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The falling costs of space launch and the increasing capabilities of small satellites have enabled the emergence of radically new space architectures—proliferated constellations made up of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of satellites in low orbits.
Several commercial companies plan to establish space internet constellations consisting of hundreds to thousands of satellites, each to create global internet services. Starlink and its competitors, such as OneWeb, Telesat and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, have embraced a new approach to satellite internet. Rather than placing a couple big satellites in geosynchronous orbit, these companies want to place thousands of broadband satellites in low Earth orbit. These satellites are only a few hundred miles above the Earth so they can cut down delays to around 20 milliseconds, which is hardly noticeable from a user’s perspective.
By 2027, SpaceX plans to have as many as 12,000 Starlink satellites in orbit beaming high-speed internet to tens of millions of customers around the planet. In addition to Starlink, OneWeb and Telesat have both announced their intention to create LEO broadband constellations with 650 and 292 satellites, Backed by Virgin Group, OneWeb is building a new global knowledge infrastructure accessible to everyone, particularly in rural areas in just 10 years, according to Greg Wyler, the founder of the company. Iridium company recently completing a two-year upgrade of its global communications network, replacing all of its satellites and upgrading the supporting ground infrastructure. Iridium’s satellite constellation now consists of 66 operational space vehicles and nine on-orbit spares.
The U.S. DOD plan to draw from a deepening well of commercially available satellite communications (SATCOM) technology to enhance military internet tactical networking for warfighters on the ground, in the air, and at sea. The idea is to capitalize on commercial communications satellite constellations under development to reduce military SATCOM costs, as well as enhance reliability and data throughput.
There’s a problem though. In their haste to get satellites up and running and beat out competitors, few of these satellite companies actually bothered to hammer out a set of standards that would let their satellites communicate with other firms’ satellites.
New constellations that are in different stages of acquisition are procuring single-waveform cross-link communication systems that meet their mission’s or business objective’s particular needs to interconnect their own constellation. These single-waveform systems are only capable of talking to other systems that support that particular waveform, almost exclusively consist of custom-made components, and have little to no reconfigurability.
While most waveforms operate within the same wavelength band, they differ in wavelengths, polarization, clock rate, spatial acquisition sequence, modulation format, framing, and error correction coding. As each constellation acquires its own proprietary communications links, satellite communications (SATCOM) becomes severely fragmented with only isolated islands of connectivity.
Space-BACN aims to overcome today’s lack of on-orbit interoperability among current and future space communications. As part of its Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node (Space-BACN) program DARPA is bringing together a team of experts to standardize communications between the ever-increasing hoard of satellites. The end goal, according to DARPA, is a type of “internet” of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that lets civil, government, and military satellites easily communicate with each other.
Space-BCN Program
Intersatellite links are links between satellites. Intersatellite links (ISL) can be considered as particular beams of multi-beam satellites; the beams, in this case, are directed not towards the earth but towards other satellites. For bidirectional communication between satellites, two beams are necessary—one for transmission and one for the reception. There is yet no standardization of communications or optical intersatellite links in this domain, researchers point out.
Instead, the Space-BACN program seeks to create a reconfigurable space-to-space optical communications terminal that can connect heterogeneous constellations that operate on different optical intersatellite link specifications that otherwise would not be able to communicate with one another.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a space-based communication node with the goal to create a reconfigurable, multi-protocol intersatellite optical communications terminal that is low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C), easy to integrate, and will have the ability to connect heterogeneous constellations that operate on different optical intersatellite link (OISL) specifications that otherwise would not be able to communicate.
Space-BACN seeks to develop an intersatellite optical communications terminal that is low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C); easy to integrate; and operate on platforms in low Earth orbit (LEO). The project involves space-based communications, optical intersatellite links, reconfigurable modems, modular components, and space command and control.
The Space-BACN program aims to revolutionize the way space-based communications work by developing low-cost, high-speed reconfigurable optical datalinks to connect various low-earth orbit (LEO) constellations…and we’re looking for the best minds out there to help us make this a reality.
The core of Space-BACN is a reconfigurable, multi-protocol low SWaP-C optical communications terminal that can support most current and future single wavelength waveforms in space up to 100 Gbps, uses less than 100 W of power, costs less than $100k (in production), and can be easily integrated into most satellites. From a networking perspective, the terminal is a physical and link layer device (layer 1 & 2 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) stack). Such a terminal could be reconfigured on-orbit to talk across different standards, presenting a revolutionary leap in technology from the current state-of-the-art.
The Space-BACN program consists of three technical areas — two of which are part of this solicitation: A modular, low SWaP-C optical aperture to separate the front end of the optical intersatellite link from the signal processing via single-mode fiber; and a reconfigurable modem able to support several optical waveforms as fast as 100 gigabits per second on one wavelength.
