Tag: Spacecraft

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Space Agencies will use AWS ground station or Azure Orbital for Low Earth Orbit.

Microsoft released Azure Orbital September 2020, 2 years after Amazon started AWS ground station in 2018. Azure Orbital provide spacecraft users with all-in-one services between ground station and data archiving. Moreover, Azure orbital users can use the largest Ground Station Provider, KSAT, which whole space agencies use.

Then, can space agencies use these cloud service apart from security consideration?

Currently, NO. Space agencies use international standard, particularly CCSDS, to have interoperability among space agencies, while AWS and Azure provide commercial standard, such as ANSI standard. Therefore, developing ecosystem is necessary to have interface between Space Agencies assets and these commercial services.

Basical data flaw of spacecraft operations
Basical data flaw of apace agencies spacecraft operations. They use CCSDS-compliant standard for communication.
Basical data flaw of spacecraft operations by AWS or Azure Orbital. They provide commercial standard, which is imcompatible with space agencies
Basical data flaw of spacecraft operations. Imcompatibility in standard is obstacle for space agencies to use commercial cloud service.
Basical data flaw of spacecraft operations. Developing ecosystem lets space agencies use cloud services, if space agencies develop compatible software with commercial standard or they buy software modules.