It has been said that since the dawn of the internet, every company has become a tech company in some way. One common misconception is that satellite communications technology has been inextricably linked to larger technological advancement and integration.
In practice, the innovation of ground-based satellite communications infrastructure lagged far behind the leaps that were made both in the space-tech industry, and in the global economy, for decades.
In this sense, many ground communications companies have worked to aid the advancement and adaptation of technology for broader applications while their own practices stagnated.
A wave of technology swept the world as the internet revolutionized the way that we communicate, learn, and do business. Devices became smart and required greater bandwidth. Population, connectivity, and demand for data grew exponentially, as technological resources swelled to accommodate that growth.
In the midst of this, ground-side satellite communications companies worked to get the most out of their aging infrastructure without having to fundamentally change the way that their service was provided. It was at this juncture that ATLAS identified the need for a revolutionary approach to address an aging system that was not user friendly.
ATLAS’ Freedom™ Platform represents a combination of revolutionary software and hardware working together in harmony to create a satellite communications solution that embraces new technologies, while maintaining strict security protocols and setting new standards for latency and scalability.
In order to represent a tangible departure from legacy ground stations stuck on Cold War hardware, Freedom™ had to be different from the ground up. As a result, Freedom™ represents an answer to the question of outdated practices and standards in satellite communications. Simplicity, speed, and cost are the foundation of the Freedom™ Platform, steeped in maximum technology uptake and an emphasis on software application.
When space companies talk about simplicity, things can get complicated pretty quickly. With Freedom™, we chose to address the complex aspects of space communications up front to save our clients time. We took care of some heavy lifting on the back end, building in features like the Freedom™ Pass Server to ensure that our clients are sending and receiving their data in a way that provides stringent security, intuitive planning, and careful task management.
Through modernization and innovation, Freedom™ delivers time-based, multi-factor authentication through a single VPN entry point to access real-time data and satellite telemetry control across multiple ground stations. All of this technological advancement is only useful to our clients when it saves them time and provides added value. To deliver this, we created a beautiful and intuitive interface for Freedom™ so that when our clients need to access their critical information, it’s available to them in a digestible and accessible manner. At ATLAS, simplicity means effectiveness.
So much of the work that relies on Freedom™ is time-sensitive. Whether it’s imagery that drives intelligence on geopolitical hot zones or terrestrial weather data that will provide early natural disaster warnings to millions of people, our clients simply can’t wait. What good is an intuitive interface if it means increased costs or slower speeds? We found unique ways to save time and deliver rapid results for our clients. Most importantly, we have made drastic enhancements to automate as much of the data transfer process as possible.
Freedom™ is designed to provide “lights out” operations. This is made possible by automating command and control, putting humans on the loop rather than in the loop. To achieve this high degree of automation, Freedom™ prepares the hardware and software necessary for a given satellite pass in advance, drastically reducing configuration time and maximizing the efficiency of a ground station. The result is a seamless communications platform that delivers precious data quickly, safely, and cost-efficiently.
Technology has consistently made the products that we use smaller, faster, and cheaper. Televisions and cell phones are great examples of improving an offering while lowering its cost — and we have advancements in technology to thank. Similar advancements have taken decades to ripple through the satellite communications industry. Finally, Freedom™ represents a revolution in size, speed, and cost savings.
Through Freedom™, software delivers intelligent efficiency, hardware provides robust support and security, and our clients are able to submit their requirements and get back to work. The result is a solution that represents the core of ATLAS’ mission: Connect Humanity Through Space.
When we talk with our clients about what is most important to them in their communications solution, they’ll identify things like security, latency, and flexibility. Those requirements have guided Freedom™, and we’ve built in added features to deliver the best service available in the industry.
When our team talks about Freedom™, the one aspect that they always come back to is the people behind it. The ATLAS community works diligently to make space accessible for all, and to bring space communications into the future.
