An important objective of EUSATfinder is to test different SATCOM services integrated with a terrestrial network, providing several configurations to cope with the identified use cases. The experience collected during the demonstration campaign will allow EUSATfinder consortium to provide recommendations also for future European SATCOM network as being identified in IRIS2 initiative. In particular, the project will analyze how this managed service will be coordinated by the GOVSATCOM HUB.

GEO FSS: Athena Fidus: a European SATCOM service to support GOVSATCOM concept

GEO FSS is one of the core components investigated in EUSATfinder; ATHENA Fidus has been identified as reference solution being a European constellation designed for military and civilian emergency situation which is the core scope of EUSATfinder. Athena-Fidus (Access on THeatres for EuropeaN Allied forces nations-French Italian Dual Use Satellite) is a civil-military satellite developed by France and Italy to provide broadband telecommunications services for armed forces and civil protection teams in both countries. CNES manages a French civil capacity on Athena-Fidus satellite with its own experimental ground station (also known as SEXTAN). This French civil capacity covers the French metropolitan and some areas within its neighboring countries due to the beam form. Telespazio manages the ASI gateway on Italian civil capacity located in Fucino Telespazio Space center. To demonstrate the interoperability the demonstration location will be covered by the French and Italian civil beam.

In both the sites are present SATCOM terminals connected to the ground stations in order to manage and to provide IP / Internet connectivity to remote satellite terminals used by end-users located in the civil beams/zones. Thus, the CNES and the Telespazio own SATCOM platforms provide a wireless and secure IP connectivity to end-users thanks to satellite terminals and without any terrestrial infrastructure close to the intervention area. For the EUSATfinder project, CNES will provide, during the demonstration, a satellite broadband connectivity to first responder staff (Mobile Operation Control unit) on the on-field area in order to communicate with the Civil protection remote control room. The same will be provided by Telespazio through the Network Control Center collocated in the Fucino Space Center. The Telespazio, in its role of Communication Service Provider, has in the NCC the control center of all the operation related to its services. The satellite communication will be able to send drone videos or images (via the drone remote command connected to the satellite terminal) to the remote control room. This communication solution would also be able to remotely control the payload (camera) of a wide-range drone. An important activity undertaken in EUSATfinder refers to the implementation of compact and portable satellite terminals. A Telespazio COTP dual system (Konnect+AF) and a portable Athena Fidus terminal developed by EVERSAT. Through this terminals the remote first responders could be able to send videos or images and data from the on-field area to the remote control room with a high data rate. Two-way communication will also be possible from the remote control to the on-field area.

The LightAway satellite suitcase from Eversat is an innovative satcom terminal. This is the most easy to use and quick to air broadband portable terminal in the market. This rolling satellite suitcase is ideally suited for broadband IP connectivity (voice, video and high-speed internet communications). In addition, the LightAway satellite suitcase is a flexible platform. Depending on the satellite service, the end user can modify himself the RF and the modem to be adapted to the satellite service he wants to use.  This satellite suitcase meets International Air Transport Association (IATA) weight and size limits and is airline checkable. The LightAway satellite suitcases are already deployed on the field and are used by many TV broadcaster, Military Special Forces and first responders (fire men, police squad, nuclear protection, etc.).

In the EUSATfinder project, Eversat will develop a new LightAway satellite suitcase compliant with Athena Fidus for both French and Italian payloads. Based on an award winning concept design by Eversat, the LightAway Athena will be deployed and used with no technical skills in less than 5 minutes. The LightAway satellite suitcase will integrate a RF transceiver, a modem and a battery pack for more than 2 hours of communication in the field.

In the EUSATfinder project, EVERSAT has to adapt the LightAway platform  to be compliant with Athena Fidus satellite for both French and Italian payloads.  The key performances of the new LightAway satellite suitcase Athena Fidus will be:

• Fast IP connectivity: 3 / 8 Mbps (upload/download)

• Secure IP connectivity

• Flexibility: compliance with both Athena Fidus French and Italian payloads (by switching the antenna feed arm and the modem)

• Easy to use; no parts to assemble and “one button” satellite autopointing,

• Quick to air; from suitcase (stow position) to satellite in less than 5 min by a first responder without satellite system knowledge/ background

• Easy to carry: 1 single rolling suitcase weighting less than 30 kg

• Autonomous in energy: integrated battery pack for 2h of communication in the field.

