Launching a new satellite constellation requires a huge amount of effort to ensure that the ground segment is installed correctly and calibrated prior to launch. With large constellations launching in LEO, this can be a complex and challenging task yet at the same time vital to ensuring smooth operation. How can operators prepare the ground segment accurately without causing significant delays to launches?

LEO: a unique ground segment

As more and more LEO satellites continue to launch, this can only be good for breathing fresh air into the satellite industry. While there will likely always be a place for GEO, LEO will be essential for delivering universal telecommunications services on the move, whether in the air, at sea, or in rural locations. This will of course be vital not only for keeping people connected but also for emergency response. At the same time, it is likely that we will see LEO satellites paving the way for next generation services, from smart cities and driverless cars to delivery drones.

While the value proposition of LEO is well understood, LEO satellites have very unique requirements for ground segment infrastructure that cause a certain amount of complexity. We know, for example, that comms on the move terminals are a large cause of satellite interference, because of the dynamic nature of these systems. Now we are looking at satellites that are themselves dynamic and that could make them more prone to errors and a potential cause of interference.

Operators need to be mitigating this even before launch, which means that ground terminals need to be able to easily make before breaking the connection, or otherwise seamlessly connect and re-connect to these satellites. It also means operators need to know, prior to launch, that these terminals are working as they should be.