5G satellite operator OQ Technology has revealed six pending patent applications in the USA and in Europe that will improve satellite-based IoT and M2M communications in remote locations. OQ Technology’s patent applications include a “wake-up” technology for satellite IoT (Internet of things) devices, IoT device localization, frequency and timing synchronization, inter-satellite link technology and satellite system design. 

The various technologies within these applications allow customers of the Luxembourg company to receive better quality of service, save power and exchange data easier and more efficiently. They will be implemented onboard its planned satellite constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO). The first commercial IoT satellite of that constellation, OQ’s satellite Tiger-2, which was launched in June, performed well during the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), and is now reaching the final stages of the payload commissioning phase.

“Obtaining intellectual property rights is a strategic necessity for businesses and NewSpace is no exception,” said Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology. “If the applications in the U.S. and Europe progress as planned, I expect OQ Technology to be granted the patents within the next two years in Europe, and much shorter than that in the US. The technologies we are using immensely improve our service of providing 5G IoT connectivity in remote locations where terrestrial solutions struggle or legacy satellite solutions are too expensive. Most importantly, our patent portfolio will protect our position and investments. It will also set up a huge entry barrier and legal shielding for companies getting into the same field, especially with respect to using cellular IoT and 5G over non-terrestrial networks.” 

The technologies for the patent applications are:

• “Wake-up” – a smart power saving function within the terminal IoT device that allows the device to efficiently wake up and communicate with the base station (satellite). It can be adjusted with the growth of the number of base stations and connects with 1,000 sensors. Through “wake-up” OQ aims to achieve the 10-year battery-life requirement set by 3GPP standards.
• “Terminal device localization”, which allows to locate a terminal device, using stored data from the base station(s) instead of an expensive global positioning system.
• “Inter-satellite links”, keeping the different base stations aware of each other and also record keeping of terminal devices being connectable to the different base stations. This will make hand-over between base stations easier. In the future this will also include GEO satellites.
• “Frequency synchronization” and “Timing synchronization” – they synchronize communication and thus improve the signalling between terminal devices and base stations to overcome Doppler effect (wavelength change from traveling objects) issues and timing misalignment issues. This improves the quality of data transmissions and data rate capacity, and also saves energy.
• A satellite system design and network architecture for cellular IoT communication between space and Earth stations.

OQ Technology has developed algorithms and add-on software, following 3GPP-based cellular standards for narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), to make sure IoT devices can seamlessly switch between terrestrial and satellite connectivity to overcome connectivity issues in remote locations without modifying the cellular standards. The company’s software stack resembles a “cell-tower” in the sky and is embedded into its payloads and satellites. 

“In 2017, OQ took the daring step to build its own software stack from scratch, based on the 3GPP standard, and implement its own satellite enabling algorithms,” Qaise said. “Owning our own stack and being able to control the traffic and quality of service for our users gives us a huge competitive edge over other players who rely on third parties and new entrant companies that are yet to deliver.

“Other existing cell tower software stacks are highly proprietary technology built by companies like Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei, which were unlikely to give us access and allowing us to make it suitable for a satellite environment.”

For some applications like drone control, vehicle telematics and artificial intelligence latency is a very critical factor. GEO satellites may take at least 250 milliseconds and cannot match requirements of below 10 ms. OQ Technology’s nanosatellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) close this gap for latency critical applications and provide high data density, quality of service and fast response time.

The company also has developed a technology that allows it to use the cheaper standard mobile chips ($5) for its satellite connectivity, instead of the expensive satellite chip ($100) that would have to be installed and used when leaving terrestrial networks. This unique combination of seamless connectivity in otherwise unconnected locations using standard mobile chips at a fraction of the cost, make it ideal for IoT service providers.  OQ has copyrighted both its base station software within the payload and the chip firmware on the ground.

