bandwidth when demand is average. For these reasons, bandwidth sharing is a must in both the upload as well as the download directions. The TDM/TDMA access scheme is a must in LTE networks to reach handheld devices; other options are not economically viable. may have seemed peripheral in previous years gain primacy, MNOs are reevaluating it is also an option backed by a clear-eyed business case. www.gilat.com/SkyEdge-II-c-Capricorn Claiming 4G Market Share In Untapped Areas W SatMagazine June 2015 60
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62 62 ver the past several years, the maritime SATCOM industry By Alvaro Sanchez, Sales and Marketing Director, Integrasys I nnovative Antenna Alignment On Vessels O Integrasys Satmotion in use. Satmotion running on an iPhone. SatMagazine June 2015 62
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64 64 Most Innovative Technology Award www.integrasys-sa.com/ Alvaro Sanchez is the Sales & Marketing Director at Integrasys. He is responsible for Satellite Carrier Monitoring at Integrasys and for providing innovative solutions to satellite operators and service providers. Alvaro is the analysis expert at the CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research. Satmotion maritime scenario. 64 SatMagazine June 2015
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65 MTN Communications Delivers A Big Punch... Considering that some of the tickets sold much more affordable seats, and in the comfort of a luxurious cruise ship as well. MTN Communications (MTN) ( www.mtnsat. com/ ) proved once again you dont have to leave your connected life on the docks when taking a cruise. On Saturday, May 2, 2015, thousands of passengers and crew on 30 ships and Atlantic enjoyed the Floyd Mayweather Jr. Manny Pacquiao boxing match live (MTN-TV HD). MTN was the only service provider able the cruise industry through Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE) (Nasdaq: ENT). The MTN TV and Broadcast Services Team made this possible through the companys network, designed and managed for maritime, and the ability of the MTN-TV solution to scale at a moments notice. which were partners on the telecast, were hoping about midnight. Our team brought the technological wherewithal to quickly deliver this event to ships around the world, said Bill Witiak, general manager, TV and Broadcast Services, MTN. Our sophisticated, proprietary tools to manage land-like quality enabled our customers to surprise their passengers. This improved their onboard experience and delivered a crew are just some events you have to watch live, and MTN-TV. The service broadcasts 11 channels of sports, news, entertainment and special broadcast 1,795 live special events, totaling Channel. The company has plans for future MTN-TV technology investments, particularly nearing the roll-out of high-throughput satellite services next year. www.mtnsat.com
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66 66 orbit for a variety of purposes as shown in the following table. All these satellites, save for two which were secondary payloads on Russian launch vehicles, were launched with Chinese rockets and from one of the placed 28 satellites into orbit for other countries, of which eight were for Hong Kong, a British colony that became a special region of China on July 1, 1997. satellites the stated objectives are so broadly worded that their true nature is not clear. This approach is reminiscent of the early days of the USSR space program. There is, for instance, a suspicion that many of the Shi Jian tests for military purposes. The same thought applies to the series of Fanhui Shi Weixing (FSW) recoverable satellites and the series of Yaogan Weixing (YW) Earth observation satellites, both of which include satellites that have the alternative name of Jian Bing, a series that is usually considered as having military objectives. China, similar to all other space faring nations, went through a process of establishing their technology knowledge of communications satellites, with the Shiyong Tongbu Tongxin Weixing (STTW) series of communications satellites. orbit at 125 degrees East and carried two transponders operating in latter satellite did not achieve a geostationary orbit, it is not clear whether this was by design or due to a system failure. The next satellites in the Shiyong Tongbu Tongxin Weixing (STTW) series and, commencing with STTW-3, the spin stabilized satellites were also referred to as Dong Fang Hong (DFH) 2. built by China Aerospace and only two were built. platform that was used for a wide range of communications, as well as some other, satellites. Built by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) with assistance from the European aerospace company Alcatel occurred on October 29, 2006, as Xinnuo-2. and a service section. The satellite accommodated as much as 800 kg. of have been launched as communications satellites. These include communications satellites for Nigeria, Venezuela, Pakistan and Bolivia. However, with the limited information provided by China, there is a distinct possibility that the platform has also been used for other, noncommunications satellite missions. to, once again, be going through an identical learning process as with their communication satellites. Fortunately, as these programs have a high propaganda value, there is more information available regarding these programs. took place on October15, 2003. The Shenzhou program development progressed far faster than the crewed programs of the USSR/Russia that advanced through the Vostok, Voskhok and various Soyuz steps, or the By Jos Heyman, Senior Contributor The Chinese Space EffortAn Overview C Summary of Chinese launches (as at April 1, 2015) (*objective based on authors assessment) (**Excludes Hong Kong satellites) Chinas DFH-1 satellite. SatMagazine June 2015 66
