Aerospace and Defense Review : News

The digital era is here and nearly all day to day functions ranging from applying for jobs to finding a reference to complete the school homework are highly dependent on the internet. The launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union triggered the battle for space supremacy in the 20th century. The battle for this century, however, is on a much larger scale, one that involves thousands of satellites. Space tech giants Blue Origin and SpaceX have locked horns in the 21st-century space race, and are competing to enter the orbital space and provide internet to the most remote places on Earth. With nearly half the world's population, almost three billion, still unable to access the internet, the market has great potential for investment. The digital era is here and nearly all day to day functions ranging from applying for jobs to finding a reference to complete the school homework are highly dependent on the internet. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos believes that the goal should be to make broadband available everywhere. Over a dozen companies have put in their requests to U.S. regulators for permission to operate constellations of satellites that will enhance internet connectivity. However, the new wave of space-based internet services faces a lot of hurdles. First, there are the enormous costs involved to launch, and then there are the sophisticated technologies involved. Overcome both, and the service provided becomes unaffordable for its very target audience. Companies like HughesNet and Viasat are presently the big players in the satellite internet markets. The technology used at present involves massive, expensive satellites that are placed 22,000 miles away from the Earth and covers significant territories on the ground. The service, however, is costly, has limited access, comes with data caps and lags, and has very few customers. The new technology being implied by Amazon's Blue Origin and Tesla's SpaceX involves the use of satellites that are smaller, cheaper, and closer to the Earth. This makes signals travel faster and enhances the experience of users, like gamers who require instant responses. OneWeb, backed by Virgin, Qualcomm, and SoftBank, recently entered the space race and is trying to give competition to SpaceX and Blue Origin. Despite the entry of big players, satellite-based internet services continue to remain in its infancy stage as there is still a lot of work to be put in before the technology becomes readily available and affordable to all. Traditional satellites were stationary and relatively simple to manufacture. The technique proposed today involves satellites that are much more complicated to construct and are also much costlier. Recently, SpaceX filed for permissions for the U.S. regulators to build 1 million earth stations that would help connect more customers to the internet. SpaceWorks Enterprises' economic analyst Caleb Williams believes that there is no way this technology will become viable until the cost of production drops. "The logistics of becoming an internet service provider also aren't easy. The new crop of space-internet companies are more likely to set up arrangements with existing telecom companies than try to sell internet service directly because it's easier than setting up a sales and marketing operation of their own," said Williams. See Also:   ZS Associates   ...Read more

Other strategic missions such as GPS, global communications, and remote sensing will be left to the existing Air Force systems and the National Reconnaissance Office . The Pentagon is set to build an all-new military space architecture plan to defend what is being called the ultimate high ground. Space Development Agency acting Director Derek Tournear laid out the Defense Department's vision to prevent adversaries from shutting down the U.S. military space assets. "While the Air Force and the new U.S. Space Command will still develop and control large, exquisite satellites such as GPS and protected communications, the new architecture that the agency will build calls for seven layers, with some of them featuring 200 to 400 small, quickly replaceable spacecraft. The sheer numbers will prevent adversaries from destroying an entire system and enable resiliency through proliferation," said Tournear. Each of these seven layers involves a specific task, including communications, sensing, and targeting. All the tasks will be intended to provide services to the combatant commanders in the field. Other strategic missions such as GPS, global communications, and remote sensing will be left to the existing Air Force systems and the National Reconnaissance Office.  "There won't be a winner-take-all contract for these fleets. Part of resilience calls for multiple satellite makers providing the spacecraft, so there is no single point of failure and to ensure that interoperability is built into the system," said Tournear. The first layer will be command and control on the ground, while the second layer will be a space-based communication system for all the other layers. The second layer, called the backbone layer, will be built first. "The capability envisioned not only does communication from satellite systems but from the ground up to satellites and then to tactical users with the goal being that the transport system will talk directly to fielded weapon systems. So we're going to use the existing user equipment because that's what the transport layer will talk to," Tournear added. The next three will be sensing layers, namely tracking layer, custody layer, and deterrence layer. "Our goal is to get data from sensor (to) the shooter as rapidly as possible. Maybe there are objects that are orbiting out there that we were not aware of so we can detect them and identify them as possible threats,” said Tournear. The final two layers will consist of a battle management layer and a space-based navigation layer. The agency aims to reach initial operating capabilities by 2024. This new system will undergo a technology refresh every two years. "So every two years, we will get more and more capabilities," added Tournear. Check This Out: Digital Asset Management Companies Social Media:  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Linkedin        CIOReview  |  Crunchbase CIOReview  |  Review   ...Read more

The aerospace industry is aiming to produce airplanes more quickly, efficiently, and profitably. As a result, there has been a considerable change in the supply chain management techniques. Thousands of suppliers from across the globe have joined their hands to deliver the world's most efficient air transport vehicles. The global appetite for air travel is ever-increasing, and with it comes a massive demand for airplanes. The surging needs for airplanes and the fast-improving technologies have made it even more difficult for the aerospace industry to effectively address  the rising market demands. The aerospace industry is now aiming to produce airplanes more quickly, efficiently, and profitably. As a result, there has been a considerable change in supply chain management techniques. Here are five key factors, influencing the aerospace and defense logistics. Strict Regulations Governments across the world have begun to implement strict rules concerning tracing the location and history of airline parts, detailed down to serial numbers. Airline parts often come with high price tags and a short life span. Monitoring, maintenance, and repair of these parts must be followed on a specific schedule. Airline companies today want to be able to track each element from the time they were sent for repairs, till they arrive back. The advent of specialized components for different models of airplanes has made sharing of parts across platforms even difficult. This has led to the rise in demand for tailor-made solutions for each airline. Inventory Carrying Costs Minimizing aerospace-related inventory costs will make your business operations more efficient and cost effective. Companies today are striving to achieve highly-skilled, global supply chains that help them to stay competitive. Aerospace companies also rely highly upon airfreight for the supply of parts, due to the expensive nature of components involved. This has pushed companies to seek strategic logistics partners that can guarantee excellent service at lower costs. Check Out : Logistics Tech Startups Top Aerospace Manufacturing Companies   Ramping Up to Meet Demands According to reports, both Airbus and Boeing saw a significant increase in production, with Airbus attaining 11 percent increase and Boeing by 6 percent. Both of the companies have also predicted the passenger growth to average at least 4.5 percent over the next twenty years. With commercial aviation order books reaching an all-time high, multiple new models of airplanes were launched to meet the diverse needs of different airlines. Optimizing Supply Chain An airplane consists of more than 350,000 parts of different sizes that serve different purposes. Shipping these parts to the manufacturing location is a mammoth task in itself as they come from different parts of the globe. As a result, the aerospace manufacturers have begun to prioritize their supply chains, and spend the same amounts of time and money on research and development. Third-party logistics companies enable manufacturers to focus on production while they handle the smooth functioning of supply chains. Lower Fuel Costs Manufacturing airplanes as light as possible, without compromising on quality, is of utmost importance to airlines companies. Lighter planes mean more economical fuel consumption, which in turn increases profits. As a result, the carriers are now shifting their focus and efforts to the production of lighter aircrafts using composite materials. However, in most cases, high purchase and maintenance costs outweigh the reduced fuel costs. Check Out Review Of CIOReview :  Crunchbase ,  Glassdoor Check This Out :  CIOReview Overview ,  Muckrack ...Read more