“Matching the same or as-close-as cellular price, will provide a lot of use cases and open a big market for us”, said Qaise. “That is why we have decided to address this market, in particular in rural and remote areas such as Africa, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas, where infrastructure is lacking. We are incorporating the cell towers into the payload of our LEO telecommunication satellites, which offers opportunities for many latency-tolerant and low-latency applications.”

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has accomplished a key milestone in the development of a missile tracking satellite prototype for the Space Development Agency (SDA).

The completed Preliminary Design Review (PDR) defines the spacecraft’s design baseline for delivery to SDA and allows the program to move to the next stage of delivering ground-breaking new capabilities at speed. When completed, the satellites will provide the capability to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles via overhead persistent infrared sensing from LEO.

L3Harris received the tracking layer prototype award in 2020 to develop and integrate an end-to-end satellite system under a $193 million firm fixed-price contract. Total period of performance runs through 2025 and covers four space vehicle launches.

L3Harris is prioritizing investments in end-to-end satellite solutions in spacecraft, payloads, ground software and advanced algorithms. L3Harris is also developing a prototype for the Missile Defense Agency’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor.

“We’ve worked closely with SDA to ensure our design taps proven technology that can scale to address the changing mission,” said Ed Zoiss, President of L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems. “We understand the threat and are focused on delivery.”

Sateliot has obtained the provisional authorization from the Spanish Government, through the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (Mineco), necessary to start its 5G-IoT services. Sateliot is the satellite operator that will launch a constellation of nanosatellites to universalize the Internet of Things with 5G coverage.

This authorization allows the different terrestrial terminals located in different points of the peninsular geography to connect to the signal offered by the satellite that Sateliot launched into space last March aboard the Soyuz rocket.

So far the company already has everything in its favor to carry out the main objective of the mission: to start the testing phase of its technology in real environments with entities with which it has collaboration agreements, such as its partner Alen Space, with which it has developed the satellite payload, or the Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), with whom it will work on different use cases, as well as with other strategic organizations that join this unprecedented R&D project.

The results of these technical tests over the next few months will provide Sateliot with very useful information for the evolution and integral design of its nanosatellite constellation, which is scheduled to start offering commercial service in 2023.

The provisional authorization for the use of the orbit-spectrum resource granted by the Ministry refers to the UHF frequency band, which will be used by the company for the first tests.

Orbit-spectrum resources are limited resources allocated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to national administrations. Satellite operators such as Sateliot must first apply for this resource through an administration and then obtain a license in each country where they want to operate so that their satellites have the right to transmit.

After obtaining the provisional authorization from the Ministry, the company has already initiated steps to obtain the relevant licenses in the United States, France and Brazil, as the first steps for the execution of tests and demonstration of use cases at a global level.

According to Jaume Sanpera, CEO of Sateliot, “the authorization we have received from the Ministry allows our project to start the testing phase, which will begin to materialize in the coming weeks in Spain and will be extended to the rest of the world in the coming months to reach its full development and commercial operation in 2023.”

Sateliot is the first satellite telecommunications operator that will provide global and continuous connectivity to all the elements that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT) universe, such as the connected car or home, under the 5G protocol. Thanks to a constellation of state-of-the-art nanosatellites, located at low altitude and acting as mobile towers from space, Sateliot is the perfect complement to large telecommunications companies by providing them with the necessary infrastructure to extend their coverage where terrestrial technologies do not reach. More information on our website, Twitter and LinkedIn.

SpaceLink has selected SEAKR Engineering, Inc. (SEAKR) to provide key payload technology for the firm’s relay satellite system.

SEAKR is developing technologies for DARPA and the U.S. Space Force and will provide advanced on-board processing for the SpaceLink network (infographic below), which provides secure, continuous, high-capacity communications for time-critical service between spacecraft and the ground.

Working together with SpaceLink, SEAKR is developing an advanced, high-performance processor that integrates with optical and radio frequency (RF) signals. The processor on each of SpaceLink’s MEO satellites will control and direct data traffic to optimize the capacity and availability of the network in response to customer demand.

