White Papers
Accelerate Deployment of Space Missions Through Digitalization
<p>Huge paradigm shifts have occurred in the space industry over the last two decades. After the initial space race of the 1950s and ’60s, the investment in commercial space applications rested on the experiences of government agencies that put humans on the moon and satellites into orbit. Through the ’60s and into the mid-’70s, those agencies launched bent-pipe transceivers for television, telephone, and fax signals alongside the first weather satellites.<br>
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<p>Through the 1980s and mid-’90s, commercial satellite operations were dominantly Global Navigation Satellite System, video broadcast, weather, telecommunications, and global imaging. The costs associated with the launch and deployment of such missions drove engineering choices that minimized risks, ensuring space durability for 15 to 20 years or more to provide maximum return on investment. The use of space-proven radiation-hard components was essential.<br>
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<p>Large satellites with backup systems in medium Earth orbit and geosynchronous equatorial orbit provided global coverage. The largest of these satellites could weigh several tons on the Earth’s surface.<br>
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