NBNCo to Launch with Arianespace

NBNCo announced on the 4th of March that they had selected Arianespace to launch the NBNCo satellites in 2015. The deal, worth up to $300 Million sees NBNCo purchase two Ariane 5 launches from Arianespace.

The Ariane 5 Launcher from Arianespace (Photo credit: Arianespace)

In selecting Arianespace, NBNCo has gone for reliability, with Arianespace having over 50 successful launches in a row. The Satellites will be launched from Arianespace's Guyana Space Centre in French Guyana on the north east coast of South America.

Australian Space Jobs

NBN Co is currently looking for a "Technical Specialist Satellite Control" - which you can find on Seek here. The role is responsible for operational and technical leadership within the Satellite Control Facility for NBN Co.

Telstra is also looking for a 'Head of Satellite Sales', based in Hong Kong who will be responsible for all of Telstra Global's satellite sales. You can head over to the ad here.

ViaSat awarded a $280M NBNCo Contract

NBNCo has awarded a $280M contract to California-based ViaSat for the supply of the ground segment of the satellite component of the NBNCo Satellite system. The contract includes provision of the 13.5m dishes accross the 10 NBN gateways accross Australia, as well as the 200,000 satellite dishes and satellite modems for households.

It is believed that ViaSat will provide a similar solution to the NBN to what it is providing for its Exede service in the US.

The contract is anticipated to generate around 300 jobs in Australia according to the NBN press release, with the long term satellite system being up and running in 2015.
The contract award completes a two year procurement process which follows the NBNCo decision in February to select Space Systems Loral for the Space-based component of the Satellite system.

Space jobs at RMIT and NBNCo

RMIT is currently looking for a Research Fellow, Space Tracking/Geodesy to join their Satellite Positioning for Atmosphere, Climate and Environment (SPACE) Research Centre.

The Role description includes:

Reporting to the Director of SPACE Research Centre RMIT University and Manager Modelling Analysis of EOSSS (EOS Space Systems Pty Ltd), you will be required to undertake research in the SPACE Research Centre specifically for the ASRP Grant project. You will work primarily on space tracking, real-time orbit determination (OD), atmospheric mass density modelling, space conjunction analysis, satellite laser ranging (SLR) and precise point positioning (PPP).

For more information, head here.

NBNCo is currently looking for a Project Coordinator - Satellite, with the role description:

Working within the Network Architecture and Technology (NA&T) group the Project Coordinator - Satellite will be responsible for overall project coordination and administration activities within the satellite engineering delivery team.

For more information, head here.

Happy Space job hunting!

NBN Selects Space Systems/Loral for $620M Australian Satellite Contract

NBN Co has selected Space Systems/Loral of California to build two Ka-Band Telecommunications Satellite to be launched in 2015.

The deal that was announced by the Prime Minister and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, is part of the $2Bn investment on the NBN Satellite service that will provide a minimum 12 Mbps service to around 3% of Australia's population - particularly those in remote parts of Australia.

The two NBNCo Satellites to be built by SS/L (image source: NBN Co)

The combined throughput capacity of the satellites is around 90Gbps, with the telemetery, tracking and satellite control elements of the ground segment included in the contract.

The procurement process has been extensive, taking over two years, and involving most of the leading American and European Satellite manufactures. The contract is structured such that a new government would find it difficult to tear up the agreement, protecting the manufacturer from stopping work halfway through the project. There is no word yet as to whether any work will be done in Australia under the contract.

NBN Co is still working through two Satellite related tenders - one for the remainder of the satellite ground segment, and the other the satellite launch services.

Full details can be found on the NBN Co website here.

Australian Space Needs: Telecommunications

Australia is one of the most suited countries in the world for Satellite based telecommunications due to our large size, and geographically spread population. It is also no surprise that Telecommunications has been one of Australia’s most successful segments of the space industry for many years. Globally speaking it is also one of the most successful commercial industries within space with an estimate $80 Billion revenue size.


Telecommunications encompasses a wide range of different applications that Australians use every day, without paying much attention to it. Space based telecommunications used in Australia include:

• Television broadcasting
• Consumer Broadband Internet Services
• Satellite Telephone Services
• Telecommunications backhaul services
• Remote Site Communications such as mining sites or defence requirements

The Australian Space Government website identifies that there are at least 14 satellite operators that provide satellite communications to, from and within Australia, and the ACMA highlights that growth in the global industry was 38% from 2000 to 2005, with this level of growth expected to continue. So far this year, many telecommunications companies have released close to double-digit business growth including Optus who recently reported a 9% jump in Satellite revenue.