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67 67 USAs Mercury, Gemini and Apollo pathways. Clearly, China has applied the experiences of those programs to its own development efforts and that is quite evident in the broad similarities between the Shenzhou and Soyuz spacecraft. Shenzhou-8 with the Tiangong-1 docking module, itself apparently a precursor to a space station. Simultaneously, China openly admits that they intend to send a crewed mission to the Moon during the 2020s. Future Chinese Space Station release a Lunar Landing Vehicle that descended to the lunar surface on Following initial tests, the vehicle captured photos of its surrounding and night on December 23, 2013. continued to encounter electrical problems that prevented it from moving its solar panels into an insulating position during the lunar night problems, Yutus instruments managed to operate, although at everthe instruments continue to degrade, but the rover was still capable of was lost. As far as other celestial bodies are concerned, Chinas Yinghuo-1 hitched a ride on Russias Phobos-Grunt Mars mission that was launched on November 8, 2011. The vehicle was intended to separate from the main spacecraft to orbit Mars, but Phobos-Grunt failed to move into the transMartian trajectory and, instead, burned up in the Earths atmosphere. The Chinese navigational satellite system began on October 30, 2000, when the Beidou-1A experimental geostationary navigational satellite was launched as part of the Compass Navigation Satellite System (CNSS) system. The satellite was based on the DFH 3 satellite platform and provided a location accuracy of 10 m. This experimental system consisted and 30 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites with the DFH 3 platform used. have been launched. The system has been providing services in the Asianever be launched due to the introduction of the third phase of CNSS. different applications of the DFH 3B space platforms: Beidou 3M, comprising 27 satellites placed in a medium Earth orbit Beidou 3I, comprising three satellites with a mass of 4200 kg. in inclined geosynchronous orbits The satellites will carry a phased array antenna for navigation signals, a Beidou Third Phase Constellation are in use as well as the Feng Yun meteorological satellites. Also known as the Chinese/Brazilian Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS)-1 as monitor. This was followed by another two CBERS satellites. Artistic rendition of the Chinese space station. Artistic rendition of the Beidou constellation. 67 SatMagazine June 2015
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68 68 and the belief is that some of the satellites are for military use under the alternative satellite name Jian Bing. CBERS-3 The Yaogan Weixing EO satellites series commenced on April 26, 2006. objectives included land and agricultural surveys, disaster monitoring as well there were also military applications designed into the satellite. China has developed its own range of launch vehicles. These vehicles started in October of 1956 when it acquired two obsolete R-1 missiles from the USSR, followed by two R-2 missiles the following year. China subsequently commenced the development of military missiles that culminated in the Dong Feng (DF) series of missiles, some of which formed the basis for the space launch vehicles. The space launch vehicle development was undertaken by the Chinese Jizhu Yanjiuyuan in Chinese, although components were made by a organization consists of 13 research institutes, six or seven factories and some additional management departments. place on November 1, 1969, and several versions were developed. on November 26, 1975. vehicles, as well. 6, 1988, this is the most used launch vehicle in the Chinese rocket stable. CZ 5 China is currently developing its next generation of launch vehicles that the European Ariane 5 and the U.S. Atlas 5, having a capability to place 25,000 kg. of payloads into orbit. CZ 6 To 9 class of the U.S. Space Launch System (SLS). The launch vehicle is still in There is little doubt that China would like to operate within the early nineties, several foreign satellites were launched by Chinese launch vehicles, including, for instance, three for Australia. However, in the mid1990s, the United States stopped issuing export licenses to companies that wanted to launch on Chinese launch vehicles out of fear that such would help Chinas military. The foreign launches essentially stopped, although Thales Alenia Space built a satellite for China without U.S. components. For this reason, China offers package deals, i.e. a Chinese built satellite would be launched by a Chinese launch vehicle. Not many countries are prepared to enter into these arrangements. Should restrictions be lifted, expect that China will become a serious competitor in the launch industry. operations. This has forced the nation to pursue its own crewed program. With the budgetary restriction imposed by the U.S. and Russian space programs, this forced go it alone course of action may well see China eventually overtake the other countries with their launch programs. A recent indication by Russia that consideration may be given to China and Australian consultancy specializing in the dissemination of information on educational as well as commercial organizations. An accountant by profession, Jos is the editor of the TSI News Bulletin Artistic rendition of CBERS-3. SatMagazine June 2015 68
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70 70 to Inmarsat. VP positions in sales and marketing, product management and then as VP in sales and marketing roles at Panasonic Avionics Corporation and Continental Airlines. SatMagazine Good day, Mr. Sare. Would you share your background with our readers Jeff Sare Communications as well as Panasonic Avionics Corporation. SatMagazine as the companys Vice President of Airline Market Development. Please tell us what this role entails? Jeff Sare Commercial Air Transport. This includes supporting our airline customers through our regional teams, ensuring our marketing communications are effective and providing direction to our regulatory team to ensure we have the appropriate and necessary market access around the world. SatMagazine Jeff Sare Executive Spotlight: Jeff Sare,Vice President, Airline Market Development, Inmarsat J 70 SatMagazine June 2015
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71 71 commercial aircraft, will deliver a true broadband service to passengers and crew. The same 3G experience available on the ground will be accessible SatMagazine Mr. Sare, what do you predict the take up of Ka-band will be in comparison to Ku-band and how is the airline market responding to your offer? Jeff Sare Ku-band is a relatively saturated spectrum. Existing Kunetworks were They are wide beam with varying power across the beam which means quality of service varies between the middle and outer edges of the beam. The aviation market has quite different requirements; it needs stable land-based users has soaked up much of the capacity in existing Ku-beams to the point where there is no spare capacity at all in some beams over highuse areas. These high-use areas are, unfortunately for airlines, the same as New generation high-throughput Ku-band satellites will address some of these issues but wont be in operation until around 2018. And the additional capacity offered by these satellites is only available in some areas, which GX is a high-throughput Ka-band service which will provide more service will need to respond to the increasing connectivity consumption; Electronic Flight Bags or fuel tankering, the possibilities of digitalizing the work environment will be numerous. The same applies to the cabin, where passengers will expect a seamless service wherever they are located. We service from one single provider will appeal to many airlines, particularly