Working Group D

Integrating Optical Ground Stations into Ground System Architectures for Secure and High-Bandwidth Communications

Description

Traditional radio frequency (RF) wireless communication for satellite-to-ground is hitting a ceiling. Intense competition for scarce spectral licensing, vulnerability to detection and jamming, and hard bandwidth limits insufficient for modern capacity requirements create a bottleneck, as well as a security risk, in global satellite communications (SATCOM) networks. Today, optical inter-satellite links (OISL) support 100 Gbps and beyond for point-to-point communications. In addition to offering high-bandwidth, OISLs are inherently low probability of interception (LPI), low probability of detection (LPD), and low probability of exploitation (LPX). This is because optical beams can diverge several orders of magnitude less (micro-radians) than RF wireless beams. Another natural consequence of this reduced divergence is that free space optical communication (FSOC) exhibits tremendous directional gain, meaning that, for a given link range and bandwidth, an FSOC terminal’s power consumption is much lower than an equivalent wireless RF terminal’s power consumption.

While OISLs have already seen widespread commercial adoption in SATCOM networks, the optical satellite-to-ground segment infrastructure implementation has lagged significantly. Recent developments in optical ground station (OGS) technology have overcome the challenges of optical transmission through atmosphere and standards for space-to-ground FSOC are now defined, such as the ones published by the Space Development Agency (SDA) and Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). There have been several demonstrations of repeatable standards-compliant connections between satellites and OGSs, using new technology to mitigate the channel impairments introduced by atmospheric turbulence. Independent from turbulence, optical links made between satellites and OGSs must also reliably find cloud-free optical paths to ground. This obstacle is overcome through increased investment into building new ground infrastructure. By bringing more OGSs online, ground system architectures gain geographic site diversity. This enables multiple OGSs on a shared network to be utilized in regions with uncorrelated weather patterns, which can then be paired with an OISL mesh relay network to greatly improve the availability of satellite-to-ground optical links.

This working group will examine the current state of global OGS technology and industrialization and review the practical use-cases driving the demand for turbulence mitigation and the integration of OGSs into ground system architectures. The first part of the working group will be presentations from a panel of representatives from various OGS manufacturers and operators regarding the unique advantages and challenges of their product(s). After each presentation, there will be a brief question and answer period. Each presenter will offer a summary of the results demonstrated for satellite-to-ground testing and describe their technology roadmap.

The second section of the working group will consist of presentations from ground system architects and operators regarding their network capabilities and challenges. After each presenter, there will be a brief question and answer period. Each presenter will offer at least one exemplary use-case illustrating why they are considering integrating optical links into their ground system network.

The remainder of the working group will be an open discussion among workshop participants, with the goal of converging on a set of mutual expectations and understandings between OGS manufacturers and ground system architects and operators. Attendees should leave with a better understanding of the advantages and limitations of current OGS technology, roadmaps for future OGS developments, and use-cases driving the desire for integration of OGS into next-generation ground system architectures.

Jeff Huggins, Cailabs US Inc.

Biography

Jeff Huggins is an experienced space, aerospace and defense sector executive, growth leader and currently President of the U.S. arm of Cailabs, a global company and leading player in laser communications. After leaving behind a distinguished career as a Naval Intelligence Officer, during which he focused on national overhead and intelligence systems, Jeff moved into the private sector, where he held senior roles at several major companies, including Israel Aerospace Industries North America and Raytheon. Prior to his current role as President of Cailabs US Inc, he was CEO and Chairman of the board of a U.S. Classified Aerospace/Defense business of a $20B French Aerospace company (Safran) delivering aviation electronics and ground-based satellite/flight test tracking antennas. Jeff, who also worked as a presidential appointee in the State Department, holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from the Darden School of business at the University of Virginia with additional graduate studies at the Naval War College and the Naval Postgraduate School.