Article Archives - ATLAS Space Operations

ATLAS Space Operations becomes newest Gold-level Veteran Friendly Employer

McKenzie Weeks — Thu, 04 May 2023 15:46:14 +0000

Originally published by Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency on May 03, 2023.

ATLAS Space Operations, a veteran-founded business in Traverse City, Michigan, has earned Gold-Level Veteran-Friendly Employer (VFE) status from the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) for its commitment to hiring, retaining and supporting military veterans. ATLAS becomes the 24th employer in Michigan to earn Gold status.

The prestigious Gold-Level designation has been granted to approximately 4% of the more than 571 VFEs across the state for their commitment to supporting veterans and National Guard and Reserve members.

Founded in 2015, ATLAS is the leading provider of ground communications software in the space communications industry. ATLAS has been recognized by the World Teleport Association as one of the fastest-growing teleport operators in the world for the past three years, and ranked #30 on Fortune America’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023.

“ATLAS Space Operations is very proud to reach gold status for Michigan, and proud of how we approach bringing veterans into our company,” says Mike Carey, Strategy at ATLAS Space Operations. “We have found that veterans bring a skill, aptitude and attitude that fits our corporate culture and core values in that veterans are self-starters, lifelong learners, committed teammates, and problem solvers. Our veterans have already demonstrated that they are committed to something larger than themselves with their prior service, and at ATLAS we are pursuing a global challenge of modernizing and simplifying the complex nature of connecting humanity through space via our ground software as a service for the ever-growing number of orbiting satellites.”

With a total of 46 employees, 26 in Michigan, veterans make up approximately 42% of ATLAS Space Operations’ workforce. In the last 12 months the company has hired six veterans and retained 83% of its veteran employees.

“ATLAS Space Operations truly exemplifies what it means to be a Veteran-Friendly Employer,” said MVAA Director Adam Hollier. “They have one of the highest veteran retention rates in the entire state which shows they are doing things the right way to maintain their veteran workforce. I’m proud to see ATLAS join the ranks of our Gold-Level VFEs and hope they will serve as an example to other groups in Michigan. The secret is out that investing in veterans and veteran spouses will lead to more successful outcomes in the workplace.”

ATLAS recently made the jump from Silver to Gold VFE. Among the company’s veteran benefits include a veteran-specific hiring and onboarding process, annual PTO for VA health care appointments, a specific benefit package that includes continued health care coverage for currently serving Guard/Reserve members that are activated and a veteran-specific employee retention program. ATLAS is also a Michigan Veteran Connector.

For more on the VFE program, visit Michigan.gov/MVAA.

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Catalyst Campus gains 3 new aerospace, defense partners

McKenzie Weeks — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 20:22:54 +0000

Originally published by The Gazette on March 15, 2023

Catalyst Campus welcomed three new partners Wednesday that its leadership says will help boost Colorado Springs’ aerospace and defense industry and accelerate technology with the business park.

InTrack Radar Technologies, ATLAS Space Operations and Keta Group joined Catalyst Campus on dowtown’s east edge, where aerospace and defense companies can create public-private partnerships and interact and collaborate with small businesses, startups and others, said Dawn Conley, the business park’s interim senior executive director.

“We’re attracting more and more of these companies into the ecosystem,” Conley said, “which is going to just be an even greater boon for our local economy.”

InTrack Radar Technologies, which specializes in ground-based sensors for radar that aid space and missile surveillance, launched two years ago in Colorado Springs. The company’s

CEO Morgan Nicholson, said his company has been eyeing a chance to locate at Catalyst Campus because of the opportunity it lends businesses to connect with government customers, prime contractors and other small companies that mesh well together.

“I think in the DOD (Department of Defense) especially, a lot of the contracts are very broad and little niche companies like ours really can’t compete alone on those big contracts,” Nicholson said.

“So for small businesses to compete it’s often advantageous for us to group together, band together and go after contracts.”

Nicholson said InTrack Radar Technologies sees opportunities to collaborate with ATLAS, which also joined Catalyst Campus on Wednesday.

ATLAS, a leading U.S.-owned ground network for satellite communications, based in Traverse City, Mich., wanted to expand its presence and operations in Colorado Springs.

“The government programs that we currently support in Colorado Springs, we’re going to manage closer to the customer,” said T.I. Weintraub, the company’s chief growth officer.

“One of the big reasons we’re here is we’re very closely partnered with AWS, Amazon Web Service and Viasat and they’re both on the campus and we’ve integrated our networks with theirs.”

Keta Group, a tribally owned, multifaceted company with expertise ranging from space and defense engineering to disaster response, is also based out of state in Baton Rouge, La.

