Focus: Ground Systems

Real-time communication with satellites, especially those that are part of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations is a growing challenge. Providing frequent updates remains critical in delivering near-real-time intelligence within the Earth Observation (EO) market. The same applies to the seamless connectivity objectives of the communication constellation operators. The ability to transmit data across the network seamlessly...

Ground segment players all believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more customer- and service-focused, rather than just focused on selling hardware, according to executives from Comtech EF Data, Gilat Satellite Networks and Kymeta who spoke at the Asia Tech X conference last week. Toni Lee Rudnicki, senior vice president of marketing at Comtech...

ThinKom Solutions is developing a new phased-array user terminal designed to operate in higher millimeter-wave frequency bands to work with next-generation satellite constellations in  Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO). The terminal, announced July 13, will operate in the Q- and V-band frequencies.  The Electronically Scanned Arrays (ESAs) will be offered in configurations for...

Sweden has announced details to bring a next generation low-cost Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) terminal to market. A collaboration involving Satcube along with Chalmers University of Technology, Gapwaves, and Forsway Scandinavia has been awarded a $470,000 ($4 million krona) development grant by the Swedish public innovation agency, Vinnova. The grant tasks a group with developing this...

Gilat Satellite Networks has won more business in the Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) arena, the company announced June 28. The company has received orders of $9 million for support of gateways of LEO constellations. Gilat’s subsidiary, Wavestream, was chosen as the vendor of choice to supply Gateway Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs) to a leading satellite...

Commercial ground station startup Leaf Space is expanding its network and installing three additional ground stations in Sri Lanka, the Azores, and Scotland, the company announced Tuesday. The Sri Lanka station will add equatorial orbit to the company’s offerings, and the station in Northern Scotland adds a desirable high northern latitude location on the 61st...

  Kymeta’s u8 land mobile antenna has been selected to participate in the U.S. Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) satellite communications on the move pilot program. The program will assess communications solutions including the u8 antenna on select vehicles for battlefield network and command post communications. The ABCT pilot program will be led by...

A Lite Coms terminal has received certification to work with the SES O3b Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation. Lite Coms said that its Lite Sat 2.2A terminal is the only Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) to be certified for both U.S. Army Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) and O3b MEO.  This is a VSAT geared toward military use....

Kymeta and Comtech EF Data Corp. have formed a technology partnership to pair the Kymeta u8 mobility terminal with Comtech a modem. The companies announced Tuesday that the u8 terminal is interoperable with Comtech’s SLM-5650B modem, using open-source standard Open Antenna to Modem Interface Protocol (OpenAMIP) for antenna-router integration. This pairing is aimed at expanding...

SES Government Solutions and Isotropic Systems have completed two antenna trials with the U.S. military. These trials are part of the DEUCSI program — Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet — a Department of Defense (DoD) initiative to test broadband from commercial constellations in Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO).  The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army...