Space Apps Challenge 2018

Value proposition

Thousands of satellites in space over next ten years, bottlenecked by ground stations, opportunity to build an incredible level of connectivity and data gathering

Core problem

Satellites require a connection with a ground station to send data and receive instructions. Creating enough stations to ensure full coverage is incredibly expensive and challenging logistically. Ground stations are significantly underutilized, and satellites are often out of site.

Solution

We are creating a marketplace layer that looks at a satellites orbit, and connects it to third party ground stations. This means that satelite owners can increase their uptime without building extra infrastructure, and ground station owners can service more satellites, increasing profitability.

STAKEHOLDERS

Satellite operators (SO)

Key task - Managing the health and operations of satellites, and optimising connection with ground stations.

Ground station owners (GSO)

Key task - maintenance of ground station, and creating and maintaining uplinks with satellites as defined by their managing bod

Pain points

Satellite owner

• Ensuring enough coverage
• Requires line of site connection
• Often requires dedicated ground stations ( at least three per orbit in the perfect world)
• Whenever this is lost available time for downlink or tasking is lost

Ground station owner

• High costs of maintenance
• Underutilised utility

• Administrative burden in creating partnerships

HOW WE ARE SOLVING IT

Solution

• Ground Station / satellite marketplace
  • Finds ground station availability based on satellite orbit
  • Assigns available ground stations
  • Provides authorisation and scheduling for each node
• Outcomes
  • Simpler for GS/SO operators
  • GSO
    • Increase potential profits
    • A better utilised station contributes more to human knowledge
  • SO
    • Lowers cost of connection and operation
    • More uptime and bandwidth
    • Offer better services commercially
    • Increases capabilities
  • Creates more flexible adaptable marketplace