Page 88 - SAMENA Trends - January-February 2023

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

UK Space Agency Announces £50 Million for Satellite Communications

The UK Space Agency has announced £50 million of funding for on a sector already worth £16.5 billion to the UK economy. We are
ambitious and innovative projects that will supercharge the UK’s determined to invest in our world class satellite technology sector,
satellite communications industry. The funding, which is part of which is why I committed £1.8 billion for UK participation in ESA
the European Space Agency (ESA) Advanced Research in Tele- programs over the next five years and recently committed £190
communications Services (ARTES) program, is available for a wide million specifically to participate in international telecommunica-
range of projects, such as developing new satellite constellations, tions missions. This latest £50 million UK Space Agency funding
the ground systems needed to access them, or whole end-to-end will help more companies into our vibrant fast growth UK space
systems delivering new services to customers. These could in- telecoms sector, helping drive both growth and wider UK economic
clude integrating 5G systems to unlock connectivity for people and resilience. The UK already has a fast-growing satellite communica-
machines through upgrading infrastructure to enable new markets tions industry, with services contributing £10.4 billion to the econ-
and services such as drones or driverless haulage, creating space- omy and to the creation of more than 26,600 jobs. Successful com-
based networks to rival cable-based terrestrial ones, and helping panies will have the opportunity to help kick off the next generation
UK space operators to use disruptive new technologies and busi- of satellite communications hardware, paving the way for services
ness models to enable global operations. Science Minister George that can provide better quality connectivity in remote and hard-to-
Freeman said: Developing UK space capabilities and maximizing reach places, higher bandwidth, lower latency, and increased se-
commercial opportunities are key to the National Space Strategy, curity. UK Space Agency CEO Dr Paul Bate said: This is an exciting
as part of our plans to become a leading power in space and build time to be involved in the satellite communications industry as
the world increases its dependence on these services to manage
business, travel, security, infrastructure, connectivity, and more.
This funding will help UK companies that have the right expertise
and ambition to become global players in this market and lead
on ground-breaking technologies that will enhance the wider UK
space sector, create jobs and generate further investment. I look
forward to seeing the results of the competition and following the
successful projects in their next steps. The UK is a leading investor
in ARTES, having committed £190 million to the program at the
ESA Council of Ministers in November. Previous UK projects fund-
ed by ARTES include Sunrise, supporting the delivery of OneWeb’s
first generation platform and user terminals for a UK-wide supply
chain, and Pioneer, working with companies including Spire Global
and AAC Clydespace to develop infrastructure that will enable new
service providers with low cost and quick access to space.

Viasat Awarded Satellite Communications Managed Services Contract by

USMC

Viasat Inc. announced it was awarded a contract to provide end- Stand in Force rotational deployments with on-demand satellite
to-end satellite communications (SATCOM) support through a connectivity and data transport. The SaaMS is designed to provide
fully managed service to the United States Marine Corps (USMC). greater flexibility to meet changing connectivity demands, support
The contract is an extension following a successful pilot and Multi-Domain Operations, and increase the safety of deployed
follow-on service program in the government’s FY22 through forces through reliable and resilient communications. “Viasat is
which Viasat delivered a fully managed SATCOM as a Managed very excited to continue its partnership with the Marine Corps and
Service (SaaMS) solution to the USMC I Marine Expeditionary provide a fully managed SATCOM service that offers a dynamic
Force (I MEF), the Marine Corps’ largest warfighting organization. and scalable solution to meet the demands of expeditionary
This is the first commercially developed SaaMS implemented by forces,” said Craig Miller, President of Viasat Government Systems.
a USMC command. Under this fully managed SATCOM service, “This is a modern SATCOM service that is designed to deliver the
Viasat has provided I MEF with a resilient beyond-line-of-sight performance, flexibility and rapid deployment capability Marine
communications capability that is both scalable and rapidly expeditionary forces need – supporting operational readiness and
deployable to meet contract and operational requirements. This enabling the USMC to easily leverage surge capacity for specific
commercially developed SaaMS capability has enabled I MEF mission needs. This SaaMS solution is a critical piece to achieving a
to extend its command and control (C2) to the tactical edge, decision advantage in a modern information and communications
supporting Marine exercises, Marine Expeditionary Units and warfare environment.”

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