Company CEO Alton Le-Blanc wanted to capitalize on the support systems available at Catalyst Campus and the network of small businesses found there.

“It’s very exciting to us that we have a footprint right here in the Springs. … We’re going to be here and we’re going to participate and see what we can add,” LeBlanc said.

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Breaking New Ground with AWS Ground Station

atlasspaceoperations — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 18:23:02 +0000

When we started ATLAS Space Operations in 2015, we set out with a clear vision: to disrupt the satellite communications industry. We knew that the data pipe to space goes through ground stations (antennas on Earth) – and to capture that information, satellite operators needed affordable, dependable, and secure software that performs the bulk of Earth-orbit connection to pull data from space. As the market evolved, it was clear that each provider had different solutions focused on their antennas. The only problem was that it was difficult to create a ground network that could cover all the needs of current and future satellites; operators needed more locations on the globe. The solution, as we saw it, was clear: ATLAS would become the simplest and most feature-rich Ground Software as a Service (GSaaS) provider for satellite communications.

Our Approach

We persisted.

Since we began the federation of global antenna networks through our proprietary software, ATLAS has integrated site hardware from:

Seven different antenna vendors (Comtech, Orbital, and Orbit Systems, to name a few)
Five baseband vendors
Four up/downconverters
Numerous RF switches, HPAs, digitizers, and more

Most importantly, our customers connect to a single cloud API to schedule antenna time, perform telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C), receive metrics and data to make decisions quickly, and real time status messages. When the hardware changes, the API remains the same. The end result is that when ATLAS scales, so do our clients, with no new development or hardware to deploy.

Joining Forces with AWS Ground Station

When Amazon Web Services (AWS) first announced their entry into satellite communications with AWS Ground Station, we saw it as an opportunity to advance our federated network and expand ground station coverage for our clients. With our industry expertise, proprietary software, and quick onboarding, we have been able to assume the technical steps required to fully integrate customers onto AWS Ground Station, meaning ATLAS handles all orchestration of cloud resources required to receive data from a satellite, meanwhile AWS Ground Station provides customers with low-latency and low-cost access to AWS services so that they can quickly store and process their data.

Once the ATLAS and AWS fit was established, the path was simple. ATLAS recently became the first provider to join the AWS Solution Provider Program (SSP). This means ATLAS, as part of the Amazon Partner Network, is an authorized reseller of AWS services to end customers. To become a Preferred Partner, the process included AWS thoroughly vetting our architecture and overall solution from a security and best practices perspective.

What does this mean for ATLAS?

ATLAS now offers time on all AWS Ground Station antennas through our Freedom Ground Software as a Service. This allows ATLAS to scale our offering while maintaining our high level of security (NIST 180-171) across an expanded ground network. With the addition of AWS Ground Station, ATLAS now offers far greater options when scheduling downlink minutes for a client’s satellite or constellation.

What does this mean for ATLAS Clients?

Integrate once, access everything.

Existing clients do not need to take additional steps beyond initial verification (licensing, frequency, etc.) since Freedom handles all hardware and software orchestration. In other words, the Freedom API stays exactly the same, but adds more options for downlinking your data. Clients can rely on ATLAS, with hundreds of thousands of successful passes across 41 different sites, to execute simply and reliably.

New clients can approach ATLAS with their satellite orbits and, with greater certainty, meet their latency requirements with quick onboarding and a single provider with access to a federated global network. By eliminating the need for high-cost technical teams, and the need to construct an antenna network, clients can focus on their resources and mission.

A single company is not likely to be able to build enough global coverage to meet the needs of Space 2.0. The future of satellite communications will require users to execute repeated integrations as the number of ground-side providers increases. Alternatively, ATLAS’ clients only integrate once and use our network as a conduit to access a global federated network of antennas. Hence, avoid further integrations as well as avoid added costs even as the network grows.

Are you ready to get to market faster, with lower complexity? Connect with our team today to employ our integration-friendly gateway, Freedom, to receive access to a growing federated global network.

Brad Bode

CTO & Co-Founder of ATLAS Space Operations

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ATLAS Works with AWS to Advance Federated Network and Expand Ground Station Coverage

McKenzie Weeks — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 22:07:00 +0000

Traverse City, Michigan — January 31, 2023 — ATLAS Space Operations, a leading Ground Software as a Service (GSaaS) provider, today announced that it is the first provider to join the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Solution Provider Program (SPP) to resell AWS Ground Station, a fully managed ground station infrastructure which lets customers control satellite communications, process data, and scale their operations. The SPP is an official AWS program allowing specific AWS Partners to resell AWS services to end customers as part of their unique offerings. The SPP will expand ATLAS’ global federated network, a network of networks that work together seamlessly through Freedom, ATLAS’ proprietary software that integrates its global ground network with partnered ground antenna sites. ATLAS clients will now have access to 11 additional ground sites, giving customers low-latency and low-cost access to AWS services so that they can quickly store and process their data. The Freedom software abstracts complexity through features such as flex scheduling, streaming metrics, pass insights, status updates, and one endpoint for all TT&C. This facilitates automation and integration into existing architectures.

