Leading Cloud provider, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the launch of The Aerospace and Satellite Solutions business segment (ASSB). The ASSB segment will provide dedicated AWS services and solutions to the existing and upcoming space technology enterprises globally.
AWS unveiled the new space business segment to effectively drive innovation in the space tech industry, initiating a daring journey into Cloud-driven aerospace and satellite management systems.
The space tech market is a booming industry, and with the SpaceX mission successfully docked at the International Space Station, we are already witnessing unprecedented participation of private players in government-run space missions. The daring era of taking the space programs beyond the government research centers has finally arrived. And, AWS is playing a key role in this daring new space age.
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The global space tech market can be split into core solutions related to aeronautical engineering, drones, robotics and mechanical automation, designing and experiments, space communication, satellite data, computer vision, and propulsion. Of these, the satellite data market alone stands at a staggering evaluation of $7.5 billion as on December 31, 2019. If we compare this with NASA’s annual budget for 2020, it’s nearly one-third of the budget.
With AWS, NASA is developing some key space tech management programs. It is eyeing a future where the tech-driven space mission would mean a sustainable commercial space economy through Project Artemis.
Project Artemis aims to successfully land the first woman on the Moon by 2024– a highly ambitious project powered by the most advanced space technology ever built for a lunar expedition. These would erect high-res Earth Observatory, and run on Low-latency SatCom connected to the Internet of Things. Using the IoT-based SatCom platforms, thousands of satellites could be launched into space over the course of next 5-7 years.
The Aerospace and Satellite Solutions business segment from AWS will deliver relevant experience supporting commercial and government customers who are involved in Designing and Testing satellites and in conducting spaceflight operations. The new ASSB segment has been conceived as a reliable global infrastructure with an unmatched portfolio of cloud services to help organizations process Big Data collected from extra-terrestrial and geospatial sources.
The ASSB platform is a real-time monitoring solution that can quickly analyze the Space Big Data to deliver actionable insights for improving space-based missions.
With AWS, space tech companies can build robust architectures that not only collects and processes space data, but also connects it to various Earth-related phenomenon, including climate, marine, mining, and telecom.
AWS’s The Aerospace and Satellite Solutions business segment will be led by two defense veterans. Retired Air Force Major General Clint Crosier, former director of Space Force Planning at the U.S. Space Force, would lead this new business segment. Maj. Gen. Crosier has spent the last 33 years driving transformation and mission success across the space enterprise, and led the Defense Department’s efforts to stand up the U.S.’s newest military service.
At the time of this appointment, Maj. Gen. Crosier said –
“I have watched AWS transform the IT industry over the last 10 years and be instrumental in so many space milestones. I am honored to join AWS to continue to transform the industry and propel the space enterprise forward.”
AWS Ground Station helps customers communicate with satellites, and to downlink, process, and distribute satellite data within minutes of capture.
The ASSB segment would be controlled from Earth station, called the AWS Ground Station. The AWS Ground Station is a fully managed service created for satellite manufacturers, owners and operators at a global operational level.
Since we are yet to figure out the space Big Data requirements, the AWS Ground Station service is built on a flexi-approach to manage fluctuating space workloads. Space data would be available on AWS ASSB segment, matching demands from the satellite commands across multiple regions with speed and agility. All these- possible at a fraction of cost of what NASA and other agencies spent earlier! In fact, AWS Ground Station is already providing NASA with its solution. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) is one of AWS customers.
Key space technology participants who are working with AWS include traditional innovation aeronautical engineering companies such as Lockheed Martin, geospatial data and intelligence analytics company – Geollect, and space and earth intelligence tech company- Maxar.
Read this article to know what executives from these companies have to say about their collaboration with AWS in space tech missions.
Source: Blog by Teresa Carlson (VP- World Public Sector- AWS)
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