[Sandra Erwin] Satellite imaging industry’s next challenge: getting systems to talk to each other
::: spoiler Article text Sandra Erwin 5–7 minutes WASHINGTON — The rapid growth of commercial Earth observation satellites and artificial intelligence tools is giving defense and intelligence agencies access to a new kind of intelligence product: fused data from multiple sensors designed to deliver insights about what’s happening in the world. But turning that concept into something operational remains difficult. At the Satellite Conference earlier this week, executives described a gap between what military users want — seamless integration of data from different sources — and how the commercial market actually operates. “Processing and analysis now can be done almost instantaneously but the new challenge is now tasking and optimization,” said David Gauthier, chief strategy officer of GXO Inc. and a former National Geospatial Intelligence Agency official. Defense agencies are increasingly focused on combining different sensing methods — optical imagery, radio-frequency signals, radar and other data — into a single operational picture, a concept known as sensor fusion. Closely tied to that is “tipping and cueing,” where one sensor detects an anomaly and directs another system to collect more detailed data on the same target. Those workflows have long existed inside classified government systems. The shift now is toward using commercial data, as companies deploy large constellations capable of revisiting targets frequently and generating data across multiple sensing modes. But the commercial ecosystem has not caught up. There is a structural gap between what defense users want, seamless ‘multi-int fusion,’ and how the commercial market actually operates, Gauthier said. Most companies operate vertically integrated platforms, collecting, processing and delivering data through proprietary systems. There is no widely adopted, standardized interface that allows different providers to exchange data or task each other’s satellites in real time. Differences in formats, metadata and latency mean that combining data from multiple vendors often requires manual integration or custom engineering. # Barrier not just technical, but economic “There’s no incentive for us to build a tip and cue construct across the industry,” said Todd Probert, president of HawkEye 360’s government business. Even when systems can be linked, timing remains a constraint. Gauthier described scenarios where one system detects a signal and cues another, only for delays in collection or downlink to break the chain. “By the time those space-to-ground and ground-to-space delays have been introduced into your architecture, you’ve lost the opportunity,” he said. Jared Newton, senior technology strategist at Planet Federal, said the challenge is not just connecting systems but how commercial constellations are designed and sold. Actual tipping and cueing is “very difficult unless you have dedicated capacity or ubiquitous sensing,” Newton said. Most commercial providers allocate satellite time in advance, guaranteeing customers a specific collection window. That model leaves little flexibility to respond dynamically when another system detects something worth investigating. “We can pull it off every now and then,” Newton said. “But if we really were to do this seriously, we’d have to design a system that optimizes downlink, optimizes process, optimizes the access over the regions that a user cares about.” In practice, that would require a different architecture, one that sets aside capacity specifically for rapid re-tasking and integrates collection, processing and delivery in a way that can respond in near real time. # ‘Machine to machine’ What is ultimately needed, said Gauthier, is a system where sensors across companies can interact automatically. “And what we want is to be able to task at machine speed, with machine to machine APIs,” he said. “If an RF collection sees something over here, then I want capacity in the next 30 minutes on somebody else’s satellite to take the image.” That level of integration does not yet exist at scale. In what he described as an ideal scenario, a military operator would see multiple data sources converge within minutes, automatically corroborating a potential threat. “That doesn’t exist yet. But that’s what I want,” Gauthier said. The integration challenge comes as the market itself is shifting beyond raw data. In a new report titled “Golden Insights: High-Quality Products Derived from Earth Observation Data,” published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Gauthier argues that the value of commercial geospatial data is increasingly tied not to collection, but to the ability to generate “decision-ready” insights from that data. The report outlines how companies are moving up the value chain, offering analytic products that combine multiple data sources and are intended to support real-time decisions. But it also warns that the market for these products is still immature, with limited transparency around how they are generated or how to assess their quality. The report breaks down product categories and metrics for evaluating commercial geospatial data products, “giving customers a bit of a buying guide for how to get to insights,” said Gauthier. :::
[Sandra Erwin] Golden Dome cost estimate rises to $185 billion as Pentagon expands space layer