SEAKR, a firm that just agreed to a definitive acquisition by Raytheon Technologies, is a leading-edge provider of advanced electronics for space applications and is developing one of the central technologies for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) Blackjack satellite network.

The SpaceLink relay system, planned to launch in 2024, will provide operational connectivity to commercial and government space missions using both RF and optical links to the relay satellites and laser crosslinks to route traffic to any SpaceLink ground entry point, and on to the users’ Mission Operations Center. The system will support the growing bandwidth demand and security requirements of commercial, civil, and U.S. and allied national security missions.

With the growing space economy and proliferation of spacecraft in LEO, the demand for fast, continuous, high-capacity connectivity is accelerating. SpaceLink’s unique architecture and location in MEO means the satellite constellation always has direct line of sight to satellites, space stations, tugs and servicers in LEO, as well as to its dedicated Gateway Earth Stations. SpaceLink will relieve the bandwidth bottleneck for organizations that need to transport data quickly and securely to users anywhere in LEO or on Earth.

The SpaceLink relay network is designed to pick up where the U.S. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) leaves off and go beyond with unprecedented capacity that leverages today’s technology advances. Enhancing the business case for Earth Observation (EO) companies, commercial space stations, satellite servicers, and space tugs, SpaceLink also meets requirements for the U.S. Government and close allies that want to leverage industry solutions.

“SEAKR and SpaceLink are aligned in our strategic planning and technology roadmaps,” said Dave Bettinger, SpaceLink CEO. “SEAKR is fully compliant with U.S. government standards and cybersecurity requirements, and our processor development and production will be done on U.S. soil by U.S. persons. For critical payload components, we know this is important to many of our customers.”

”SEAKR has developed multiple on-orbit reconfigurable payloads for both commercial and military missions for multiple orbital domains. The SpaceLink satellite communication processor leverages decades of successful missions and will represent one of the most capable systems deployed,” said Dave Jungkind, SEAKR’s Vice President of Business Development.

“We share SpaceLink’s excitement about the prospects for a relay system that provides continuous connectivity for spacecraft in LEO,” said Scott Anderson, president and co-founder of SEAKR. “Our agreement with SpaceLink enables us to move forward with development of the advanced, high-performance processor that meets SpaceLink’s relay requirements. Our companies have great synergy and we are enthusiastic to move forward with all the technical requirements and interfaces.”

About the companies

SEAKR Engineering, Inc. (SEAKR) is a leading supplier of space qualified state-of-the-art electronics for advanced processors, networked systems, reconfigurable radio frequency (RF) and electro-optical (EO) payloads, and digital channelizers/beamformers.  These systems use SEAKR’s Radiation Hardened system By Design (RHBD) techniques that have successfully been deployed in over 300 missions with a 100% on-orbit success rate. SEAKR designs, builds, and tests these systems at their facilities in Colorado.

SpaceLink will help advance humanity to a new age of space commerce, exploration, environmental awareness, and security. The Always in Sight data relay system provides global coverage to empower space system operators to maximize use of their assets.SpaceLink Corporation is headquartered in the Washington DC area and has offices in Silicon Valley, California. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited, a public company traded on the Australian stock exchange.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Blackjack program has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) a contract for Phase 2 development of an advanced, software-defined positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) payload, with options to build units destined for space flight.

Northrop Grumman’s advanced, software-enabled PNT payload has been developed to keep forces on target in difficult environments against advanced threats – even if the availability of existing satellite navigation systems are degraded or denied. The PNT payload work is led by Northrop Grumman’s Future PNT Systems Operating Unit in Woodland Hills. The team supports the DARPA Tactical Technology Office’s goal of achieving capable, resilient and affordable national security space capabilities from LEO.

The PNT payload features Northrop Grumman’s Software Enabled Reconfigurable Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Embedded Architecture for Navigation and Timing (SERGEANT) capability. The Phase 2 development effort is valued at $13.3 million if all options are exercised through emulation, critical design and build.