owned and operated by one company ensures that the quality is consistent guarantees the reliability that is expected. SatMagazine How many years will it be before all aircraft are equipped with Wi-Fi? Jeff Sare The number of medium and small body aircraft is expected to more than double between 2013 and 2033 and 55 percent of all wide-body aircraft are expected to be connected by 2023 according to the Prospects For InFlight Entertainment And Connectivity See the Euroconsult graphic chart on the following page .) Single-aisle aircraft numbers are also expected to double between 2013 Combined, the number of connected aircraft is likely to grow by 300 percent between 2013 and 2023. SatMagazine What is your stand on the growing competition for this market segment and the new entrants into this growing environment? Jeff Sare The aviation connectivity market holds much potential. The challenge is for the rhetoric and understand the different offering in the marketplace. We encourage competition and our approach is to be as honest as possible with our claims to ensure our customers get what we promise with no surprises. SatMagazine costs, and timing for implementation? Jeff Sare We believe the market will follow the consumer mobile broadband market and that passengers will expect more from airlines. They want a consistently high quality broadband offering with no black spots, not dropping off the network; an always-on service which they can access using their own device. Which means airlines must choose connectivity partners that can Artistic rendition of Inmarsat-5 F3. 71 SatMagazine June 2015
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72 72 on the aircraft, airlines face the challenge of making decisions now based on their predictions of customer demand up to ten years in the future. M2M communication from the aircraft to the ground, and for safety and operational services, means even more capacity is going to be required. As a provider our focus is to ensure we are investing in infrastructure and continue to invest in additional satellites and ground networks to meet the growing demand of our customers. SatMagazine service be globally available? Jeff Sare on schedule to achieve full global coverage in the second half of 2015. Plus, we are happy with our progress toward gaining the necessary licenses and authorizations to build out the ground network and we are currently in discussions with potential terminal and hardware partners. The S-bandbased EU Aviation Network is possible due to unique circumstances whereby spectrum was homogenized and set aside for aviation communications always open to opportunities that will lead to delivery of the best possibly quality service to airlines and their passengers. SatMagazine Once the European Aviation Network is implemented, do you expect to see Jeff Sare The EU Aviation network is our response to increasing passenger demand for quality connectivity. The technology is the same as how we deliver broadband via satellite but uses a terrestrial network to complement the satellite which enables us to offer more capacity, an even better quality broadband experience, and able to meet the needs of aircraft traveling connectivity solutions to meet the needs of all aircraft in any geography. Were not afraid of thinking differently, and investing (in networks, terminals and new technology) to do what it takes to meet the growing industry need. SatMagazine partnerships have been developed for your business expansion? Jeff Sare purchase spectrum and satellite capacity from a third party. step in the value chain, so one less margin to the added on. We focus on ensuring the best connectivity solution for the airline and are committed to investing and thinking innovatively to meet the exploding demand for quality broadband in the sky. Were also the only company that guarantees the quality of the service to the passenger. Were totally committed to delivering an experience to the passenger that meets their expectations based on what they are used to on the ground, and that will add value to the airline. We differentiate ourselves by being the best partner for the airlines. We provide the best service to the airline, with an eco-system of partners that can deliver quality solutions, tailored to meet the needs of each airline. We have strategic relationships with Honeywell, Thales, and a range of Value Added Resellers (VARs) and Distribution Partners (DPs) to deliver a tailored solution. SatMagazine with a commercial airline would certainly be challengingwhat militarydeveloped talents did you bring to the commercial environs? Jeff Sare and it was no different for me. However, on most days, the operational challenges in the military are very similar, if not identical, to the civilian world; that is making sure that you have the right people and that those people have the proper tools, systems, and training to deliver your product or service (even if the service is of a more serious nature). technical training has been useful if not directly transferable. Better yet, SatMagazine Looking back on an already impressive career, what projects or programs truly bring a sense of satisfaction to you? Jeff Sare SatMagazine within the coming year? Jeff Sare standard by which the others are measured. www.inmarsat.com/ 72 SatMagazine June 2015
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74 74 ast year, STN had the pleasure to host Satnews Publishers CEO, Silvano Payne, and toured him around this teleport facility, while explaining our amazing growth since the facilitys foundation in 2004. At that time we had very good reason to celebrate and be proud that STN had become a strong global competitor within the teleport industry in such a relatively short time. Now we are able to inform SatMagazine readers that STN is continuing its traditional yearly growth in double digits, as another successful year has closed with a growth rate of 15 percent, with a similar prediction for 2015. Clearly, broadcasters appreciate the quality of STNs three tier playout system (Gold, Silver, Bronze) and the value added opt-out-servicethese technologies have resulted in a healthy increase of more than 30 percent for these services. STN is also a one stop emporium of worldwide broadcast over satellite turnaround, equipment co-location, time delay and telemetry tracking and control, all of which are just a sampling of the premium teleport services offered. like to sell to them, said Mitja Lovin, the Sales and Marketing Director for the company. Although it would appear that there is a strong demand for add-on services such as OTT (Over The Top) and IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), the core of STNs business is the satellite distribution of contentthese efforts remain a strong driver of revenues and the client base continues to increase. STNs range