Archives for 2024

The United States Navy has contracted Rivada to develop and deliver Virtual Network Operator (VNO) capabilities via the company’s Outernet constellation.

The Rivada Outernet is a next-generation LEO satellite constellation. When fully deployed, it will provide gigabit speeds to any point on the globe, without needing to touch the public internet or any third-party infrastructure. Rivada has designed its Outernet to serve the most demanding enterprise and government customers—those who need highly secure, high-bandwidth connectivity in even the most far-flung locations.

Consistent and highly secure, global connectivity for Navy vessels remains a challenge for both ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship communications. Under the first phase of its contract with the U.S. Navy, Rivada will engage in joint engineering cooperation with the Navy to delineate a Virtual Network architecture specifically designed to meet the Navy’s needs on the Rivada Outernet.

A global low-latency point-to-point connectivity network of 600 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, Rivada’s Outernet is a unique next-generation architecture combining inter-satellite laser links with advanced onboard processing that provide unique routing and switching capabilities to create an optical mesh network in space.

This approach to “orbital networking,” in which data stays in space from origin to destination, creates an ultra-secure satellite network with pole-to-pole coverage, offering end-to-end latencies much lower than terrestrial fiber over similar long distances. By routing traffic on a physically separated network, it provides a layer of defense for any organization that needs to securely share data between widely distributed sites.

Rivada’s Outernet is particularly well suited for the secure connectivity required by national governments and defense sectors. Leveraging the Outernet’s robust, resilient and secure space-based architecture, naval users can connect their assets on a global scale with low latency and without any third-party networks in the communication chain. Assets anywhere in the world can be connected back to home soil and between each other, platform-to-platform.

“The Rivada Outernet’s proliferated LEO architecture is resilient by design and built for exactly this type of use-case,” said Declan Ganley, CEO of Rivada Networks. “We are delighted that the U.S. Navy sees the value of what we are building and look forward to delivering an operational concept that meets its needs. Our Outernet is rapidly becoming the infrastructure of choice for secure data communications.”

Commander Nick Goddard, Director of Operations of U.S. Navy Cyber Command, said, “Rivada is building a uniquely capable LEO constellation focused on zero trust networking. The combination of security, symmetrical uplink and downlink speeds and global coverage are unique, and we are excited to collaborate with Rivada on how the Navy can best take advantage of Rivada’s gateway-less architecture for innovation today and in the future. As the adversary evolves, we must continue to out-innovate, maneuver, and drive outcomes to support our global Navy Operational Ecosystem.”

Rivada Secure Services Office established to serve U.S. Government + Defense Sector

Rivada Networks, Inc. has formed Rivada Secure Services, a new, wholly owned subsidiary established as a proxy organization to serve the specialized needs of U.S. government and defense customers.

The new subsidiary will be led by Michael Abad-Santos, who brings extensive experience in government and defense space systems. Rivada Secure Services will be headquartered in the Washington DC area to maintain close coordination with government customers and our reseller network.

A global low-latency point-to-point connectivity network of 600 LEO satellites, Rivada’s Outernet is a unique next-generation architecture combining inter-satellite laser links with advanced onboard processing that provide unique routing and switching capabilities to create an optical mesh network in space.

This approach to “orbital networking,” in which data stays in space from origin to destination, creates an ultra-secure satellite network with pole-to-pole coverage, offering end-to-end latencies much lower than terrestrial fiber over similar long distances. By routing traffic on a physically separated network, it provides a layer of defense for any organization that needs to securely share data between widely distributed sites.

Rivada’s Outernet is particularly well suited for the secure connectivity required by national governments and defense sectors.  Leveraging the Outernet’s robust, resilient and secure space-based architecture, DoD can connect their assets on a global scale with low latency and without any third-party networks in the communication chain. Assets anywhere in the world can be connected back to home soil and between each other, platform-to-platform.

The launch of Rivada Secure Services follows the recent award of a VNO contract with the U.S. Navy and positions Rivada to better support mission-critical government communications requirements through its innovative Outernet satellite constellation.

“The formation of Rivada Secure Services demonstrates our commitment to providing the highest level of secure, resilient communications to our government customers,” said Declan Ganley, CEO of Rivada Space Networks. “As a proxy organization, Rivada Secure Services will ensure we can fully support the unique mission requirements of U.S. defense and civilian agencies while maintaining the necessary security protocols.”