“Northrop Grumman’s software-defined Positioning, Navigation and Timing technology will offer military users an agile new signal from LEO that is not dependent on existing satellite navigation systems,” said Dr. Nicholas Paraskevopoulos, chief technology officer and sector vice president, emerging capabilities development, Northrop Grumman. “Warfighters depend on assured PNT for traditional missions like force projection and joint operations, but also for emerging autonomous and distributed missions.”

OneWeb has successfully launched 34 of their constellation satellites via Arianespace from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

This latest, successful launch brings OneWeb’s total on-orbit constellation to 322 satellites, nearly half of the company’s entire 648 LEO satellite fleet that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.

The successful launch builds on the strategic distribution partnerships and agreements across a wide array of providers and businesses, including several earlier this month, including with AT&T, Hughes Network Systems and Peraton. These agreements, along with others struck earlier with partners including Alaska Communications, BT, and Northwestel, are aimed at bringing improved digital communication services to some of the hardest to reach parts of the world.

Liftoff occurred on September 14 at 7:07 p.m., BST. OneWeb’s satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in nine batches after 3 hours 45 minutes into the flight, with signal acquisition on all 34 satellites confirmed. With this launch, Arianespace also celebrates passing the mark of 1,000 satellites successfully launched to space.

OneWeb remains on track to start service this year at the 50th parallel and above with its constellation and to deliver global service in 2022. The company continues to see growing demand from telecommunications providers, ISPs, and governments worldwide to offer its low-latency, high-speed connectivity services to the hardest to reach places. OneWeb has raised $2.7 billion since November 2020, with no debt issuance.

Neil Masterson, OneWeb CEO, said, “The team continues to stay focused on execution and delivering our network. I am enormously grateful to the team and all our partners who are making these milestones possible. We continue to see a huge and growing demand for our services from global customers, and we are incredibly excited about both introducing commercial service and scaling our global network.”

With the separation of the latest 34 OneWeb satellites, RUAG Space successfully placed more than 1,031 satellites into space.

On Tuesday, September 14, another 34 OneWeb internet satellites have been separated from the Soyuz launch vehicle and placed into orbit with a dispenser from RUAG Space. With this, the Swiss-based space supplier has successfully placed 1,031 satellites into orbit. The RUAG Space separation systems are being produced at the firm’s site in Linköping, Sweden, and the 34 OneWeb satellites were launched with a separation system on a dispenser that was manufactured by RUAG Space. The dispenser system makes it possible to separate multiple satellites at a time in a specific sequence in order to exactly attain the correct orbit.

“When it comes to satellite separations we are leading the market for commercial launch vehicles. Successfully deploying more than 1000 satellites in orbit underlines our leading position in this field and especially in the fast-growing New Space and constellation market,” said Holger Wentscher, Vice President Program Launchers at RUAG Space. “We can offer a 100% success rate and are able to meet customer expectations in the extreme environment of space. We meet customer expectations in extreme environments. Our separation systems ensure that satellite and rocket remain securely attached to one another during the tough journey into space, and then deliver the valuable payloads into orbit with precision.”

RUAG Space is a world leader for satellite separation systems for commercial launch vehicles. All of the more than 1,000 satellite separations have been carried out with a 100 percent success rate. They are the result of an advanced position in the commercial space industry and a long and trusted collaboration with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

RUAG Space is a leading supplier to the space industry in Europe and has a growing presence in the United States. Around 1,300 employees across six countries (Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Germany, USA and Finland) develop and manufacture products for satellites and launch vehicles—for both the institutional and commercial space market. RUAG Space is part of RUAG International, a Swiss technology group, which is divided into four divisions: Space, Aerostructures, MRO International and Ammotec.

Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1) is investing for future growth and is moving their Luxembourg headquarters to a new bespoke facility to incorporate the company’s key functions under the one roof starting on from November 1, 2021.