of expertise is diverse. This allows the company to facilitate single channel start-ups as well as the ability to transmit multiple, top-tier, Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite platforms, as well as serving other requests for teleport projects. Transmitting more than 500 channels for clients, with platforms on 17 satellites and extensive coverage for Europe, the MENA region, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America and South America, STN also manages Eastern Europe metros. Our clients give us their trust and they deserve the best, and this is what STN continues to experience huge success in the Middle East region and, over the last few years, Africa has experienced strong growth, with further potential on the horizon. STN never stands still and has completed stages one and two of new developments in the purpose built facility that is based in SloveniaSTN is actually running out of dish space! With new and exciting projects on the horizon, this has required further expansion for the company. What was, and the early stages of expansion are underway. If you stop at the shore too long, you will miss the next tide, said Andrej http://www.stn.eu/ A Business Uplink: STNAlways Taking A Step Further L 74 SatMagazine June 2015
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76 76 a-band is changing the face of satellite communications. Enabled by Ka-band used to deliver satellite broadband to home users and enterprises, the applications for Ka-band also extend into the maritime, aerospace, and defense sectors. Widely referred to as third-generation broadband, or HighThroughput Satellite (HTS), these systems are capable of delivering more than 100 Gbps of data and servicing over one million users. This is 10 to 100 times increase in capacity; the primary motivator for HTS is to provide more bandwidth at a lower price per bit. What is different about these Ka-band systems? First, the contiguous Kafor Kuor L-band. This provides larger bandwidths and inherently higher data rates. Additionally, Ka-band HTS are typically designed with payloads that have many narrow spot beams and high frequency reuse, as compared to the wider coverage areas and low frequency reuse of Ku-band payloads. These aspects, combined with the use of todays most modern modulation techniques, result in a system with much higher capacity. The Need For Capacity Management Whether you are a satellite operator, service provider, or network operator, you know that the satellite resource is your largest expenditure and that the ability to maximize performance and utilization of that asset is the By Russ Palmer, Business Manager, SATCOM Planning and Management Systems, SED Systems, a division of Calian Ltd. Ka-Band Capacity Planning K Figure 1. Sample HTS coverage area. 76 SatMagazine June 2015
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77 77 manage your satellite resources initially and as capacity increases. Ka-band systems bring larger bandwidths, more spot beams, higher throughputs, and new gateway and payload designs. This is demanding new and innovative capacity management and planning toolsets that address the complex issues associated with Ka-band and high capacity systems. Deep Rain Fade Impacts @ Ka-Band Higher frequency bands such as Kaare more susceptible to weather concerning Ka-band is rain, with the largest attenuations occurring during relatively short periods of intense rainfall (up to 30 dB, in some cases). To compensate for weather effects, Ka-band systems are designed to mitigate deep rain fade. Generally, the overall system is designed such that the forward link performance is dominated by the terminal downlink, while the return link performance is dominated by the terminal uplink. The idea here whereas terminals are required to operate where needed. The result is a gateway segment that provides a highly available feeder link. Techniques used to accomplish this including planning the gateway locations in dry areas, using redundant gateways to add site diversity, implementing uplink power control, and using transponder automatic level control (ALC) when practical. Accurately modeling Ka-band propagation impairments and rain fade mitigation techniques are essential to planning capacity and designing requirements to meet your companys service level agreements (SLA). As more Ka-band systems come into operation, more experience and knowledge regarding the frequency is being acquired and studied. This is leading to revised propagation models, updated climatic data, and new system designs for rain fade mitigation. than in the past. To remain effective, capacity planning tools need to propagation models and software libraries for modeling site diversity improvement, uplink power control, and transponder ALC. Interference Considerations @ Ka-band Comparatively, Ku-band is much more widely used with almost all orbital slots occupied. With Ku-, interference to adjacent satellites is often the limiting factor in terms of terminal size for the return link. Ka-band has a better interference environment and its use in practice is limited to small terminals Additionally, the Ka-band spectrum allocated to satellite communications is not currently allocated to any terrestrial services on a primary basis. of as external interference, and although important to consider for Kaband, is not as dominating as it is for Ku-band. What is more important for Ka-band is the consideration of internal system interference. HTS Ka-band systems employ high-gain narrow spot beams and large amounts of frequency reuse. Adjacent beams use different frequencies, polarizations, or combination thereof. The number and size of the spot beams vary between systems, but generally the spots cover several hundred kilometers, with the larger systems having upwards of 200 spot beams. Depending on the number of gateways deployed and the amount of bandwidth available in each beam (50 to 600 MHz), frequency reuse can be up to 20 times. Depending on the satellite antenna technology used and corresponding transponder levels, the isolation between beams reusing the same frequency can vary between 20 and 30 dB and, in some cases, be less than 20 dB. Understanding the impacts of frequency reuse and beam power allotments are critical to operating a multi-spot beam system. SED offers software to analyze and visualize beam coverage patterns and beam-to-beam isolation for multi-spot beam systems of varying sizes from a few beams to hundreds beams. Co-polarization, cross-polarization, and combined modes are supported. Coverage analysis functionality displays color gradient. Given a carrier load, the software will compute the level of induced and incurred interference in beams using overlapping frequency. Using these tools, the carrier to interference noise can be effectively managed by trading off interference levels with beam loading. Adaptive Coding + Modulation Most Ka-band systems deploy some form of adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) technique to maximize the data rate of the satellite channel while providing robustness during times of weather induced fade. Whether it is DVB-S2 or the recent S2X extensions for the forward link, or Figure 3. Narrow Spot Beam Coverage Analysis Figure 2. 77 SatMagazine June 2015