Technical Area 1 (TA1): A modular, low SWaP-C optical aperture that will separate the front end of the OISL from the signal processing via single mode fiber (SMF). The optical aperture will include an overall terminal controller, responsible for pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) functions, and terminal command and telemetry, as well as transmit (TX) optical amplification and optional receive (RX) low-noise optical amplification.
To achieve the coherent processing needed for flexible high-rate optical communications, an optical aperture must couple light into an SMF. Key challenges include focusing and stabilizing light over highly-variable thermal, shock, and vibration environments; operating on any pair of TX and RX wavelengths within the specified optical bandwidth; and accommodating any of multiple PAT sequences.
Traditional diffraction-limited optical apertures for space are highly engineered, tuned, and hardened, which results in them being incredibly expensive and only producible in small quantities. To reduce cost, Space-BACN aims to simplify the design and automate assembly and tuning of the optical components. The TA1 subsystem may consist of one or more distinct components. Ease of integration is valued, but multi-component implementations are acceptable if there are performance and/or SWAP-C benefits.
Technical Area Two (TA2): A reconfigurable modem that can support multiple optical waveforms up to 100 Gbps on a single wavelength. To date, highly reconfigurable communications systems have only been demonstrated in the radio frequency (RF) domain where bandwidths and data rates are an order of magnitude lower than the optical regime. Recent advances in optical communications and digital signal processing technologies have made a 100 Gbps reconfigurable space terminal within reach. In the fiber datacom/telecom world, the convergence to volume-manufacturable integrated photonic circuits has resulted in ubiquitous, low SWaP-C, high data rate transceivers.
Space-BACN will leverage advanced integrated technologies such as analog-to-digital/digital-to-analog converters capable of sampling at 50+ GSps, narrow linewidth tunable lasers, optical in-phase and quadrature (IQ) modulators, and equalizers. The reconfigurable modem is envisioned to support multiple waveforms within the limits of sampling rate, where a specific single-wavelength waveform includes the details of symbol amplitude and phase, modulation, framing, and forward error correction. The focus is on current and near-future industry-supported waveforms; development of custom waveforms specific to this effort is excluded.
Awards
DARPA has selected 11 teams for Phase 1 of the Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node program, known as Space-BACN. Space-BACN aims to create a low-cost, reconfigurable optical communications terminal that adapts to most optical intersatellite link standards, translating between diverse satellite constellations. Space-BACN would create an “internet” of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, enabling seamless communication between military/government and commercial/civil satellite constellations that currently are unable to talk with each other.
The agency selected teams from academia and large and small commercial companies, including multiple performers awarded first-time contracts with the Department of Defense.
“We intentionally made making a proposal to our Space-BACN solicitations as easy as possible, because we wanted to tap into both established defense companies and the large pool of innovative small tech companies, many of which don’t have the time or resources to figure out complicated government contracting processes,” said Greg Kuperman, Space-BACN program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office. “We used other transactions and were very pleased with diversity of organizations that responded and quality of proposals. After a successful Phase 0 where we got to see the teams sprint to put together an initial architecture design for Space-BACN, I’m excited to get to work in Phase 1 building the actual system.”
In the first technical area, the following performers aim to develop a flexible, low size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) optical aperture that couples into single-mode fiber:
- CACI, Inc.
- MBRYONICS
- Mynaric
The following teams selected in the second technical area aim to develop a reconfigurable optical modem that supports up to 100 Gbps on a single wavelength:
- II-VI Aerospace and Defense
- Arizona State University
- Intel Federal, LLC
The performer teams listed above will also participate in a collaborative working group to define the interface between their respective system components.
In a third technical area, the agency selected five teams to identify critical command and control elements required to support cross-constellation optical intersatellite link communications and develop the schema necessary to interface between Space-BACN and commercial partner constellations:
- Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)
- Telesat
- SpaceLink
- Viasat
- Kuiper Government Solutions (KGS) LLC, an Amazon subsidiary
Phase 1 of Space- BACN spans 14 months and will conclude with a preliminary design review for the first two technical areas, as well as a fully defined interface between system components. The third technical area will develop the schema for cross-constellation command and control, and will conduct a connectivity demo in a simulated environment to test the schema for a baseline scenario.
EOS subsidiary SpaceLink wins DARPA contract, reported in August 2022
SpaceLink is building a constellation of relay satellites in MEO that use optical intersatellite links to speed communications between spacecraft on orbit and users on the ground. Along with other contributors, SpaceLink will assist DARPA in studying and developing protocols for how commercial communications constellations will interact with Department of Defense (DoD) systems in a Space-to-Space interconnected future.
