WASHINGTON — Decades-old military ground stations that track and control satellites are projected to run out of capacity as more spacecraft are launched to orbit. Despite a capacity crunch, industry executives say the military is not taking advantage of ground stations that are now provided as a commercial service.
Commercial services could help the Space Force deal with a shortage of capacity at satellite control centers but face an uphill battle for acceptance, executives said last week at the MilSat Symposium in Mountain View, California.
“I’ve watched this problem for a long time,” said John Williams, CEO of Atlas Space Operations.
Williams is a former Viasat executive and retired military officer who operated satellites for the U.S. Air Force more than two decades ago.
The Space Force today relies on an aging ground infrastructure known as the Satellite Control Network, or SCN, to track launches and send commands to spacecraft in orbit. Despite upgrades and attempts to use commercial antennas, the Space Force faces a shortage of capacity, the Government Accountability Office noted in a report in April. The SCN, which includes 19 parabolic antennas distributed across several locations around the world, has been in operation since 1959.
‘In fits and starts’
“I have the distinction of being a former Satellite Control Network commander,” said Williams, who noted that the Air Force, and now the Space Force, looked at commercial ground station services in “fits and starts over the years.”
The SCN illustrates the broader challenge the government continues to wrestle with, which is identifying what functions are “inherently military, versus what they’re willing to buy as a service from industry.” said Williams.
Atlas Space Operations provides a network management platform that connects satellite antennas so unused capacity from one ground station can be leveraged by other customers in the…
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