AWS Ground Station lets space operators downlink and process their own satellite data without having to worry about building or managing ground station infrastructure. AWS Ground Station provides a global network of ground stations in close proximity to the global network of AWS infrastructure regions.

The work between ATLAS and AWS demonstrates ATLAS’ ability to combine and expand ground networks under a consistent Software as a Service offering. This software forward approach means ATLAS provides a fully managed service where operators have access to 29 ground stations around the world, including the global AWS Ground Station network, which has locations in North America (Hawaii, Ohio, and Oregon), Middle East (Bahrain), Europe (Ireland and Stockholm), Asia Pacific (Seoul, Singapore, and Sydney), Africa (Cape Town), and South America (Punta Arenas). For clients not looking to invest in architecting their AWS Ground Station solution, ATLAS will fully manage all aspects of integration, from cloud formation to data delivery. This allows Satellite Operators to leverage ATLAS’ experience to get to market faster, with lower complexity.

“This work with AWS is a validation of the federated network model, and an immediate boost to ATLAS clients who can now access 11 new ground stations with zero software changes” said Brad Bode, ATLAS Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder. Bode continued, “We’re excited about our relationship because it offers an integration-friendly gateway to expanded space communication services for our clients. The aggregation of multiple networks under one SaaS offers lower latency, pricing flexibility, surge support, and increases operator options, through a common interface.”

About ATLAS Space Operations:

ATLAS Space Operations is a leading provider of Ground Software as a Service solutions in the space communications industry. ATLAS has been recognized by the World Teleport Association as one of the fastest-growing teleport operators in the world for the past three years, and was recognized as the 15th fastest-growing software company in the world in 2020 by Inc. 5000. ATLAS combines the Freedom Software Platform and its global antenna network to achieve its mission of connecting humanity through space. To learn more, visit atlasground.com.

Contact Information:

Dan Carey
Marketing Director, ATLAS Space Operations
+1 (231) 598-6814 ext 105
dcarey@atlasground.com

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Strengthening the U.S.-Africa Partnership in Space

atlasspaceoperations — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 19:31:57 +0000

THE WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT – On December 13, 2022, the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit featured the first-ever U.S.-Africa Space Forum. The Forum reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to collaborating with African partners on the peaceful use and exploration of outer space to meet shared priorities for here on Earth. The Forum highlighted the U.S.-Africa space partnership and cooperation to address 21st century challenges and opportunities, including responding to the climate, biodiversity, and global food crises; promoting responsible behavior in outer space; and reinforcing U.S.-African scientific and commercial space cooperation. Participants in the Forum committed to deepening the U.S.-Africa space partnership across all sectors.

The Forum celebrated the signing of the Artemis Accords by Nigeria and Rwanda, making them the first African signatories. The Artemis Accords are a set of principles to guide the next phase in space exploration, reinforcing and providing for important operational implementation of key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The Accords affirm the importance of implementing best practices and norms of responsible behavior as well as compliance with the Registration Convention and the Rescue and Return Agreement.

Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Nigeria, while Francis Ngabo, CEO of Rwanda Space Agency, signed the Accords on behalf of Rwanda. They were joined on the U.S. side by Assistant Secretary of State Monica Medina, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Bill Nelson, and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, Chirag Parikh. With their signatures, 23 nations have signed the Artemis Accords.

The Forum also discussed the role of the private sector in supporting U.S.-Africa space partnership. A number of U.S. companies have recently announced new investments in the U.S.-Africa partnership, including:

The Rwanda Space Agency and ATLAS Space Operations have partnered to bring a teleport and large satellite antenna to the global space community.
Planet Labs PBC is investing across Africa with a range of stakeholders to deliver daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions that help meet sustainability, economic, and resource management priorities, including supporting decision making on drought risk protection, forest management, and renewable energy. Kenyan company ZEP-RE just announced that it will use Planet’s satellite imagery as it works with the World Bank on drought risk protection in the Horn of Africa.
In furtherance of Nigeria’s goal of providing all of its citizens broadband access by 2025, Nigeria announced that SpaceX’s high-speed, low latency broadband service Starlink is now available in the country, making Nigeria the first country in Africa where Starlink is available.
Zipline is drawing upon space data to expand its aerial logistics services to more government sectors in Rwanda, including the health, agriculture, finance, e-commerce and tourism divisions, and will conduct nearly two million instant deliveries across Rwanda by 2029.