A little bit of history.... 

Back in the early 80’s, a government telecommunications provider called Aussat was created, and on the 27th of August 1985 launched its first satellite – Aussat A1 via the Space Shuttle Discovey. Aussat A1 provided communications services for both civilian and military needs, as well as television broadcast to remote regions in Australia. It was located at 160° east in Geostationary orbit, and remained operational until 1993.

Aussat A1 being launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery (Photo: Spaceinfo.com.au)

Not long after, Aussat A2 and A3 were launched in November 1985 and September 1987 respectively, providing Aussat with a fleet of operational telecommunications satellites in orbit, and a unique capability to Australia. The A-series satellites were Ku Band satellites, and were built by Hughes (now Boeing).

In 1992, Optus purchased Aussat including the A-series of satellites, and moved ahead in acquiring the B-series of satellites to meet growing demand. On the 13^th of August 1992, the Optus B-1 satellite was launched, with the launch failure of the Optus B-2 satellite occurring the 21^st of December 1992. Optus B-3 was then developed and launched on the 27^th of August 1994 to replaced the failed B-2 satellite.

The Optus B3 Satellite (Photo Credit: Optus)

For the next generation of satellites, Optus teamed up with the Australia department of Defence, with Optus C-1 using the Ku band for civilian telecommunications, and UHF, X and Ka bands for defence purposes. Optus C-1 carries significant television broadcasts, including Foxtel, ABC Australia, Aurora (remote free to air television), and other channel’s (7,9,10) digital broadcasts. 
The D-series of satellites include D-1 (launch: 13^th Oct 2006), D-2 (launch: 5^th Oct 2007), and D-3 (launch: 21^st August 2009). These satellites replaced the B-1 and B-3 Satellites at end of life, and expanded capacity of the C-1 satellite through co-location. The D-series of satellites provides television broadcast services, two way voice and data services to Australia and New Zealand, as well as services to Australian and NZ government departments.

The Optus D1 Satellite (Photo Credit: Optus)

In total, Aussat / Optus has had a fleet of 9 working satellites – certainly the biggest of any Australian organisation.  

What’s next for Satellites?

Looking to the future, there are several major developments underway that will underpin the future of space based telecommunications in Australia for the years to come.

Firstly, Optus has recently announced that it has just ordered a next generation Ku satellite (currently named Optus 10), and is planned for launch in 2013. This will ensure that their capabilities will last long into the 2020’s.  

NBNCo is right in the middle of making a decision about ordering two Ka band satellites to cover the complete Australian continent, allowing high speed broadband and telecommunications to all those Australians not covered by fibre optic or wireless technologies. 

Thirdly, a company called NewSat  is planning on launching its own fleet of telecommunications satellites called “Jabiru” over the coming years, and are in the advanced planning stages of the satellite procurement.

In this respect, the space based telecommunications future in Australia looks very bright!

Ground Segments

On the ground segment side of things, Space based telecommunications has had a long and successful history in Australia. Just before Aussat A1 was launched, Aussat (now Optus) also opened its Sydney Earth Station at Belrose, which still remains one of the most important space facilities in Australia. I’d also highly recommend the recent ARN article here about the Belrose earth station – it’s a great read.

The Optus Belrose facility (Photo credit: ITnews) 

In addition to the Optus facility at Belrose, Australia also plays host to a number of major ground segments for international space agencies including NASA, ESA, JAXA. Major ground stations around Australia include the NASA Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex at Tidbinbilla, the Perth International Telecommunications Centre, ESA’s facility at New Norcia and the NewSat centres at Bayswater and Mawson Lakes.

Main defence ground segments include the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS) at Geraldton, the Shoal Bay receiving station, and the Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap. 


For those of you who are interested in the ground segment side of things, the ACMA currently has a discussion paper out about Earth Station siting – particularly in relation to spectrum issues. You can read more about this or make a submission here with the pdf of the paper here 

The Space Telecommunications industry in Australia has had a long and successful history in Australia and and has a very bright future, both in Space and On-ground. With Optus, NBNCo and NewSat all looking to build new satellites over the coming few years - expect big things to come.  

Is an NBNCo Satellite announcement just around the corner??

