Course 820 LEO, MEO and GSO System and Service Integration-Introduction

Mr. Geoff Varrall, Executive Director of RTT Programmes, UK, is teaching this 5-day course.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the system and service aspects of low and high-count LEO, MEO and GSO satellite constellations but also studies the integration of 5G and 6G networks (non-terrestrial network integration including sub orbital and aerospace) and RF and optical integration.

In 2018, the average payload for a rocket was of the order of 5 metric tons. By 2023 that had increased to more than fifty tons (typically 100 to 150 tons) with visibility of payloads per launch scaling to 500 tons on top of a 5000 metric ton rocket. The construction of the International Space Station (450 tons) required 50 journeys into space. We now have visibility to launching a platform of similar size and weight on a single rocket.

This is transforming the economics of delivering RF and optical hardware into LEO, MEO and GSO orbit, in particular, enabling the LEO market to scale from 500 to 5000 satellites with the potential to increase to 50,000 or more over the next five years. LEO satellites are getting bigger (2000 rather than 200 kilogrammes) which means that they can support multiple payloads including RF and optical communications, RGB and multi/ hyper spectral imaging, RF trilateration and Synthetic Aperture Radar. The satellites by default collect large amounts of data directly useful to space science and research.

The technology economics of satellite are therefore undergoing profound transformation. In parallel telecommunication engineers and regulators need to understand the interference and competition policy dynamics of these new multi orbit constellations and to be up to date on how optical cross links and optical space to ground and ground to space links are changing the architecture, functionality and performance of space and terrestrial networks and potentially resolving emerging space based and space to earth and earth to space RF interference issues. If you are interested in any of the above, this course is for you.