Future Of The Satellite Communication Space

Aerospace and Defense Review | Monday, July 11, 2022

Satellite communication will likely find applications in satellite-directed air traffic management, personalized land mobile radio broadcasting, and aeronautical satellite communication.

FREMONT, CA:  The opportunities in the satellite space are thriving at an incredible step in broadband IP services, military & defense applications, and ground- and space- segment products & services. These technologies have skilled significant breakthrough efficiencies and improvements in performances in very recent times over the last decade. Nevertheless, these advancements have happened concurrently with vast performance gains by other telecommunication and IT systems.

The Role of Satellites in Day-to-Day Communication

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Few people know that a major part of day-to-day communication happens through satellite and not ground cables. At one time when ground cabling carried a vast portion of communication. Still, today it is assisted by new satellites, especially geostationary models, helping almost continuous and total global coverage.

This almost constant global coverage assists in realizing many remote healthcare services, like remote health monitoring, emergency communication, and assistance in search or rescue operations. A very recent trend is extended to tele-diagnosis. These and several other associated services can now be implemented at almost any under-serviced or remote location on Earth. This would have been unattainable without satellite communications.

Trends in Satellite Communication

• Transmitting Data from Observation Satellites: Numerous observation satellites have been developed to continually monitor the Earth for searching the environment and forecasting weather. These satellites possess space radio stations, collecting data and transmitting it back to the Earth through feeder links.

• Data Transmission Using Deep Space Probes: The power, volume, and mass of the onboard equipment in deep space probes are strictly limited, so the transmit power and antenna diameter are also restricted. Thus, a high-power transmitter and huge receiving antenna are generally equipped in the ground station to compensate for the onboard limitations.

• Communication within the Clusters of Satellites: The functions generally carried out by one huge satellite can be allocated to several interlinked and co-located smaller satellites. Each satellite may be assigned with a distinct function, but on the whole, this cluster would act as one huge satellite.

• Maneuvering synchronization and cooperative control are crucial for maintaining safety boundaries within the colocation slots. LEO satellite monitoring and control systems are controlled using connectivity extended by GEO satellites.

• Internet Broadband Service to Space Planes and Aircraft: High-speed access to the internet is possible in several aircrafts today. Similarly, Unattended Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and high-altitude platforms are promising for optical communication system applications.

• IoT and Connected Car: IoT and Connected cars are new GaGa in the satellite industry. Every operator is adding the connected car portfolio as an emerging segment.4 LEO satellites: LEO satellite-based High Throughput data supply is taking huge momentum to meet the high capacity requirement with low latency

While these are the most significant trends, there are a few others like the setup of benchmarks depending upon Digital Video Broadcast (DVB), application of inter-platform links and optical inter-satellite, use of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) in satellite networks, and onboard switching application considering the quality of service (QoS) ruling the satellite space.

Latency: A Major Challenge to Satellite Communication Advancements

The main challenge satellite communication faces is latency – delays caused due to switching and distance. This does not matter with broadcasts or web browsing. Still, it is important where quick communication is needed between consumers who are just a few miles (say 3,000 miles) away as an aircraft flies (but more than 70,000 miles apart if the signal bounces through a satellite).

It is a question of great concern for surgeons to control robotic operating equipment during surgery in another country, which gets quite annoying in video conferences. Also, for the ADAS domain, satellite communication is not suitable as it needs very low latency.

Future of Satellite Communication

Forecasting the future is uncertain in Science. Nonetheless, in the satellite space, there's a trend for elevating flexibility, capacity, and service availability in addition to increasingly lighter, more compact, affordable, and ergonomic personal and ground terminals.

Satellite communication will likely find applications in satellite-directed air traffic management, personalized land mobile radio broadcasting, and aeronautical satellite communication. It is justified to expect incessant gains concerning intelligent space communications systems. Noteworthy new technologies are yet to be developed in the satellite communication space.

As the world economies turn out to be increasingly global and as all global parts, the atmosphere, and the oceans are exploited by mankind, the need for efficient wireless interlinks through satellite and terrestrial wireless communication will expand. Furthermore, the increased usage of space systems (planetary, manned, and unmanned bodies) will give rise to the need for enhanced space communication systems.

The future of the satellite communication space depends upon how successful the present satellite networks are. Seamless interworking with terrestrial core networks and terrestrial wireless access networks is of utmost significance for the satellite networks' success. With revolutionary advancements in satellite communication, it's possible to bring several space-age fantasies to life.

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