STATEMENT originally posted on whitehouse.gov. Read the original statement here.

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Redefining GSaaS: Ground Software as a Service™

McKenzie Weeks — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:47:38 +0000

Brad Bode

CTO & Co-Founder of ATLAS Space Operations

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) model is ubiquitous. These days, it would be difficult to count on one hand the number of SaaS tools that we interact with every day. Increasingly, businesses are adopting the SaaS model and allowing other businesses to ‘subscribe’ to their professional offerings. In this article, we break down the shift that the satellite communications industry has experienced with GSaaS, or Ground Station as a Service, and the disruptive leap forward ATLAS Space Operations has made in redefining GSaaS — now, Ground Software as a Service.

Background

The satellite communications industry has lagged behind its tech-forward peers in adopting the SaaS model. This is because legacy satellite communication networks were hampered by legacy practices: contracts were large but few, capabilities were rigid, and government investment was the coin of the realm. The climate was prohibitive to new entrants on the ground and space-side alike. Those with their foot in the door were happy to declare “space is hard” — and keep it that way. Only organizations that were supported by government contracts or private aerospace titans could afford to build and operate antennas. Exclusive ownership of ground sites meant antenna time often went unused, and massive potential went untapped. This, coupled with broader consternation about how to make space profitable, kept innovative and dynamic applications on the sidelines. Software solutions and the simple structural magic of Ground Station as a Service, redefined, would have to be patient.

Interim Solution: Leveraging Ground Station as a Service

Slowly, the space landscape began to shift. Private investment saw new value in space, technological advancements afforded new opportunities, and a robust talent pool emerged as students discovered novel pathways for their STEM degrees. Among all of this change, the as-a-Service model finally had its day.

Today, many space communication providers identify themselves as Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS), a derivative of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). With this definition of GSaaS, the provider serves as a data connection, controlling the underlying antenna network between a satellite and an antenna. While this model is a major step forward in the commercialization of space-connected networks, users have limited control of the hardware, and often face the legacy-era challenge of rigid software. This means tasks like initial integration, follow-on changes to availability, and network access fall on the spectrum of difficult to impossible.

Future-Friendly Solution: Leading as a Ground Software as a Service Provider

ATLAS Space Operations is the pioneer of a software-forward improvement upon Ground Station as a Service known as Ground Software as a Service (GSaaS). Through Ground Software as a Service, ATLAS leverages its robust global antenna network as a foundational data conduit and emphasizes the value that can be delivered through a software-centric approach. With the entirety of the ground segment value chain as its focal point, ATLAS uses data and insights to assist customers in pivotal decision-making, removing a considerable engineering burden in the process.

Freedom™ UI Tasks Dashboard

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To adapt to the dynamic SATCOM industry, ATLAS built Freedom on top of the cloud. As opposed to Ground Station, Ground Software as a Service customers receive industry-leading software by a world-class team of experts on a global antenna network. The distinction between station and software is important: A Ground Software as a Service company, like ATLAS, offers more than just serving as a link between a satellite to the operations control center. ATLAS integrates quickly, tests and offers strategic solutions, and prepares for a successful mission by offering a customer-focused software solution. And just like the phone in a consumer’s pocket, when ATLAS has new improvements to share, clients get the added benefit instantly. That’s what Freedom unlocks through a unique software application.

Perfecting a User Interface

The advantage of working with a Ground Software as a Service provider is their ability to simplify complex tasks for clients. This can be achieved through an exceptional user interface (UI). ATLAS’ new UI offers native and never-before-seen features, termed Task Insights and Free Time, that allow users to access data and functions that are essential to successful satellite operations.

Task Insights

Using over 1.8 billion data points, ATLAS’ Freedom Software Platform improves communication reliability and performance by leveraging operations experience with automation. The result is a software platform that analyzes criteria for successful satellite passes and flags anomalies that would be difficult for a human operator to find. This feature is known as Task Insights, and it allows users to leverage data to solve problems quickly as they arise.

Free Time

Free Time offers visibility across the entire network and allows users to identify the antenna time that suits their mission, and reserve it — guaranteed. In a helpful move away from legacy antenna infrastructure that was architected in a way that prohibited sharing, Free Time makes efficient use of the hardware and permits the secure access and configuration of a shared resource. By building a UI from the ground up with operator needs in mind, challenges are mitigated and time is returned to the operator, saving money. Users expect the same intuitiveness they experience in the world around them — Ground Software as a Service and a great UI deliver it.