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78 78 a proprietary variant of multi-frequency TDMA in the return link, the goal is to design the links to maximize the possible data rate while delivering the quality required. As each terminals operational environment will differ, these adaptive systems performance of each terminal link and dynamically changes the modulation and coding techniques (MODCOD) and symbol rates to adapt. Most high-throughput satellite systems operate on the premise of a group of terminals sharing one or more satellite channels. The idea is to maximize the number of users serviced. This is done by leveraging the Some terminals will be experiencing rain fade and require the use of more robust MODCODs and, at the same time, other terminals will be number of users serviced can be increased. Many of todays broadband systems are closed. Typically, there is an internal management component that dynamically manages the allocations of the satellite channel bandwidth and power to each of the individual terminals. The goal of the gateway is to balance the required to operate. Needless to say, the complexity of these management components can be challenging. To help meet these challenges, SED has developed a Capacity Sizing Tool (CST). This tool is designed to work in conjunction with todays closed broadband systems. The CST allows service providers and their value the broadband system. Assisting operators to meet the needs of their customers, the CST takes as input the end customers requirements, including the number of terminals, type of equipment, terminal locations, and required data rates and availabilities. As the number of terminals increase so to do the variances in link performance. Some terminals may be located in the center of a spot beam, others closer darker area between adjacent beams. Terminals may be located in areas Although covered by the same spot beam, terminals may be located in areas within the beam that are subject to higher internal-interference caused by a side lobe of a near-by beam reusing the same frequency. The CST models all of these effects to help determine what can be expected as the nominal performance for the customer. Based on this, providers and resellers can set their customer service level agreements and committed and peak information rates. Sizing the service plan for one customer is one aspect of the CST. A second and equally important aspect is combining multiple service plans into a group service plan to maximize the usage of shared capacity. By combining the service plans of multiple customers, the providers and For example, residential users tend to use more data in the evenings, while enterprise users tend to use more data in the mornings. By being able to combine and evaluate alternate group service plan designs, the SED CST their assigned capacity. To aid in the longer-term aspects of capacity planning, SED provides a Capacity Planning Tool (CPT) that allows service providers and network operators to manage and plan the use of their transponder capacity Figure 4. ACM Analysis for Annual and Worst Month Weather Figure 5. Diurnal Symbol Rate per coverage beam Figure 6. CIR Availability Analysis for a Region Supporting Mobile Terminals SatMagazine June 2015 78
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79 79 over time. The CPT tracks the capacity of each channel on each beam in the system. Usage is tracked either as a managed service plan using group service plans or as a power/bandwidth lease of a portion of a channel. As group service plans and leases transition through their lifecycle, the CPT manages them from time of inception, through provisioning, to implementation on the network. When considering adding a new service plan or lease for a future period of which capacity is exceeded. The CPT also has the capability to integrate with the network hub in order to collect and analyze statistics on service plan utilization and congestion. Intermodulation Considerations @ Ka-band transponders. Ka-band transponders have a much wider bandwidth than the To utilize these larger bandwidths, many of these transponders will intermodulation effects. Certainly, some systems will use a large TDMA forward carrier, but even with those systems, the return links generally deploy some form of in-route carrier compositions to meet the diversity of the terminal population. With todays leading edge modem technology, such as DVB-S2 and the and tighter roll-offs (5 percent) are being used. These higher modulations schemes are susceptible to degradations caused by the satellite need for better management of intermodulation effects. SED has developed high-performance sophisticated intermodulation analysis software to aid satellite operators and service providers to accurately model and manage the intermodulation characteristics of their satellite transponders. Using a time-domain implementation approach combined with a high-performance FFT library, SEDs intermodulation analysis engine provides highly accurate estimates of intermodulation noise while running almost interactively. The engine models carrier waveforms, thermal noise, and interference noise present at the input to the satellite receive chain. Multiple planning modes also exist to help operators plan for a partially loaded transponder. Using simulated carriers in addition to actual carriers, the tool is able to help the operator estimate the impact of intermodulation noise at a full transponder load and correspondingly plan for an ideal operational point. This allows links to be designed once and then provisioned for longer durations of operation. Mobility, Military + Movable Beams Having small terminal sizes, high data rates and narrow beams with concentrated power, Ka-band satellite systems are also well suited for mobility and military applications. Mobile applications of all types in both However, as spot beams are typically very narrow and terminal routes and locations are varied, terminals will often transition across beams and in some cases satellites. For applications, such as military or emergency response, the satellite payload is often equipped with steerable antennas that allow to effectively plan the satellite beam coverage and capacity for mobile and military terminals can be just as challenging as operating a consumer performance varies by location. ( Please see Figure 8 on the following page .) SEDs capacity sizing and planning tools support mobile terminals and with way points, as a region of possible location, or as a group of beams. The CST will analyze the routes and/or regions to determine the best beam coverage and corresponding channel capacity. Link performance, along with terminal counts and contention ratios, are used to aid the terminals that provides continual service across the coverage area. Beams that can be repositioned via steerable antennas are also supported. Using the CPT, new beam positions for steerable satellite antennas can be considered and analyzed. Beams need to be repositioned with consideration of many aspects including intra-beam interference, gateway isolation, and regulatory and coordination constraints on geographical use of spectrum. These are all functions supported by SEDs capacity planning tools. Figure 7. Visualization of Intermodulation Noise Spectra 79 SatMagazine June 2015