According to the NBNCo Business Plan from December 2010, NBNCo will place an order for its two Ka-band satellites by the end of June.

It is understood that Submissions were received from the Satellite manufactures some months ago, and offer evaluation has been underway for a while, which has included further consultation back to manufacturers.

SpaceBoomerang understands that Space Systems/Loral from the US, as well as Astrium and Thales Alenia Space from Europe have bid for the NBNCo competition, with other offers possible.

If NBNCo goes ahead with the Ka-band purchase, it will be the largest satellite contract awarded in Australia for a number of years.

NBNCo Satellite Announcement soon?

Space Boomerang understands that NBNCo is in the final stages of evaluating submissions from potential satellite suppliers, and that the preferred tender could be announced soon.

In what is shaping up to be a massive year for satellite opportunities in Australia, with Optus already having selected Space Systems/Loral for their next satellite - Optus 10, two Ka Band telecommunications satellites for NBNCo, and a potential for a Jabiru Satellite for NewSat, the NBNCo purchase will significantly impact the satellite telecommunications market in Australia for many years to come.

Watch this space for the announcement!

Hughes Network Systems Demonstrates Rural Satellite Broadband Capabilities

According to iTWire, Hughes Network Systems claims to have demonstrated a 16 Mbps link to a HN9400 Ka-/Ku-band broadband satellite terminal using satellite in Australia. In doing so, they have demonstrated that their satellite terminal is capable of supporting web browsing, streaming video, voice and videoconferencing applications simultaneously.

According to Hughes "The live demonstrations featured aggregate satellite Internet usage of 16Mbps and in addition, included simultaneous downloading from the Web of video clips, photos, software updates, and music; downloading streaming movies; VoIP; and point-to-point video conferencing - all delivered over the HN9400, a high-capacity, dual Ka-/Ku-band satellite platform."

Hughes is believed to be one of the companies that are competing to with the NBNCo contract to build and launch two Ka band geostationary satellites to provide broadband to the bush, and earlier this year opened an Australian Subsidiary.


It is believed that more will be known about the Satellite tender within the next few weeks.

NBNCo Satellite Details due out within a month

In what is seen as one of the biggest satellite contracts in Australia for several years, NBNCo has indicated that information about the upcoming NBNCo Satellites tender will be out within the next month.

Following the recent hung parliament, where broadband to the bush featured heavily in the independents decision to back the Gillard Labor Government, the satellite will form a key pillar of the NBNCo network - particularly to those who live beyond the economic reach of the planned fibre network.

Mike Quigley, CEO of the NBNCo, has recently told the Commsday conference in Melbourne, that the NBNCo corporate plan and business model will be provided to the government by the end of the week, who are likely to release selected information, including some costings and a roll-out timetable "in the near future".

As reported in my blog here, on July 14th this year, NBNCo announced  that they would be spending $1 Billion Australian to Build, Launch and Operate 2 Ka-Band Communications Satellites to service the needs of Australians who cannot cost effectively receive other communications services.

Space and the Australian Election Part II

Well, in my most recent post about Space and the Australian election I said: "Space, whilst not being the number one topic, is increasingly gaining influence. " How quickly that would prove true, with the NBN playing a major role in the decision of who should form government - particularly the NBN as it relates to outback Australia - read Satellite Broadband.

Now NewSat has joined in the debate strongly by taking out a half page advertisement in the Australian Financial Review highlighting how they could provide Satellite broadband much better than the planned services for the NBN. Clearly, NewSat has an enormous vested interested in attacking the NBN plans, as it recently had its proposals rejected by NBN, and stands a much better chance of success with its own services if the NBN plan is cancelled.
However, in this article for ITWire, NewSat chief executive officer Adrian Ballantine has highlighted how suitable satellite broadband is for Australia's geography. He is quoted as also saying:

“Yet unbelievably we are the one country in the OECD without a space policy. This illustrates that the key decision makers who have shaped broadband policies have been lacking the right knowledge about what is possible, what is needed and what is the right solution.”

 
The article goes on to identify how the Government has recently been making improvements through the Space Policy Unity and the Australian Space Research Program. 

From an Australian Space Industry Perspective, I couldn't agree more with Mr Ballantine. Australia is one of the best suited countries geographically speaking to utilise Space based services for many things - including Communications. And to not have a serious knowledge within the Australian government, is a bad outcome for Australia in general.