Getting off the Ground with GSaaS

As the satellite communications industry evolves, so do user requirements. The space-based teams of today need a future-focused, user-centric and software-based approach; something that ATLAS is uniquely positioned to provide. Before sourcing your space communications provider, consider the following:

Does each ground site integration require a separate engineering effort? With ATLAS, you integrate once and access everything.

Does the ground station or customer provide baseband equipment? ATLAS customers are abstracted from site hardware.

How quickly does the mission need to be launched? Is there time for integration? ATLAS onboards users in a matter of weeks.

Are real-time metrics collected for big data processing? Freedom detects pass success/failure before the clients.
What standards does the provider follow to secure data? ATLAS follows the defense-in-depth (DiD), Zero Trust, NIST and FedRAMP standards and strategies.

These are just a few of the many questions that satellite owners and operators should ask a potential provider when moving forward with a cloud-based ground station system. Continuous feature releases, meaningful metrics, and a customer-focused solution should be prerequisites. This is why ATLAS’ Freedom Ground Software as a Service is best positioned for present and future space communications. They are strategically designed to eliminate the need for extraneous hardware or manpower, and instead provide streamlined software solutions that meet customer demand.

ATLAS Space Operations is a revolutionary Ground Software as a Service provider that focuses on the entirety of the value chain, and more importantly, incorporates client feedback from the front lines of space communications. As missions change and needs evolve, SATCOM solutions must have the ability to accommodate those changing needs. ATLAS’ Freedom Software Platform empowers users in the space domain with proprietary tools that enable them to communicate with their satellite with the speed and ease that software-minded providers can deliver.

Click here to view Brad’s original article published in the October 2022 issue of SatMagazine.

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The Importance of a Great User Interface (UI)

atlasspaceoperations — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 17:35:52 +0000

Brad Bode

CTO & Co-Founder of ATLAS Space Operations

Remember that door you pulled instead of pushed only to be denied entry? Yeah, that one with the handle you grab to… push. My kids, after hearing me say this about various things in life, would say, “Bad UI.” And, they’d be right.

A great user interface (UI) impacts many of your daily activities whether you realize it or not. Apple Pay, ATM machines, washing machines, doorknobs, counter top heights… the list goes on and on. There is even a dark side of user interfaces called “dark patterns,” which trick you into doing something you normally would not.

At ATLAS Space Operations, we spent time focusing on the machine-to-machine interface knowing that, some day, we would focus on a new user interface. However, we’ve always felt it’s not enough to simply have a UI. Rather, the UI must offer features that haven’t been seen before, but are essential to successful satellite operations. Task Insights and Free Time are key to that effort.

What is Task Insights?

Since 2019, ATLAS has been internally using a tool called Task Insights within our Freedom software. Now that the tool has been used tens of thousands of times and provided our operations team with actionable information, customers can utilize these insights for their own missions. Task Insights leverages Freedom’s metrics system to examine every detail of the satellite link from the antenna to baseband to cloud connection. With expert feedback, we have isolated 34 different evaluation criteria that determine if a pass is a success or failure.

Examples include:

Did it move through status changes? (Scheduled, Downlinking, Processing, etc.)
Is EbN0 in the expected range?
Is behavior of Antenna Az/E?
Are frame errors nominal?
Was data downlinked?
Were commands sent/uplinked?

As a customer, you may have concerns about the success of your communications. While the ATLAS team is continually monitoring each pass, it is important that you have the same set of tools to perform root cause analysis and respond quickly when necessary.

As “NewSpace” matures, ATLAS is seeing more and more single satellite launches supported by the commercial sector with the intent of testing out new communication sensors. These single satellites often inform 1) future phases of satellite and constellation development, and 2) viability of the mission.

With budgetary and time constraints in mind, companies need to be up and running quickly. Hence, having immediate insight to successful passes is critical. This is just one example of how a great UI can save an organization time and money. Now to push the value even further, ATLAS incorporated the Free Time feature within the UI.

What is Free Time?

There are always trade offs when attempting to schedule passes or contacts. Am I guaranteed the time? If I lose the time will it be detrimental to make contact with my spacecraft? Can I pay more and be guaranteed the time? Can I afford more?

At ATLAS, we understand those tradeoffs and offer a simple solution to visualize the likelihood of receiving the time you need. Free Time gives you the percentage of overlap with conflicting visibilities across the entire network. That means you can pick a 100% pass and be virtually guaranteed access (barring errors).

Obviously for the cost conscious user this gives them the freedom and reliability needed to prove out their business model. No surprises, no unknowns.

What Does This Mean for ATLAS Customers?

For new customers it means they can get started quickly, without performing the costly step of machine-to-machine integration. This reduces friction and engineering expenses allowing smaller, less latency sensitive spacecraft to begin receiving data as soon as possible. Additionally, this assists with onboarding as a new customer.