About Rivada Space Networks
Rivada Space Networks GmbH is deploying the first true “Outernet”: a global, low-latency, point-to-point connectivity network of LEO satellites. By connecting its satellites with lasers, Rivada will provide resellers and B2B customers with the ability to securely connect any two points on the globe with low latency and high bandwidth. The constellations, comprising 600 low-earth-orbit communications satellites, will represent a fundamental change in the availability of secure, global, end-to-end enterprise-grade connectivity for Telecom, Enterprise, Maritime, Energy and Government Services markets. Rivada Space Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rivada Networks, Inc. 

ArkEdge Space Inc. has been selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) under its Space Strategy Fund to lead the development of advanced lunar navigation technology.

The company will use its expertise in the planning and design to mass production and operation of smallsat constellations to lead the development of a next-generation Lunar Navigation Satellite System (LNSS), a vital component to the International LunaNet initiative, driven by NASA , ESA and JAXA.

LunaNet seeks to establish essential infrastructure to support sustainable lunar exploration and foster growth of the lunar economy.

Umbra has been awarded the Stage III option of the National Reconnaissance Office‘s (NRO) Commercial Radar Capabilities contract — this contract, part of the NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancements (SCE) initiative, evaluates and leverages innovative commercial ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) solutions to strengthen the U.S. Government’s overhead intelligence architecture.

Building on the success of Stage II, Stage III emphasizes scaling SAR data delivery to the U.S. Government to meet critical needs such as disaster response, environmental monitoring, and crisis management. Umbra’s advancement follows the successful validation of its on-orbit performance and mission utility in earlier stages, positioning the company to further integrate domestic SAR capabilities into the wider U.S. Government’s ISR framework.

Umbra’s SAR satellites collect up to five times more data than other providers, offering unprecedented value through both quantity and affordability.

“Advancing to Stage III marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Umbra’s SAR capabilities,” said Omar Wheatley, Director, Strategic Programs. “We’re excited to deepen our collaboration with the NRO and continue delivering our industry-leading high-quality SAR data that strengthens the nation’s intelligence and defense capabilities.”

“As a fully American company,we’re proud to maximize taxpayer value by delivering the most data and the best data to the NRO at the lowest cost,” said David Langan, CEO of Umbra.

Umbra has a long-standing relationship with the NRO, having previously been selected for the Stage II option of its Commercial Radar Capabilities contract in late 2022, and a second Stage II option under the Commercial RF Capabilities focus area in early 2024. Earlier this month, the 2024 Commercial Remote Sensing Global Rankings named Umbra first in SAR data quality worldwide and second in SAR persistence.

Since its establishment in 2015,Umbra has emerged as a leader in remote sensing, offering breakthrough SAR imaging technology and patented satellite solutions that provide all-weather, day-and-night monitoring. Umbra continues to set new standards in reliability, precision, and intelligence gathering,helping government and commercial customers alike achieve mission success.

About Umbra
Umbra is a vertically integrated space technology company providing satellite technologysolutions and intelligence data as a service to commercial and government customers. Ourcutting-edge products help customers solve complex business, environmental, and securitychallenges. Umbra is founded, funded, built and operated in the USA with headquarters in Santa Barbara, California, and has a presence in Austin, Texas, and Washington D.C.

China already has a total of 44 GPS satellites on-orbit (at the end of 2023), known as the Beidou constellation. The country’s China Satellite Navigation System Management Office (CNSO) has explained how this existing system will be augmented.

According to Xinhua News Agency, CNSO says that by the end of 2025 it will have completed a design update and plans to launch three test satellites during 2027 into LEO to ensure all is working well.

The new Beidou fleet will start launching in 2029 and be completed by 2035. These ‘next-gen’ craft “will provide highly accurate navigation, positioning and timing in real time, with accuracy levels ranging from meters to decimeters.”

Beidou’s deputy chief designer Xie Jun told Global Times that its existing constellation would serve as the core for the upgraded system featuring new LEO satellites. Beidou products are currently exported to more than 140 countries and regions.

The new technology is intended to be an improvement on China’s existing GPS satellites.

Eseye has partnered with Sateliot to deliver reliable and global 5G from space IoT solutions using advanced LPWAN satellite technology. 

The partnership aims to enable seamless and ubiquitous global connectivity in locations where there is no cellular coverage from a Mobile Operator. It uses the new 3GPP Release 17 (Rel.17) standard to achieve multi-RAT connectivity to non-terrestrial networks (NTN) from a single SIM solution.