Although to counter the NewSat arguments, Satellite based broadband makes sense where ground based technologies become cost-ineffective, which is true in many parts of Australia. The different between GEO based broadband and fibre, is the much greater latency issues associated, which causes problems for real-time applications such as voice calls and gaming. I'd also argue that a guaranteed 12MBps is much better than the "chance" of getting any other service, and much better than the dial-up connections that some still have to cope with. 

However, other Space Based solutions may also be available to solve that problem. For example, the people at O3B (or Other 3 Billion), are currently developing a LEO constellation to provide communications network, to provide communications to the "Other 3 Billion" - or those who currently don't have access to it worldwide. This type of system might work very well in the regional parts of Australia.

Whatever side you are on, this is a clear example where Space technology is increasingly part of Australia's national needs. The least we can do is have a debate that is truly informed by Australian Space experts - underpinned by a National Space Policy. Only then can we fairly decide how best to use Space for Australia.

NBNCo looking for a Manager for the Satellite Service Centre in Sydney

For those of you who are interested, NBNCo is currently advertising for a Manager for the Satellite Service Centre in Sydney.

For more information, head here.

NBNCo to Spend $1B Australian on 2 Ka Band Comms Satellites

On July 14th, NBNCo announced that they would be spending $1 Billion Australian to Build, Launch and Operate 2 Ka-Band Communications Satellites to service the needs of Australians who cannot cost effectively receive other communications services.

NBNCo CEO Mike Quigley indicated that that NBNCo had decided on two Ka-Band Satellites due to the lack of viable alternatives in Australia, as well as the need for redundancy for such a critical network.

NBNCo went on to indicate that they intend to cover the whole of the Australian continent with satellite broadband, to serve both those in remote areas, as well as those who live near capital cities, but who are unable to have either a cost effective fibre connection, or where wireless is unreliable due to terrain. The aim is to provide a 12 megabits-per-second download speed, dramatically improving current services provided to rural Australia. NBNCo is also looking at two, very close orbital slots, to allow users to change between satellites without moving their ground antenna.

Australia has long been considered ideal for Ka-Band satellite, as rain is not as greater issue as other locations, and population density is relatively low.

Now we wait to see which companies have made the NBNCo shortlist for the Satellite component.

NBNCo has shortlisted its Satellite Operators

The Australian Newspaper within Mitchell Bingemann's article have indicated that the NBNCo has shortlisted Satellite Operators based on an earlier Request for Capability Statement.

It identifies that Optus, Intelsat and Hughes Network Systems are understood to be on the shortlist.  This would also indicate that NBNCo is interested in a 3rd party operating the Satellite network, rather than purchasing the satellites themselves.

More will be known when NBNCo releases the RFT in a few weeks time.

NBN study recommends satellites used for solution

The recent NBN implementation study which can be found here has supported the use of satellite broadband coverage to the most remote populations within Australia as the most cost effective method for the last few percentiles of Australia’s population.

The study states:


“The Implementation Study therefore recommends that NBN Co deploy two Ka-band satellites with the ability to cover the 7 percent of premises outside the fibre footprint and provisioned for up to 350,000 activated premises with sufficient throughput to enable a substantial increase in average data rates from today”

NBN Co has recently been soliciting responses from the satellite industry for the supply of a Ka band satellite capability, involving two satellites. One would suggest that this recommendation will allow NBN Co to proceed to the next step and start a formal RFP sometime soon.

The use of Satellite to provided high speed broadband to remote Australia is a great example of how Australia can use Space technologies to provide cost effective solutions to everyday Australians. I hope as part of the NBN Co process we will also see some of the satellite development done in Australia.

NBNCo looking for a Satellite Specialist - Ground Systems

The new Australian Government telecommunications company NBNCo, who is potentially going to acquire 2 communications satellites in the next year or two is currently looking for a "Satellite Specialist - Ground Systems".

The job description states:

"In this key role, you will be responsible for Responsible for supporting all technical, quality and scheduling aspects of the definition, evaluation, acquisition and procurement of satellite ground systems segment from project inception to launch of in-orbit service and beyond."

Its good to see them building up an experience Satellite team at NBNCo, further strengthening the chances that the comms sats will go ahead.

For anyone interested, go to the NBNCo website: http://www.nbnco.com.au/

or directly to the job advert if this link works.

http://jobs.nbnco.com.au/job/job_details.cfm?id=460605&from=