WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is exploring using small geosynchronous satellites to reinforce military communications networks — either through purchased business services or government-owned constellations.
“We’re attempting to leverage recent capabilities from the business industry,” Clare Hopper, chief of the Space Force’s Industrial Satellite Communications Office, said Oct. 19 on the annual MilSat Symposium in Mountain View, California.
Hopper said the Space Force is considering procuring maneuverable small satellites that may deliver connectivity from geosynchronous Earth orbit.
Her office on Oct. 18 issued a request for information on the capabilities of the microGEO satellite sector, which uses smaller, cheaper satellites which can be being marketed as nimbler options than large geosynchronous spacecraft.
The Space Force is “looking for sources able to supporting a Department of Defense effort launching and maintaining communications satellites that allow for greater maneuverability and smaller size than traditional geostationary satellites,” said the request.
Through this market research, the Space Force wants to evaluate the benefits and potential risks of using smaller geosynchronous platforms. Corporations entering the microGEO sector of the satellite industry include large satcom operators like Intelsat and Inmarsat, and satellite web startups like Astranis.
Hopper said the plan is to make use of IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) contracts that provide a framework for the Space Force to put task orders for satcom hardware or services on an as-needed basis.
The IDIQ contract, Hopper said, would allow for the procurement of communications services or could give the federal government the power to “effectively acquire our own constellation through a singular leasing arrangement.”
Geostationary orbit, 22,236-miles above Earth, has traditionally been the popular location of communications satellites so antennas on the bottom wouldn’t have to rotate to trace them, and are pointed permanently on the position of the satellite.
But microGEO satellites haven’t typically been deployed in geo orbits. These satellites are a small fraction of the mass of traditional geocomm satellites, and are being offered as a more flexible alternative.
The Space Force sees small GEO satellites as a way to extend the resiliency of military communications, the RFI said.
It’s looking for small satellites “able to maneuvering between International Telecommunication Union (ITU) assigned orbital slots within the GEO arc,” said the request. “Increased maneuverability utilizing decentralized and spatially dispersed small satellites is imperative for the long run resilience of each the constellation and the communications support for users without impact to existing user equipment and gateways.”
Direct-to-cell communications
Hopper said the Space Force also plans to issue a request for information on so-called direct-to-device satellite services.
That is an emerging segment of the satcom industry looking for to offer connectivity to cellphone users via satellites.
Corporations like AST SpaceMobile and Lynk Global are developing satellite constellations to offer direct-to-cell services. SpaceX has announced plans for a Starlink direct-to-device cellphone service, promising global coverage from “cellphone towers in space.”