Sateliot is the first company to operate a LEO 5G / NB-IoT satellite constellation that functions to provide a seamless extension of existing cellular networks using the advanced Rel.17 protocol to cover 100% of the planet.

The technology provides seamless connectivity, allowing cellular-enabled IoT devices to connect directly to its satellite network when terrestrial cellular coverage is unavailable. This process functions as standard roaming, providing a smooth and reliable user experience. This ensures customer devices can enjoy uninterrupted and reliable IoT connectivity across both terrestrial and satellite infrastructures, providing ultra-high-quality connectivity in the remotest environments. 

Positioned in polar orbits, the satellites provide:

• Complete global coverage by
  geographic coordinate 
• Reaching even the most remote and underserved areas of the planet.
• Paving the way for IoT use case
  innovation and global adoption.

Sateliot’s partnership with Eseye will provide comprehensive IoT connectivity solutions that cater to a wide range of applications and industries, driving innovation and operational excellence worldwide. 

With the advancements of Eseye’s multi-RAT flexibility to use Sateliot’s satellite-based connectivity, urban and industrial IoT deployments will be able to access secure global coverage as well as reliability in remote and underserved areas where zero cellular coverage from any operator is available. 

Release 17 standardizes using satellites with cellular modems and antennas, enabling connections to geostationary satellites and LEO constellations. Even in areas with poor terrestrial coverage, devices can switch to satellite networks, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity on highways, in forests, or in remote locations.

Leveraging partnerships with more than 700 operators in 190 countries, Eseye already ensures broad and reliable network access for IoT deployments.  With its multi-RAT capabilities, Eseye supports various radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, eMTC) to enhance connectivity resilience and flexibility. With a focus on Urban and Industrial IoT, Eseye solutions are ideal for applications in smart grids, EV charging, manufacturing, and smart cities where robust terrestrial networks are essential.

Offering scalable global connectivity, Sateliot ensures IoT devices remain operational regardless of geographical challenges. While targeting applications and industries operating in remote or globally dispersed locations, its solutions are specifically designed to support agriculture, logistics, and environmental monitoring.

Employing satellite-based LPWAN and NTN NB-IoT technologies to extend IoT connectivity, Sateliot goes beyond traditional terrestrial limits by delivering cutting-edge satellite-based IoT connectivity and thus extending coverage to remote and underserved areas where terrestrial networks are limited or unavailable.

Gianluca Redolfi, Sateliot’s CCO, said, “Our strength comes from being ahead in operations, sales, and regulatory compliance. While many competitors face challenges like landing rights or sales, Sateliot stands out because we started working on the standard early, were the first to support it, and have gained strong backing from the industry.”

Adam Hayes, COO at Eseye, said, “Customers want their devices to connect and by working with Sateliot we can extend coverage beyond the current cellular offer. Together, we are paving the way for seamless, global connectivity that takes Eseye’s already highly resilient network to new heights to enable the interconnected world of tomorrow.”

Spire Global (NYSE: SPIR) has been selected by LatConnect60 to provide Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) data and Soil Moisture Insights.   

The World Bank reports that investments in climate-resilient agriculture can yield returns of three to eight times the costs, making accurate environmental data essential for today’s farmers. LatConnect60 will integrate Spire’s Soil Moisture Insights and GNSS-R data into its web-based platforms, delivering actionable intelligence for water management, usage efficiency, and crop stress levels. These insights are crucial for farmers, resource managers, and policymakers.

LatConnect60 will combine data from its satellite fleet—which includes optical imagery and shortwave infrared technology—with Spire’s GNSS-R data to deliver a detailed view of environmental conditions and resource needs. Through this, its customers across Southeast Asia and Australia will have access to dynamic maps and detailed dashboards, allowing them to monitor specific areas, track water use, assess crop health, access daily updates and integrate multispectral satellite data for more informed decision-making. 

Spire’s Soil Moisture Insights leverages its GNSS-R satellite constellation to deliver high-resolution, daily soil moisture insights at 500-meter and six-kilometer resolutions, covering any location worldwide. Designed for diverse sectors this product helps optimize crop yield, manage environmental risks, and assess ground stability. Accessible via API, the product integrates seamlessly into existing systems, providing precise, actionable insights for applications such as drought and flood forecasting, irrigation planning, commodity price forecasting, hydrological modeling and more.