“DARPA’s Space-BACN program is well-aligned with our mission to provide continuous high capacity, real-time links to deliver data from space to the warfighter,” said David Nemeth, Senior Vice President of Systems Engineering at SpaceLink. “DARPA’s vision of interoperability will unlock the value of the proliferating commercial remote sensing constellations for US government agencies. We are gratified to share our technical insights with regard to command and control and API development.”
SpaceLink will contribute its technical insights in the development of the application program interface (API) and algorithms included in Space-BACN Technical Area 3 (TA3). SpaceLink will also have the opportunity to support the simulation and testing that informs the deployment and utilisation of Space-BACN reconfigurable optical communications terminals.
SpaceLink is partnering with Parsons Corporation on a technical approach to support the Space-BACN program by combining Parsons’ existing enterprise scheduling and tasking software with the SpaceLink optical relay network. Together they hope to enable space-to-space optical communications terminals that can be dynamically modified on-orbit to adapt and talk across various optical standards used by different satellite systems.
“The primary drivers for Space-BACN are low cost and ease of use,” Space-BACN Program Manager Greg Kuperman said in a video. “We want this to be an easy decision for someone to put on their system.”
At the completion of Phase 1, selected performers in the first two technical areas will participate in an 18-month Phase 2 to develop engineering design units of the optical terminal components, while performers in the third technical area will continue to evolve the schema to function in more challenging and dynamic scenarios.
DARPA believes streamlined communication between satellites can maximize the potential of satellite-enabled internet. Kuperman said it could be huge win for search and rescue operations across the globe. “Today we’re witnessing the birth of a new domain called proliferated space,” Kuperman said. “This new space domain will usher in a new era of low-cost communications, sensing, and space exploration.”
Intel to Supply Optical Tech, reported in Oct 2022
(DARPA) has selected Intel for Phase 1 of the Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node (Space-BACN) program. Intel is one of the 10 teams selected for Phase 1 of this program. The other teams selected to work on the reconfigurable optical modem include Arizona State University and II-VI Aerospace and Defense.
Intel will develop its optical modem solution using experts from its field programmable gate array (FPGA) product group, packaging technologists from its Assembly Test Technology Development (ATTD) division and researchers from Intel Labs.
Based on its leading-edge low-power Intel® Agilex™ FPGA, Intel will also design three new chiplets that will be integrated using Intel’s embedded multi-die interconnect bridge (EMIB) and advanced interface bus (AIB) packaging technologies into a single multi-chip package (MCP) that includes a DSP/FEC chiplet on Intel 3, the most advanced digital node, that enables low-power, high-speed digital signal processing.
There will also be a data converter/TIA/driver chiplet, which provides the best-in-class FinFET RF signal processing for integration of high-speed data converters, TIAs and drivers. There is also a PIC chiplet based on Tower Semiconductor photonic technologies offers low-loss waveguides and options, such as V-groove, enabling automated high-volume fiber coupling integration and assembly.
At the completion of Phase 1, selected performers in the first two technical areas will participate in an 18-month Phase 2 to develop engineering design units of the optical terminal components, while performers in the third technical area will continue to evolve the schema to function in more challenging and dynamic scenarios.
Mynaric is designing an optical communications terminal for DARPA’s Space Based Adaptive Communications Node program known as Space-BACN, Dec 2022
Laser communications supplier Mynaric is designing an optical communications terminal for DARPA’s Space Based Adaptive Communications Node program known as Space-BACN. The agency is working with multiple vendors to develop a low-cost laser communications terminal that is compatible with government and private-sector optical intersatellite link standards.
DARPA’s goal is to enable seamless communications between government and commercial networks in low Earth orbit.
The Redwire-BigBear.ai cybersecurity technology, called Space Cyber Resiliency through Evaluation and Security Testing, or SpaceCREST, uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze data and predict threats
“SpaceCREST will be a critical tool for the proactive maintenance and protection for government and commercial customers building the next generation of resilient space architectures,” said Dean Bellamy, Redwire’s executive vice president of national security space.
“SpaceCREST will be used to identify vulnerabilities that could affect the terminal or disrupt its operation and then find ways to protect against those vulnerabilities,” he said.
BigBear.ai and space infrastructure provider Redwire signed an agreement in October 2021 to collaborate on SpaceCREST.
References and Resources also include:
https://gizmodo.com/darpa-wants-to-build-an-internet-of-connected-satellite-1849402673
https://spacenews.com/mynaric-redwire-bigbear-ai-partner-for-darpas-laser-communications-program/
