Overview

On August 8th, 2018, Xenesis, ATLAS Space Operations, and Laser Light Communications announced that they will be joining forces to form the Empower Space Alliance. This network will provide direct optical data distribution services from spacecraft to customer locations, worldwide. Empower Space intends to serve LEO, MEO, GEO, Cislunar, and Deep Space capability with standardized interoperability, robust data capacity, and unprecedented access to customer locations worldwide. Space data platforms will have the ability to choose between relying on legacy radio frequency transmission and distribution, or high capacity & low cost all optical “direct delivery” of their data to its ultimate distribution on a single network.

The NewSpace sector is expanding rapidly into creative, more cost-effective business models. These models are focused primarily on delivering space-based services, such as imagery, communications, content, civil science, and government data on smaller, cheaper, and more capable satellite platforms. Small satellites are leading the way in planning which is driving the demand for more cost-effective designs to deliver space-based services.

The types of customers the Empower Space Alliance seeks to accommodate include Earth observation owner/operators, GEO owner/operators, and government agencies such as NASA and NOAA. The Empower Space Alliance brings together an all-optical space to Earth data distribution network which will empower space data platforms to connect to their ultimate destinations more cost-effectively, and efficiently.

Empower Space intends to bring the 3 critical operating elements of Space to Earth data transport under a single service partnership:

1. Network Access: Designed for 24/7 access for Near-Earth, Cislunar, or Deep Space platforms
2. Service Delivery: Connectivity, Unlimited, High throughput (<1-100Gbps), On-Demand, Self-Provisioned Service
3. Network Management: Monitors and ensures distributed data delivery, “end-to-end”, to over 100 Points of Presence across the Earth

Empower Space intends to offer a licensable 10-100 Gbps optical unit, depending on the customer requirement, for integration into planned space platforms in the Near-Earth, Cislunar, and Deep Space markets. The Xenesis licensed optical unit will Empower owner/operators to distribute their space-originated products to over 100 Points of Presence on the Earth at a significantly lower cost for SWaP & data distribution services. Earth-wide distribution of the customer’s data will be by means of Laser Light’s global, hybrid all-optical MEO satellite constellation, or directly to Laser Light’s 100 dispersed optical ground nodes, interconnected with its Software-Defined global terrestrial fiber.

Empower Space customer data, will be managed and monitored, “end-to-end”, by ATLAS Space from the customer satellite platform to the data’s ultimate destination, entirely on the Empower Space Alliance network. Consequently, the advantage Empower Space brings to its customers are the potential benefits of optical data transmission and the prospect of improved margins derived by SWaP savings, unrestricted availability, enhanced security, and reduced distribution costs. [1]

Related Links

Article: Xenesis, ATLAS, Laser Light Create All-Optical Space-to-Earth Data Network

Article: Xenesis, Atlas, and Laser Light form first space to ground all optical global data distribution joint venture

Article: Empower Space Alliance plans to redefine data transport with volume-based pricing