Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT)
Overview
Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) is a Norwegian-based satcom company specializing in RF ground station services and Earth observation programs. KSAT also stands for Kvalitet, Stolthet, Ansvar, Trivsel (Quality, Pride, Responsibility, and Thriving). KSAT has 180 remotely controlled antennas and 24 ground stations which have been optimized to communicate with polar, inclined, and equatorial orbit satellites. The company is owned in equal parts by Space Norway AS, a state-owned ministry, and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS, a private international technology group. [1]
Services
Ground Station Services
KSAT’s Ground Station Services offers TT&C, RF data acquisition, communication backhaul, network framework hosting and maintenance, and launch and early orbit support for major satellites. The company aims to not only build ground stations but to supply reliable data delivery services. [2]
KSAT Lite
KSAT Lite is a small-aperture ground station network designed to be used by SmallSat users and the private space industry. KSAT Lite is designed to work with satellite constellation networks as they grow from a pass-by-pass basis to needing constant constellation support. [3]
Partnership with TESAT
Since 2018, KSAT and TESAT have been cooperating to establish an optical ground segment that is vital for the development and growth of optical Direct-to-earth onboard systems. To this end, KSAT has installed the world’s first commercially available optical ground station in Greece while utilizing TESAT’s NewSpace CubeLCT terminal, which was launched in February 2021.
The next major milestone is planned for 2022 when the TOSIRIS terminal, which enables downlink speeds of up to 10Gbits, is to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS). KSAT also founded the European Optical Nucleus Network with the ESA and DLR to provide capacity to CCSDS O3K compatible missions which will be first used by TESAT LCT terminals. [4]