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80 80 systems demands new and innovative management and planning tools. Whether service is delivered through a closed network or over raw capacity, for commercial or military applications, SED Systems has the capacity solutions for network operators, service providers and value added resellers. SED Systems provides software systems, tools, and services to assist and effectively plan and manage the capacity and services of their Kaband satellite systems. Ranging from sophisticated capacity management systems, advanced link budget tools, capacity sizing and planning tools, solution to meet your requirements. By leveraging existing software components and products, SED delivers environments. Whether you are operating a managed network, leasing raw transponder capacity, or optimizing your transponder loading and payload management needs. www.sedsystems.ca/ Russ is the Business Manager of Satellite Communications Planning and Management Systems at SED Systems. He is responsible for leading the strategy, growth and direction of the companys Capacity Planning and Resource Management Systems and Services. designing and delivering systems for satellite operators and service providers. Russ directs and leads teams of engineers and software developers to deliver and support a wide range of solutions from highly-available ground segment systems to operational and engineering systems and toolsets. Figure 8. Fleet Editor: Planning of an Aircraft Route between Dubai and Tehran SatMagazine June 2015 80
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82 The Japanese Space Policy: A European Perspective administration approved the new Japanese Space Policy, a security, particularly for the space debris monitoring solutions and for the complementarity of the two national navigation systems 2 This policy technologies against the peaceful purposes of the R&D activities in space sciences. The need to identify a clear role for the European Union (EU) in the space international cooperation is necessary and the industrial collaboration is the most suitable and promising way. There are numerous industrial concerns related to export control issues because of Japans deepening relationship with the U.S. Over the last gathered almost 580 participants who represented almost 33 states and 12 international organizations 3 Some nations more recent participation in the APRSAF, ( e.g. Turkey and the United Arab Emirates) shows the substantial achievement of Japans space diplomacys actions outside of Space industrys exports towards areas even closer to Europe. Details Since its inception phase in the 1950s, Japans space program has been R&D space technologies The related space policy changes effected in 2009 5 and 2013 6 proposed a space utilization-driven approach which sought to stimulate economic activity in Japan after several decades of stagnation. The space sector was one of the key elements of Japans developing social infrastructures and, in particular, was meant to combat natural disasters and emergencies to which Japan is prone. Developing services was one of the key elements of the space strategy which encouraged the development of Japans space services sector. This new plan, issued in 2015, switches the focus of the Japanese space policy potentially away from the market and towards the military 7 orbit, the security of access to space, and also the security of people on Earth from various types of satellites. The U.S.-Japan relationship in space addresses all of these dimensions. The alliance will implement a joint data sharing system for monitoring space debris. The complementary have independent/sustainable GPS-like services which also act as a back-up option to the U.S. GPS system in the event of malfunction. The statements for the cooperation in the launch sector are not clearly notes 8 develop larger and more capable space launch vehicles ( e.g ., the N series launching vehicle based on the U.S. Delta one). Nevertheless, the access to space is a key programmatic line enhancing further development of the two launch systems, e. g. the H2-A serving geostationary large-scale satellites and the Epsilon for smaller satellites 13 the development of a new concept of mid-size or small satellites. Smaller spacecrafts are more affordable operational responses in case of attacks. Again, the national security objectives are prominent in the choice of the Japanese space activities. The draft space policy plan has been open for public consultation since 12 percent of the comments expressed serious concerns about the militarization of Japans space assets The main reasons behind the new space policy are the external threats from the North Korea and China in 9 The largely military initiated and dominated space programs are becoming regard, Japans defense corporations have been interested in the changing structures and directions of Japans space program. Since the Post World War on Satellite Procurement, Japanese corporations have been subject to regulatory constraints affecting their business expansion. These constraints encourage the government to develop military space projects. for civilians but their military potential renders their disseminations problematic. The domestic investments supporting this approach could dampen the multiplying economic dimension of exports when the military dimension is enhanced, as it has sometimes been the case in the U.S. The Japanese space diplomacy is seeking to create favorable conditions for the space industry in a very comprehensive manner in both the importance of the maximum utilization of space assets for social problem solutions through the cooperation between technology providers (space agencies and aid supporters) and users. The event has been a fruitful opportunity to report on achievements and discuss further cooperation. The conference has been conducted through technology-oriented and solution-oriented working groups. The working groups support APRSAFs initiatives for the space utilization and technological capacity building purposes. This years new activities have been entered into the APRSAFs agenda for the exploitation of GNSS assets, rule-making process for the space situational awareness and actions for facilitating capacity building of small satellites The concluding plenary session hosted country reports from 13 states representatives with new cooperation in the area being delivered by O SatMagazine June 2015 82
