A fully virtualized satellite communications (SATCOM) ground system was recently displayed by defense and security technology company Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
Presented to the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T), Kratos leveraged its OpenSpace® Platform to showcase a flexible network architecture that allowed soldiers to connect to Telesat’s LEO 3 satellite through Cobham antennas.
Using the Kratos OpenEdge™️ 2500 digitizer integrated with Cobham’s Tracker 1300TT antenna, standardized traffic (DIFI) was able to pass directly from Cobham’s digital-ready antenna through virtualized modems at the network’s edge to the LEO 3 satellite.
Kratos state that a virtualized ground system such as OpenSpace provides the resiliency and agility needed for modern military operations, including multi-orbit, multi-mission support, surpassing traditional, hardware-based systems.
The OpenSpace Platform an industry leading, commercially available, fully software-defined satellite ground system.
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Functionality
Kratos, alongside demonstration partners Telesat Government Solutions and Cobham Satcom, showed dynamic support of simultaneous communication pathways for resilient SATCOM at Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
LEO constellations are strategic to military operations, delivering connectivity with lower latency than a traditional Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite. These capabilities are projected to become increasingly important, as future military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) networks will be required to quickly adapt to multiple missions and multiple orbits.
Kratos worked with several satellite service operators to test and verify the functionality of OpenSpace as a gateway and edge platform at each of the major orbital belts, GEO, MEO and LEO
In future conflicts, it will be crucial to have multi-orbit operations seamlessly share information among military branches and international partners, Kratos assert.
OpenSpace has also been demonstrated in other satellite orbits, with other satellite operators and equipment partners, showcasing its openness, flexibility and interoperability.
The Network Cross-Functional Team (N-CFT), established by the Army Future Command, provided the funding for the project.
“Every mission has different requirements for space connectivity requiring maximum flexibility to leverage multiple satellites, networks and network elements. Only a software-defined platform can provide the levels of adaptability at mission speed along with the openness to maximize available network resources. Both Telesat and Cobham are at the forefront in this digital transformation of satellite ground systems,” added Chris Badgett, Vice President of Technology for Kratos Space.