Rather than wait for engineering team to leverage our API (Java, Python, REST), you can quickly begin the process of testing with features such as:

Adding, removing, or editing satellite configurations
Request time on an antenna
Request a specific visibility
Specify minimum duration requests
Download data
Filter information (Satellite, Visibility, etc)
View upcoming Tasks / Passes
View Task Request details

Obviously this will handle the bulk of all receive only communications with your satellite and, as we like to say at ATLAS, just get started.

Existing customers that have no significant user interface can begin to visualize all of their task requests or make last minute additions to their schedule.

One more thing… It’s free.

ATLAS does not charge additional fees for its User Interface or Insights. Rather, we consider this part of the overall ATLAS value proposition. What’s more, we will be rapidly updating the capabilities embedded in the UI to include the full set of features our API offers (Overrides, metrics monitoring, etc).

To learn more about the Freedom UI or schedule a demo, contact ATLAS. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you achieve mission success.

Click here to view Brad’s original post on LinkedIn.

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Putting the SaaS in GSaaS

atlasspaceoperations — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 19:00:47 +0000

Brad Bode

CTO & Co-Founder of ATLAS Space Operations

If you are a spacecraft operator, it’s important to understand precisely what you are getting when you are selecting a ground station provider. Today, most antenna providers have adopted the term Ground Station as a Service as a way to describe themselves in the marketplace.

When we first started ATLAS Space Operations in 2015, the term Ground Station as a Service wasn’t very well defined and, frankly, didn’t exist. We had the vision to offer the first “service” model for ground stations and, to this day, are considered a pioneer of GSaaS.

However, our vision was never to be solely a ground station provider. Instead, it was to overhaul the legacy built-industry by becoming a software company that provides essential features related to ground station services. Put another way…

ATLAS Space Operations provides Ground Software as a Service

Station vs Software? What is the difference you might ask?

Ground Station as a Service

Ground Station as a Service is really just a subcategory of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), a term that was originally introduced around 2008, but didn’t take hold until 2012. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has the definition of IaaS as:

The capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, and deployed applications; and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls).

Sounds like antenna access, doesn’t it? You don’t own or control the hardware at the antenna location. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Ground Station is the perfect example of GSaaS / IaaS. AWS draws a clear line between what you have to do as a developer and what AWS is responsible for. However, with other companies you still have to deploy your own hardware at the antenna site and process the radio frequency (RF). The only thing this provider is giving you is a copper cable that is plugged into the antenna hardware. Doesn’t describe what you would think of when it comes to Infrastructure as a Service, does it?

Be careful when companies label themselves as GSaaS without first understanding where the boundary is between your infrastructure and theirs. You may be in for a much larger capital expense than you originally budgeted if you have to buy and deploy hardware or write extensive code.

Simply put, IaaS is the data pipe to your spacecraft.

Ground Software as a Service

At ATLAS, we prefer to call ourselves a Ground Software as a Service company, putting us under the Software as a Service (SaaS) banner. The distinction is important because, with ATLAS, you’re not just getting network infrastructure for time on an antenna. You are getting exceptional software by a world class team on a global antenna network.

As a Ground Software as a Service company ATLAS offers a range of capability beyond a data pipe:

User Interface (UI) – All features required to request time, view metrics, and download data. Exceptional features including Task Insights and Free Time visualization.

API – All features available for integration via multiple Machine-to-Machine interfaces (Java , Python, REST).

Streaming Metrics – Near real-time metrics for all hardware streamed via Machine-to-Machine interfaces (A standard since 2015 for ATLAS)

Hardware Validation & Analytics – Immediately provides visualized and detailed evaluation of each and every pass performance through Task

Integration & Testing – Software testing tools for API integration, such as telemetry playback, command validation, and data storage simulation in addition to providing equipment for end to end testing in your lab.

Documentation and Onboarding – clear and consistent documentation with an easy to understand, step by step, onboarding process

Data Transformation – Federated network enabled with mixed-modem capabilities and frame header translation.

Backup, Recovery , and Archiving – Site backup, cloud backup, and options for short or long term archiving of data.

Hardware & Baseband – Software management / Orchestration

Consistent Abstraction – Metrics, telemetry, and commanding should all appear the same to the customer no matter the underlying hardware or software. I.e. Do not place the burden of integration on the customer.

Real-time Overrides – Operators need to adjust modem parameters before and during live passes without needing to know the specific hardware (ATLAS API Only).

Frequent Software Features and Patches – ATLAS averages 3-4 software updates per week (backwards compatible).