::: spoiler Article text Sandra Erwin 5–6 minutes ARLINGTON, Va. — The Pentagon has increased its cost estimate for the Golden Dome missile defense initiative to $185 billion over the next decade, up from a previously reported $175 billion, as the program shifts more funding toward space-based capabilities. Gen. Michael Guetlein, who leads Golden Dome for America, said March 17 that the additional $10 billion would be used to accelerate procurement of satellites and build out a space-based data network. “We were asked to procure some additional space capabilities,” Guetlein said at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference. “So we are at $185 billion for the objective architecture, which delivers way out into the 2035 time frame.” Golden Dome is a proposed U.S. missile defense architecture intended to protect the homeland against ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missile threats by integrating ground-, air- and space-based sensors, interceptors and command-and-control systems into a unified network. The concept includes a large space-based layer of satellites for tracking and targeting, alongside new interceptor technologies. The program remains in early stages, with broad funding and policy direction in place but limited public detail on its final design. Guetlein said Congress has so far provided about $25 billion to begin building the system’s foundation. “We have been allocated an enormous amount of national treasure on the order of about $25 billion from Congress, of which we are off and running and building out the foundation for Golden Dome,” he said. He pushed back on outside estimates that place the program’s potential cost in the trillions of dollars, arguing those figures are based on assumptions about architectures that differ from what the Pentagon is pursuing. “There’s been numerous cost estimates out there in excess of a trillion dollars,” Guetlein said. “I would say the difference between what they are estimating and what we are building is they’re not estimating what I’m building.” The added funding is aimed at expanding several space-based efforts, including Air Moving Target Indicator satellites designed to track airborne objects across wide areas, a transport layer that would move data through space via inter-satellite links, and the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor constellation being developed by the Missile Defense Agency. No ‘2028 mandate’ Guetlein also sought to clarify expectations about the program’s timeline, disputing the narrative that Golden Dome must be operational by 2028. “I do not have a 2028 mandate inside the executive order,” he said, adding that the administration has set a marker for demonstrating an operational capability by the summer of 2028. A central challenge, he said, is not the underlying technology but the ability to scale production and reduce costs, particularly for interceptors. Missile defense systems rely on what Guetlein described as “magazine depth,” or the number of interceptors available to respond to an attack. Systems with limited capacity can be overwhelmed if adversaries launch multiple weapons or deploy decoys. Current interceptors cost millions of dollars each and are used to counter far cheaper threats, raising concerns about affordability. “The cost per kill has to come down,” Guetlein said. While he said the technology for space-based interceptors exists, it is not yet clear that it can be produced at scale at an acceptable cost. “What keeps me awake at night is ‘Can I scale? Can the industrial base, which has been optimized for efficiency for generations, suddenly change that equation and start scaling and becoming more efficient, more effective?’” he said. Guetlein said lowering costs will require innovation from industry and academia, pointing to directed energy weapons as one potential approach because they could engage multiple targets at lower cost per shot than traditional interceptors. He said his office has engaged extensively with industry, holding one-on-one meetings with more than 400 companies and establishing an industry advisory council that meets quarterly. He has also met with private equity and investment groups. Another focus is the development of Golden Dome’s command-and-control system, which he described as central to the program’s architecture. “We recognized on day one that command and control was going to be our secret sauce,” Guetlein said. The command-and-control network is intended to link sensors, decision-makers and interceptors across air, ground and space domains, fusing data from satellites, radars and other systems into a common operating picture and enabling rapid targeting decisions across combatant commands. To develop that capability, the Pentagon has assembled a consortium of companies operating under separate contracts but working together. The group initially included six companies and has since expanded to nine, with the addition of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. “We now have a team of nine building our command and control capability,” Guetlein said. :::
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[Jason Rainbow] Missile strike hits SES teleport in Israel
::: spoiler Article text Jason Rainbow ~3 minutes TAMPA, Fla. — Satellite operator SES said a missile “targeted and struck” its teleport facility in Israel March 9 as tensions spill across the region amid ongoing Israeli and U.S. military operations against Iran. The Luxembourg-based company said a small portion of the geostationary antenna field was damaged, adding that no injuries were reported and the impact did not affect the main facility at Emek Ha’ela. “Power, internet connectivity, and all services not dependent on the impacted antennas continue to operate normally,” SES said March 11 via email. “We activated our business continuity plan and are working closely with customers. Restoration paths are in place, with recovery activities already underway.” The site is one of 45 teleports worldwide that SES operates to provide gateway connectivity and control for its broadband and TV broadcast satellites in geostationary orbit. It also has nine teleports dedicated to broadband satellites in medium Earth orbit. SES pointed to “significant back-up and redundancy capabilities” but declined to provide more details about them or the site, which it said is a commercial facility, although it also serves government customers. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon, said in a statement released through an affiliated media outlet that it targeted the Emek Ha’ela site, describing it as belonging “to the Cyber Defense and Communications Division of the Israeli enemy army.” However, Israeli news reports say the facility was privatized in 2008 after the country’s government established the site in the early 1970s. The strike highlights the risks that come with satellite networks increasingly serving commercial and government customers as dual-use infrastructure, while underlining the importance of redundancy as space assets become more strategic. :::
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