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83 representatives from the USA and the U.K. The adopted recommendations highlighted the importance of pursuing space cooperation through the APRSAF approach as an informal forum, open to governmental and non-governmental entities, as well as international organizations. They agreed to renew the appointment for both the next annual meeting in Bali, of the new recommendations is the synergetic use of space assets (Earth Observation, Positioning-Navigation-Timing and satellite communications) for which a feasibility study will be deployed during the current year. Policy Recommendation For The European Space Stakeholders The new space policy elects the U.S. as a strategic primary partner for the main security oriented space programs and related purposes. The other Japanese space policy objects, such as expanding space utilization and enhancing space industry and science and technology, do not deny industrial cooperation, European know-how should be tapped in order to The advanced European know-how of satellite data processing and related development of applications will be commercially exported to Japan for in one way to Japanese players but ad hoc business partnerships will be encouraged and supported. European and Japanese space launching technologies are both under a renovation phase for technological improvements. They are also both struggling with international price competition from China Great Corp. (SpaceX). Thus, the European and Japanese shared vision for the optimization of technological performances could be a key-priority for cost reduction targets and a means of industrial cooperation. could negatively affect the coming Galileos market. Thus, the EU will consider substantial actions for downstream applications embedding strong strategic business relationships between European and Japanese companies. The eventually emerging issues for Japans technology export controls offer the potential for the European space industry that has a more The emerging synergetic space utilization of space services proposed technological expertise that will deliver integrated applications under thematic needs (health, transport, energy, safety and development) [12] with huge market potential in Japan. References 1 Japan adopts new space policy focusing on security: https://english. kyodonews.jp/photos/2015/01/330725.html Japan adopts new space policy focusing on security: http://www. newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/110936.php 3 http://www.aprsaf.org/ annual_meetings/aprsaf21/overview.php 4 Aoki, The National Space Law of Japan: Basic Space Law and the Space Activities Act in the Making: http://www.iislweb.org/docs/2011_galloway/ Aoki.pdf http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/utyuu/ keikaku/pamph_en.pdf 6 http://www8.cao.go.jp/space/plan/planeng.pdf Japan reorients space effort to bolster security, drive exports: http://www. reuters.com/article/2015/01/09/us-japan-space-idUSKBN0KI18F20150109 8 http://aboutusa.japan.usembassy. gov/e/jusa-usj-chronology.html Japans space program ends peaceful policy with new military focus: http:// eandt.theiet.org/news/2015/jan/japan-space.cfm Japans Policies on the Control of Arms Exports: http://www.mofa.go.jp/ policy/un/disarmament/policy/ 11 https://www. press.umich.edu/pdf/0472113585-ch5.pdf http://artes-apps. esa.int/projects 13 Japan adopts new space policy focusing on security: http://asia.nikkei.com/ Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Japan-adopts-new-space-policy-focusingon-security 14 http://www. japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/09/national/new-space-policy-focusessecurity-science/#.VLcWSlL9n4g The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily Veronica La Regina is currently a senior researcher at the Department of the business strategies and international marketing. Previously she was involved with Experienced Research at Wave Energy centre of socio-economic researches for innovation of the SMEs. dealing with Law and Economics, Game Theory, Public Policies as well as several technical courses for satellite applications. 83 SatMagazine June 2015
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84 84 hose attending CommunicAsia will undoubtedly hear that the Asian satellite communications market continues to grow and its near-term future looks bright. According to a Northern Sky Research (NSR) Global Satellite Capacity Supply and Demand from numerous sources over the next ten years, with total revenue Market growth has been driven by telecommunications applications; however, Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite broadcasting is rapidly becoming a key growth-driver, as well. Satellite demand is no longer limited to established markets such as as Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar are now expressing demand for satellite communications. Despite the potential, there are some operational issues that, while not unique to the region, have their own geographical complexity. One is manbut both have the same effect disruption of satellite communications. Fade Away, Rain Fade Rain fade is a temporary attenuation of an RF signal and typically affects transmissions above 10 GHz, but can cause issues at lower frequencies ,as well. Rain fade is caused by the scattering or absorption of electromagnetic waves by many randomly scattered electrically charged cloud drops or rain drops. Due to their higher operating frequency, and the fact that their signal wavelengths are usually shorter than that of a C-band, Kuand Ka-band satellites are more susceptible to rain fade than are C-band satellites. Rain Fade Mitigation Techniques The simplest way to compensate for the rain fade effect is Uplink Power transmitter signal is monitored and uplink power is adjusted to overcome rain fade interference with the signal. The advantages of this technique are that its a proven technology, is applicable to all satellite service types and good for cases where transponder gain is constant. The disadvantages include limitations for SATCOM power control limits and the need for additional equipment, such as beacon receivers for measuring sky noise and the attenuation caused by rain and water vapor to satellite signals. Additionally, constant transmission of high power may result in interference