“LatConnect 60 looks forward to working closely with Spire to make this combined capability easily accessible to our end users across the Southeast Asian and Australian continents,” said Venkat Pillay, CEO and Founder of LatConnect60. “We envisage tremendous demand for the insights that will be made available, particularly in agricultural or forestry areas that are not easily accessible for manual data collection, while leveraging the ability for the GNSS-R data to enable daily soil moisture readings even in heavy cloud cover and dense canopy environments.”  

“Predicting biomass growth and understanding soil moisture conditions are essential for building climate resilience,” said Michael Eilts, general manager of Weather and Climate, Spire. “By combining our GNSS-R technology with LatConnect60’s analytical platforms, we are setting new benchmarks for accuracy in soil moisture data and comprehensive environmental monitoring in any corner of the globe.”  

  Learn more about Spire’s advanced Soil Moisture Insights at this direct link…  

ICEYE will be the consortium lead in an industrial participation program for the Finnish Ministry of Defense F-35 program — this consortium will develop advanced space and joint intelligence technologies, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for military users such as the Finnish Defense Forces.

The consortium, comprised of ICEYE, and prominent Finnish industry players Insta, Huld, DA-Group, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute as a supplier, will work together with Lockheed Martin on advancing technological development. This will include the progression of disruptive capabilities such as analytics with AI, and encompass mobile ISR cell development, advanced analytics, and high-performance SAR imaging for all weather and light conditions, making it especially suitable for the demanding Arctic weather and light conditions of NATO’s Northern Flank. Space-based intelligence remains a vital tool to support military operations across the land, sea, and air, and the program demonstrates Finnish willingness to develop and adopt advanced dual-use technologies that enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness on the modern battlefield. 

The partnership between leading innovators within the defense and aerospace industry aims to support the Finnish Defense Forces with the goal to enhance the security of supply and strengthen Finland’s position as a leader in cutting-edge aerospace technology. The advanced capabilities will also present opportunities for further expansion and collaboration with NATO Allies and other friendly nations, paving the way for export growth for the members of the consortium.

Lockheed Martin Space will contribute its next-generation sensor processing framework and AI-enabled Global Automated Target Recognition (GATR) system. The cloud-based GATR software automates satellite image analysis by using deep learning algorithms and open-source libraries to quickly identify and classify objects in large areas across the world.

Through strategic partnership with the Finnish Defense Forces and previous fighter jet acquisitions, technology company Insta has decades of experience in demanding defense solutions. Insta has a strong focus on developing state-of-the-art command and control (C2) systems and modern solutions using data and AI that help execute successful multi-domain operations.

“ICEYE’s role in leading the industry consortium marks a significant milestone. This partnership aligns with our ambition to strengthen information capabilities and develop advanced technologies, ensuring that the Finnish Defense Forces and Allies can be equipped with the vital knowledge and capabilities required to maintain the strategic advantage,” said Pekka Laurila, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder of ICEYE.

“Lockheed Martin’s advanced mission solutions will provide the Finnish Defense Forces with enhanced situational awareness and reliable decision support for multi-domain operations,” said Rod Drury, Lockheed Martin Space’s vice president for Global Business. “This international technology collaboration demonstrates Lockheed Martin’s commitment to advancing the 21st Century Security capabilities of our NATO allies and mission partners.” 

“The most important prerequisite for multi-domain operations is a real-time situational picture. We want to engage in a unique collaboration with top domestic and international experts, thereby ensuring the continuous development of situational awareness security and performance in an increasingly networked world. We bring to the project our deep understanding and world-class expertise in how different sensor data can be processed and integrated into the C2 systems, and possibly further into the corresponding systems of NATO Allies,” said Petri Reiman, Senior Vice President from Insta.

Huld has more than 35 years of expertise in the space domain, along with extensive experience in national security and defense. “Huld is proud to see this important initiative start, as we have been planning this inspiring project with partners for a long time. We foresee utilizing our best experience in both digital systems and product design to develop this capability with our partners, and to contribute to Finland’s national defense and the safety of our society,” said Matti Anttila, Director, Defence & Space, Huld.

“Security innovations are DA-Group’s driving force. In this consortium, we will bring our
innovations for the common good and be better with our partners. We have proven before that we can do big things. DA-Group is now waiting to start working and gain results within the time frame,” said Pekka Airola, Chief Executive Officer of DA-Group.

“The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is the main national public organization in the field of space-related services and research in Finland. This partnership on advanced satellite information with key Finnish industrial players, and Lockheed Martin further strengthens FMI’s role as a satellite data and data products provider,“ says Jyri Heilimo, Head of FMI Arctic Space Centre.