Distributed Satellite Constellations for Situational Awareness
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Changing the economics of space Distributed Satellite Constellations for Situational Awareness High Tech Small Sat Missions Conference Rome, May 2011 Owen Hawkins
Transcript of Distributed Satellite Constellations for Situational Awareness
Changing the economics of space
Distributed Satellite Constellations for Situational Awareness
High Tech Small Sat Missions Conference
Rome, May 2011
Owen Hawkins
All Satellites Are Getting Smaller
If yours aren’t, you have a problem
Our customer’s expectations however, continue to grow!
Changing the Economics of Space
•Rapid-response, small-satellites•Advanced terrestrial technology•Vertical integration for speed•Fast design cycles – Trade-off•30 years of experience
200 Years of On-Orbit Experience
34 missions completed – 8 new satellites under contract
Operational Assets, not Research and Development Assets
Major Projects
TopSat 2005, 2.8m, 1 year planned 5 years ops, in theatre transmission
Disaster Monitoring Constellation 2003-ongoing8 satellites, 22m daily revisit
Rapideye 2007, 5 satellites, 5m daily revisit, 7 years
NigeriaSat-2 2011, 2.5m, Highly Agile, 7 years
GIOVE-A 2005, the 1st satellite of GALILEO
GALILEO, 14 payloads for GALILEO
Collaborative Satellite Constellation
Shared Launch
Constellation Operation
Regular Information
In Manufacture –Commercially Owned by DMCii, Launch 2013
3 optical surveillance satellites
– 1m GSD
– Advanced modes– High accuracy geolocation
– Ground station and support
Cost: System <£100MNew Partners – ¼ of 4?
Low-Elevation Mode Imaging
Novel Collection Modes
Highly Agile Single Scene Imaging Extended Strip Imaging
In-pass Stereo Mode Imaging
Area Mode Imaging
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Super-Resolution Mode Imaging
Strip 1
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 4
Manoeuvre time
Manoeuvre time
Manoeuvre time
Line of CommunicationMode Imaging
• High agility for responsive modes
Change DetectionMode Imaging
In-theatre Control Mode Imaging
NOVASAR-UK
• High resolution spotlight mode
6m
• Wide area modes
20m
• Multi-polarimetric imagery
• Cost <£50m
Multi-mode S-band SAR satellite
Conclusions
• Small satellites have advanced beyond being simply “militarily relevant”, they are a critical aspect of the infrastructure
• Small satellites now offer innovative applications that surpass what is possible with traditional systems– Constellations, agility & rapid development create new
opportunities
• Most crucially, in the current climate, they can offer military greater value for money, via improved utilisation of existing assets
Changing the economics of space
Thank You