among users during clear sky conditions. Site diversity is the ability to connect two or more Earth stations so that signals from an antenna experiencing rain fade interruption can transfer its RF signals to an antenna in a location not affected by rain fade at the time. The advantages of site diversity are that it maintains signal quality, reduces the chances of outages, is a ground-only solution (nothing has to be done to the satellite), and the use of smaller, less expensive antennas is enabled. Traditional RF transport limitations reduce geographical diversity. RF signals captured at an antenna can only be transmitted over short before the signal degrades. Depending on the network and the distance between the two sites, there can be high signal loss and the process requires complex monitoring and switching processes. Distance limitations restrain ground system design by requiring processing equipment to be co-located with antennas. The challenge has been to develop technology that would enable long distance transmission of RF signals. SpectralNet is such a technology as RF and timing characteristics, and then uniquely restoring the RF signals at their destination. This approach offers wide geographic diversity as RF transport Please see the sidebar .) Overcoming SATCOM Disruption, From RF Interference To Rain Fade T SatMagazine June 2015 84
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Another approach is Adaptive Code Modulation (ACM) where environment. ACM can help maintain service during some rain events but cannot overcome all, especially intense events. Additionally, ACM will impact achievable data rates during the rain fade event and is good only for services that do not need a minimum data rate services requirement ( e.g. many packet-based data services). Additionally, there can be a lack of interoperability among vendors and higher cost modems are usually required. Frequency diversity draws on a lower frequency band payload during the occurrence of fading at higher frequencies via a ground control station. The affected Earth stations are authorized by the control station to switch to the lower frequency resources when the climatic condition reaches a certain threshold while a processor onboard the satellite ensures the interconnection among the stations operating over two different bands. This method is suitable for satellites operating in two frequency bands, typically Kaand Cor Ku-band, and usually achieves low levels of outage probability, especially during severe rain fade. However, this comes at a high cost due to the need for an available lower frequency band to support the transition during the rain events. Accidental or Deliberate Interference Remains A Problem (which accounts for anywhere from 95 to 98 percent of all human error, equipment failure or intent. Accidental interference includes cross pol leakage, equipment issues and adjacent satellite interference. Deliberate RF attacks on satellites include piracy and jamming. Piracy, or unauthorized access, occurs when carriers (with content) are transmitted towards a satellite without any prior contract with the satellite operator. content (political, cultural, social, etc.) of the targeted carrier and/or extenuating circumstances (political situation, social unrest, etc.) According to Martin Coleman, Executive Director, satellite Middle Eastern and North African problem, while piracy is more of an issue for the Asian region. The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), the trade association for the Asia The Asian content industry is particularly affected by pirates who intercept TV channels and programs and stream them via pirated devices, said Christopher Slaughter, CEO of CASBAA. New Approaches interference is the rapid detection and analysis of an interfering signal through effective carrier monitoring. Once the interfering number of geolocation systems. 85 SatMagazine June 2015
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86 86 source and allow rapid interference mitigation among cooperating the interfering party. SigX Protect, a patent-pending radio frequency cancel many forms of interference in real-time. Where once rain fade and RF interference were thought to be inhibitors to satcom growth, new techniques for mitigating each have eased the path to continued growth as evidenced by NSRs forecast for Asian satcom growth. development and service of the Asian market. He plays a key role in expanding Kratos approach to signal cancellation provides a level of automatic interference protection to high priority carriers, both unmodulated (CW) and modulated interferers and requires receive site equipment only. features and capabilities that are designed to save operator effort and therefore cost. Features such as scenario templates, higher levels of automation, improved reporting capability and integrated operator notebooks enable less experienced operators to perform geolocation more accurately and faster resulting in a more robust capability. This Another method of identifying the source of an interfering signal is the is identifying. identify the source of the interfering signal and then contact the interferer to resolve the interference issue. Carrier monitoring and interference detection hardware required. Space Data Association. Integrated Satellite, Payload and Network Control Interference and rain fade are but two of the many issues that need to be monitored, detected and managed to assure SATCOM performance and they are only two of the integrated solutions offered by Kratos. As the only end-to-end, enterprise-grade ground station technologies vendor in the industry, Kratos ( www.kratos.com/ ) is at the nexus of the space systems control segment, integrating payload control, satellite control and network control into a seamless, holistic approach to assure satellite peak performance and payload delivery. For payload/signal control, Monics is the leading RFI monitoring and detection product. SigX Protect delivers a new approach to canceling interference. SpectralNet enables transport of RF signals virtually anywhere. Network control, with NeuralStar Service Quality Manager and Compass Monitoring and Control from Kratos, allows operators to monitor and manage all ground station solutions command and control, signal interference and transportand, in so doing, manage the levels of service they are delivering to customers. For satellite control, Kratos EPOCH IPS is the industry-leading command and control system and its antennas are world class. Kratos solutions are available as stand-alone offerings for the management of discrete tasks, or as end-to-end solutions for integrated satellite, payload and network management. [ SpectralNet is offered by RT Logic. Both companies are Kratos subsidiaries. ] SatMagazine June 2015 86
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