Located in the newly-built ParcLuxite Business Park in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg, Kleos’ new headquarters will be home to the company’s engineering and operations facilities, housing environmental test chambers and a dedicated clean room space for the assembly, integration and test of sensitive space hardware as well as its mission control center. It enables Kleos to scale its global geolocation data-as-a-service, and further support its additional engineering teams in the UK and the US.

ParcLuxite is a 65-hectare complex dedicated to innovation and high-tech companies on the historical site of the Poudrerie de Luxembourg. It is considered Luxembourg’s equivalent of a mini–Silicon Valley.

Kleos’ satellites detect and geolocate radio frequency signals to improve the detection of illegal and hidden activity such as piracy, drug and people smuggling, illegal fishing and border challenges. Its independent geolocation data complements existing datasets and enhances the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities.

Kleos is rapidly building its satellite constellation and currently has eight satellites in space, flown in clusters of four in close formation, with a third cluster in build for a launch in the coming months onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. Each new cluster launched adds to the data products available to the customer base, with the target to launch up to twenty clusters for near-real time global observation.

Kleos’ COO, Heribert Kraemer, said, “Our new Luxite facility will enable us to be immersed in a tech environment. It will provide Kleos with the right framework to foster innovation and the capacity to support our growing operations. The office will host the mission operations team, global finance, and communications. As we continue to build our constellation and commercialize our data products, we are also increasing our team to support long-term growth. Our newly-built office will provide a great working environment for the team to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our customers.”

Kleos CEO, Andy Bowyer, said, “It’s an exciting period for Kleos as we transition from an R&D company into a commercial provider of geolocation intelligence data. Our new facility will support our constellation growth, enhancing our global coverage and providing our customers with access to specific areas of interest and multiple datasets. Our data is already being delivered to early adopter customers and we are currently in discussion with a number of potential European-based subscribers.”

K

Kleos Space S.A. (ASX: KSS, Frankfurt: KS1) is investing for future growth and is moving their Luxembourg headquarters to a new bespoke facility to incorporate the company’s key functions under the one roof starting on from November 1, 2021.

Located in the newly-built ParcLuxite Business Park in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg, Kleos’ new headquarters will be home to the company’s engineering and operations facilities, housing environmental test chambers and a dedicated clean room space for the assembly, integration and test of sensitive space hardware as well as its mission control center. It enables Kleos to scale its global geolocation data-as-a-service, and further support its additional engineering teams in the UK and the US.

ParcLuxite is a 65-hectare complex dedicated to innovation and high-tech companies on the historical site of the Poudrerie de Luxembourg. It is considered Luxembourg’s equivalent of a mini–Silicon Valley.

Kleos’ satellites detect and geolocate radio frequency signals to improve the detection of illegal and hidden activity such as piracy, drug and people smuggling, illegal fishing and border challenges. Its independent geolocation data complements existing datasets and enhances the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities.

Kleos is rapidly building its satellite constellation and currently has eight satellites in space, flown in clusters of four in close formation, with a third cluster in build for a launch in the coming months onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. Each new cluster launched adds to the data products available to the customer base, with the target to launch up to twenty clusters for near-real time global observation.

Kleos’ COO, Heribert Kraemer, said, “Our new Luxite facility will enable us to be immersed in a tech environment. It will provide Kleos with the right framework to foster innovation and the capacity to support our growing operations. The office will host the mission operations team, global finance, and communications. As we continue to build our constellation and commercialize our data products, we are also increasing our team to support long-term growth. Our newly-built office will provide a great working environment for the team to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our customers.”

Kleos CEO, Andy Bowyer, said, “It’s an exciting period for Kleos as we transition from an R&D company into a commercial provider of geolocation intelligence data. Our new facility will support our constellation growth, enhancing our global coverage and providing our customers with access to specific areas of interest and multiple datasets. Our data is already being delivered to early adopter customers and we are currently in discussion with a number of potential European-based subscribers.”