The LightAway satellite suitcase is a patented technology by Eversat. In the future, the LightAway platform could be also adapted to Eutelsat Konnect VHTS.

LEO MSS: Iridium analysis to provide recommendations for future European SATCOM

LEO MSS systems with appropriate constellation and coverage design can provide truly global coverage from/to small and lightweight satcom user terminals, thanks to the preferential link budget characteristics especially in L-band. The GEO FSS service described above may not be able to provide always and alone the complete end-to-end connectivity demand required in various first-responder situations and use cases, particularly for BVLOS drone operations. Hence the LEO MSS component shall be used in EUSATfinder to complement the core GEO FSS Athena Fidus system in appropriate manner, while retaining as much as possible the important security features and the benefits from the valuable CNES and Telespazio centers.

At the moment of proposal writing the proposed implemented solution in the project will be based on Iridium and its most recently available second-generation Certus service and terminals; However, it is important to underline that the LEO MSS component in the target scenario can become technically and strategically significantly stronger with any emerging (European) broadband satellite constellation network, like the envisaged IRIS2. It is important to notice in this context that the ongoing 3GPP/NTN standardization roadmap underlines the importance of the L-band service frequencies, in which Iridium is working, now also as an integral NTN frequency, which shows that our approach with currently available and mature Iridium terminals and services can definitely be seen as a clear and targeted transition step towards such European satellite constellation future. This provides a perspective for very tight integration with European GOVSATCOM infrastructure as a development path for the EUSATfinder LEO MSS subsystem; this will be considered throughout the project in the system architecture, future-proof solution design and exploitation perspectives.

LEO MSS terminals will be used primarily onboard rotary-wing (octocopter) drones for their tight size and weight requirements, but also shown as an option on larger fixed-wing drones. The end-to-end communication between drone and the respective ground control station (GCS) is systematically used for C2 communications, (i) as complementary means for LOS flights but especially (ii) as sole means for BVLOS missions; moreover, it can be also used for limited-bandwidth payload communications: typically 22/88 kbit/s up/down for the current smallest Iridium Certus category. This proves to be sufficient for the most important payload data from the field such as position, sensor, IoT data, but it can also support still pictures or short low-resolution compressed videos if no strict real-time service is required. In the trials and demos of the project, the LEO MSS service will be used to verify in particular the following capabilities:

• multiplexing and prioritization of end-to-end C2 and payload traffic from the drone over Iridium satcom connected to the GCS located at ATM Wessling premises via the ATHENA Fidus secure link

• local network configuration with GCS co-located with Athena Fidus satellite terminal In all configurations and for all types of applications, we envisage to achieve end-to-end delays below 1 second for critical and prioritized traffic and less than 2-3 seconds for lower-priority data.

GEO MSS: Inmarsat analysis to provide recommendations for future European SATCOM

GEO FSS system doesn’t fit all the use cases; when the drone operates beyond line of sight, when the radio link with the ground station and the FSS system is masked by obstacles, or when the area overflown is environmentally limiting (water, mountain, …). Also, it is important to underline that the GEO MSS component in the target scenario can become technically and strategically significantly stronger with any emerging (European) broadband satellite constellation network, like the envisaged IRIS2.

EUSATfinder proposed solution also relies on a GEO MSS system. The terminal, placed in the body of the aircraft, can send its data to the remote control centre located anywhere on earth. The advantage of a GEO MSS system is its global coverage. It is possible to stay under the same spot, without any handover, during a whole flight. We can also reach higher throughputs and maximize the bandwidth. The challenge we face while choosing an MSS terminal for UAV, is its size, its weight but also the attitude of the carrier.

In the EUSATfinder project, we will consider a GEO MSS service provider such as Inmarsat. Its L-Band satellites cover France and Italy, where the tests and demos will take place.  In order to reach the highest performances, an electronically steerable antenna will be used. This technology consists in an array of small antenna elements that are electronically controlled to point in different directions, without any mechanical movement. This way, the beam is always directed towards the satellite, even if the UAV is heading to somewhere else. As an example, the Aviator UAV 200 terminal has been preliminary identified, which can manage to reach 200kbps bandwidth, which is enough to send videos or photos also for mission purposes.