Global satellite communications technology and systems - An overview

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) commissioned a panel of scientists and engineers in 1997 to benchmark the global status of commercial communications satellite technology, markets and regulatory and policy issues. After visiting or interviewing over 60 manufacturing, R&D laboratory, service provider and government institutions in North and South America, Europe and Asia, the review panel concluded as follows: Many European and Asian governments are increasing their satellite communications R&D programs and supporting demonstrations and space marketing efforts, relative to the US. The US is currently the leader in new technology and its insertion into commercial satellite systems, but ambitious foreign efforts threaten this position. Global commercial satellite communications is a large and rapidly growing business. New technology is being inserted into satellites at an increasingly rapid pace with an increasing number of international participants. Aerospace communications companies, worldwide, are consolidating their efforts and are expanding into the end user service business. The Direct-to-End User mass consumer satellite service industry has the potential to be quite large and is changing the way satellites are manufactured and deployed and is creating a potentially large satellite terminal industry. Satellite manufacturing is increasingly becoming a design, assembly and test operation with parts and sub-systems obtained from global suppliers. This increased use of satellites for communications services is creating a shortage of spectrum and orbital slots and is resulting in spectrum utilization conflicts with terrestrial wireless service providers. Future development of commercial satellite communications is dependent on the resolution of key regulatory, trade, spectrum, inter-operability and standards issues and government leadership is vitally needed. There are opportunities for international cooperation to facilitate the development of satellites technologies, systems, standards and protocols. There is concern that unless several issues are addressed, particularly an increase in long term oriented R&D and trade and regulatory issues, the US may experience a deterioration of its leading position in the manufacture of satellites for global service providers and the initiation of new services, much in the way that it lost its leading position in the launch of commercial satellites.