Being a Ground Software as a Service company requires being a software company first, rather than an infrastructure owner / operator. As a software company, the infrastructure is simply a means to an end, instead of the focus. The offering of additional software services atop the infrastructure data flow is where the software company spends the most time. They add features on a regular basis, fix bugs as they arise, and continually push to offer a better solution so that customers do not have to devise new products to fill gaps.

Ground Software as a Service is the inevitable end product of where Ground Station services are headed. Aside from cost and location of antennas, the lines between providers will blur, which leads customers to look towards software features as the differentiator. At ATLAS Space Operations, we pride ourselves on listening to our customers’ needs and offering novel software solutions.

Contact ATLAS for more information about our Ground Software as a Service offering.

Click here to view Brad’s original post on LinkedIn.

The post Putting the SaaS in GSaaS appeared first on ATLAS Space Operations.

Ground Segment Value Chain

atlasspaceoperations — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 19:12:52 +0000

Brad Bode

CTO & CIO, ATLAS Space Operations

So you are nearing the launch of your spacecraft and thinking about which ground system provider to use. There are many questions that should come to mind including:

Should I integrate just one? Or do I need multiple ground systems to gain enough global coverage for my mission?
Can my team integrate in time for launch?
How can I be guaranteed the minutes I need with certainty? Do I have to deploy my own hardware?
Is my spacecraft radio compatible with the modem at the site?

To expound on all the questions you should ask would require a multidisciplinary team of software, hardware, and RF experts.

Hopefully by the time you have selected your spacecraft radio frequency (RF) you’ve evaluated ground providers as well. But what else is there to consider when selecting a provider? All a ground provider does is give access to rack space and an RF Feed right?

No.

Ground service providers offer a range of services from simple rack space to commodity hardware accessed by a VPN tunnel. However, it is worth evaluating the entirety of the chain with respect to the work your team will have to perform to integrate. If you are launching your first test spacecraft, and need 2 full time engineers to perform integration with ground providers, it can dramatically affect your costs. As a result, you have to ask yourself: what will I get in return from each ground service provider?

If you are launching your first test spacecraft, and need 2 full time engineers to perform integration with ground providers, it can dramatically affect your costs.

So let us take a look at the critical questions that you’ll need to answer

Antenna Time – Ground service providers are all going to allow access to an antenna feed, it’s just a question of where you tap into the RF Chain. As you proceed you’ll need answers to the following questions:

Is the Radio Frequency directly into your own rack of equipment?
Does Digital Intermediate Frequency that has to be processed in the cloud? Or can you gain efficiency by processing at the ground?
Do you have to purchase additional baseband equipment and place it at the site, mandating your own Firewall and RF Switch as well?

All of these questions can dramatically affect the profit and loss of your company. You don’t need a reminder that modems are expensive. Unless you are one of the companies that can afford a dedicated antenna at each location you need, you must fully grasp the hidden costs of processing RF data.

Baseband – To process the RF signal you will need baseband equipment (Modem, Front End Processor, etc). Here you’ll need to consider:

Do you have to purchase this yourself?
Will you ship expensive staff and equipment to each antenna location, or rent hardware to test your spacecraft?
Does the ground network provider assist you in testing?
Do they provide a dedicated test network with which to integrate?
Do they ship you baseband equipment to perform an end-to-end compatibility test?

A dedicated test network not only speeds integration, but reduces overall risk. Software solutions that rapidly onboard and de-risk via testing are essential.

These are more than logistical questions, they get to the total cost of running and maintaining hardware.

Network Operations – 24/7 Network operations is the norm across the industry. However, it’s important to understand if they collect metrics (data samples from the hardware) and have a system for providing feedback when an anomaly occurs. It’s not a question of if something will go wrong, but when. Your ground provider should know when a pass has gone badly before you do. If they don’t or can’t provide real time metrics then you aren’t getting full value.

Licensing – Ground Providers should have in-house staff to help with spacecraft licensing in any country they own an antenna. They need to advise you as to the regional rules when using their stations. And they need to submit licensing applications with the appropriate lead-time to ensure your mission is not blocked by bureaucracy.

Backhaul – The speed of the network connection to the ground site has a direct impact on latency. All providers must articulate the speed and upgradability of their internet service provider (ISP). They should be transparent about whether it is a shared or dedicated link as well. If your provider is making you pay for ISP costs, then make sure you understand the full price ahead of time. ISP prices vary widely from location to location, much less country to country. If you think fiber is expensive to your home you should see the prices in Barrow, Alaska.

One API – The clarity of the Application Programming Interface (API) for access matters. If a provider requires use of multiple APIs, then you may want to look elsewhere. A single API means less integration effort and risk. Before you sign a contract ask to see their documentation (ICD, User Guide) and plans for de-risking during onboarding. Ask how often they update their software. If it’s once every few months, it’s an indicator they aren’t an agile software company, but rather they write software as a side project. Updates should be weekly to achieve a stable system (bug fixes, added features).

Security – Every company will say they are secure, but if they cannot prove how they address these critical concerns look elsewhere:

Ask what standards they follow? (NIST 180-171, NIST 800-53, etc)
Is it self-audited or a third party? The gold standard is an audit or attestation through a Certified Third Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO).
Are they penetration tested?

Ask for an executive report and proof. To meet the highest standards, penetration tests should be performed by a Certified third party such as NaviSec and include Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) that emulate real attackers as well as follow the Mitre Attack Framework and the PTES Standard.

Orchestration – If you are deploying your own equipment to the ground site (see Baseband) then you will need to write software to control all of the components you deploy. This can range from loading the configurations for modems, front end processors, HPAs, and modifying firewalls. If you are interested in collecting metrics / data points at regular intervals during operations, you will also have to learn and understand the API of each hardware. All of this is effectively a full time job for a software engineer in conjunction with a system architect to align all system components in an orchestrated fashion. If you are not deploying your own hardware, but rather interfacing with the providers’, there are still many questions to ask.

Are you interacting directly with the hardware?
Do they have an API that abstracts away the work and provides you, no matter the hardware, a unified interface?

You may still be responsible for loading configurations, collecting metrics, and recording data. The critical benefit here is to only have code the solution once, no matter the data source.

Scheduling – Choosing the times to access an antenna (visibilities / passes) can be simple, in the case of a single spacecraft, or complicated with a larger constellation. Ensure you are able to address the following:

Does your provider offer any tools to assist in making those choices?

At the very least, they should provide a means to select a minimum contact duration, in conjunction with a maximum. From a scheduling perspective this is one key way to increase quality of service. Rather than completely rejecting one customer, the scheduler can provide both customers with their minimum ask.

Does your provider have an API to give your team better insight into time that is actually free from conflicts?

If you are running on a congested antenna, this is one way to quickly find a high quality contact.

Lastly, is there ways to pick a time window you would like a pass in?

With this capability, you will have to code less “back-and-forth” if you aren’t paying dedicated premium pricing. Just input the number of passes you want in 12 hours and let the algorithm choose for you.

Data Collection & Delivery – If you are in charge of your own equipment, it’s your job to collect the data, stream it, back it up locally, and push it to the cloud as needed. Both at the site and in the cloud, you have to consider retention policies, security policies, disaster recovery, scaling, and price controls for the raw data (nevermind the processed data). Important considerations to address are:

Is your provider already cloud-integrated and managing this for you? Or do you just get a stream of data and if you fail to connect, is it gone?
Will it take one or two full time engineers to build, test, and maintain this portion alone?

You have to consider that you may be in charge of a much larger and more complex system architecture than you anticipated when deciding to build your spacecraft.

Analytics – Metrics covering all ground hardware can be used for analysis. They provide you insight in aggregate form, hence you’ll want to to know if:

Your provider can deliver a stream for real-time analysis?
Are the metrics streamed at sufficient frequency to be useful?
Do they store the metrics for later analysis, including long-term trends and machine learning?

Without near real time hardware metrics you are flying blind. You should never have to request metrics after your pass has completed in order to diagnose issues.

These metrics can be critical to early diagnosis if your anomaly is with the spacecraft or the ground system. Finally, if you have to build a system to both collect, store, and analyze ground hardware data you are performing tasks outside the scope of operating a spacecraft and add yet more cost to your company.

User Interface – Not all customers are focused on machine to machine integration. Rather they simply need manual interaction to “just get started” with a ground provider via a web based interface. Other customers who are fully integrated via an API may also want the capabilities exposed in a dashboard so they do not have to integrate into their own UI. Does your provider have a user interface that allows:

Viewing visibilities?
Requesting time on an antenna?
Visualize unused / free time on the system so you have greater insight when booking essential tasks?
Download receive data?
Visualize metrics / data points across a pass execution?
Display whether or not the pass was a success (from the ground system side)?

Considering the entirety of the value chain requires a multidisciplinary approach and a systems design understanding. We must move towards solutions that reduce the engineering burden on the spacecraft owners and operators. While launch costs have recently decreased, we need further disruptions in the ground segment to accelerate access to space data. As a pioneer in GSaaS (Ground Station as a Service) ATLAS Space Operations has been leveraging our expertise to build a system that addresses the entirety of the value chain.

Click here to view Brad’s original post on LinkedIn.

The post Ground Segment Value Chain appeared first on ATLAS Space Operations.