Hosted Payload
Encyclopedia
A hosted payload is a module attached to a commercial satellite with communications circuitry that operates independently of the main spacecraft
but which shares the satellite’s power supply
and transponder
s.
The concept has been also been referred to as “piggybacking” or “hitchhiking.”
Hosted payloads are used most often by government agencies
seeking to have communications capability in orbit
without having to pay the cost of building and launching an entire government-owned satellite
. Using a hosted payload on a commercial satellite can reduce both the expense and time required to get communications capacity into space. However, because some government agencies desire to own and control entire satellite platforms, hosted payloads have not been widely accepted by government space planners, despite the fact that a large proportion of government satellite communications is over commercially-owned and operated satellites.
For example, according to Space Commerce, over 80% of all U.S. government and military satellite
communications goes through commercial services.
Hosted payloads have been developed to give government agencies the ability to own and control a portion of a satellite’s capacity.
In 2007, the Department of Defense
projected that satellite demand for the next 10-13 years would increase much more rapidly than the government could build and launch its own satellite systems, making hosted payloads on commercial satellites an attractive alternative.
Hosted payloads are perfect for a variety of missions. These include Space Situational Awareness (SSA) such as collision avoidance
, debris monitoring, nuclear detection
and still imagery; and data collection
for hyper-spectral sounding, ocean color analysis, ozone mapping, earth staring, and weather tracking; as well as communications; and research and development.
A Hosted Payload’s schedule usually takes from start date to launch around 30 months. This launch time is actually an advantage compared to the longer launch date of typical government satellite programs. Hosted Payload’s also allow the government a way to reduce and risks when it comes to program funding, launch delays and operational concerns.
As of March 2010, eighteen commercial satellites that had the capability to carry U.S. government piggyback payloads have been placed into production, but only one is expected to host a payload because the government has yet to have a policy on the matter.
The role of hosted payloads in the government has been increasing over the years. In 2007, Department of Defense’s projected satellite demand for the next 10–13 years shows a rise in satellite demand but a gap in actual capability. Hosted Payloads is a potential answer to meet the demand of satellites through their ability to provide rapid and dependable access into space.
In December 2010, mobile satellite provider, Inmarsat
, announced plans to construct three Ka-band satellites to provide bandwidth to commercial military customers. One of the Global Xpress satellites, to be built by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, will carry a hosted payload built by Inmarsat. It is expected to be leased by a customer of the U.S. Department of Defense.
A particularly promising area of development for hosted payloads is in earth observation
missions. There are countless environmental monitoring
missions, both old and new, which should be launched in the coming years.
program which is in plans to evaluate the utility of throughout enhancement
According to Intelsat
, a leading provider of fixed satellites, IRIS is a “technology demonstrator” hosted payload. An example of such was launched in November 2009 called the Intelsat 14. According to Intelsat’s press release and Steve Boutelle, Vice President, Cisco Global Government Solutions Group, the IRIS payload supports network services for voice, video and data communications, enabling U.S. military units and allied forces to communicate with one another using Internet Protocol
(IP) and existing ground equipment. In January 2010, Cisco completed the first-ever software upgrade of an IP router aboard a commercial satellite while in orbit.
(AIS), which monitors vessel traffic for maritime domain awareness. The payload is testing the feasibility and effectiveness of AIS message reception and reporting from space for ship tracking and other navigational activities.
The Coast Guard paid a commercial satellite operator (Orbcomm
) to develop and integrate the NAIS demonstration payload on one commercial satellite. Sensing a business opportunity, the company used its own funds to add the same capability to five additional satellites. Other customers of a satellite-based AIS data service could include the Navy
, NOAA, insurance
firms, and trucking companies.
The U.S. Coast Guard is not the only branch of the military involved with Hosted Payload opportunities. Air Force's Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) Flight Demonstration Program, which will launch a wide field-of-view, passive infrared sensor on a commercial GEO (SES-2) in 2011. The experiment supports next-generation infrared
sensor system development and is essential to reducing technology risk for the Third Generation Infrared Surveillance (3GIRS) system.
The Air Force is expected save costs by flying this mission via hosted payload. According to the Office of Space Commerce, it would cost approximately $500 million to launch a dedicated free flyer to satisfy 100% of the technical questions associated with the experiment. The hosted payload ended up costing $65 million and should satisfy 80% of the technical questions.
The Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) has also employed a hosted payload approach to set its own payloads on four commercial geosynchronous satellite
s.
teamed up with Intelsat and an ILS Proton will launch the Intelsat 22
satellite for Intelsat S.A. In April 2009 Intelsat announced an expansion agreement when it comes to Intelsat 22’s mission for hosted payload services with the Australian Defence Force
(ADF). According to a press release, the Intelsat 22 satellite is under construction by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems is scheduled for launch in the first half of 2012. The ADF purchased the remainder of the specialized Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) communications payload that Intelsat is integrating within its Intelsat 22 satellite.
The Intelsat 22 satellite is set to provide optimal coverage for growing opportunities for enterprise networks, mobility and defense-related applications.
With budget concerns facing the US space program, increasingly hosted payloads are being examined as a more cost effective alternative to traditional space launch
es into orbit.WSJ This increased focus has led to development of knowledge bases to further promote the perceived benefits of hosted payloads by the space industry
, the best example is the development of hostedpayload.com by Space News and Intelsat General.
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
but which shares the satellite’s power supply
Power supply
A power supply is a device that supplies electrical energy to one or more electric loads. The term is most commonly applied to devices that convert one form of electrical energy to another, though it may also refer to devices that convert another form of energy to electrical energy...
and transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
s.
The concept has been also been referred to as “piggybacking” or “hitchhiking.”
Hosted payloads are used most often by government agencies
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
seeking to have communications capability in orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
without having to pay the cost of building and launching an entire government-owned satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
. Using a hosted payload on a commercial satellite can reduce both the expense and time required to get communications capacity into space. However, because some government agencies desire to own and control entire satellite platforms, hosted payloads have not been widely accepted by government space planners, despite the fact that a large proportion of government satellite communications is over commercially-owned and operated satellites.
For example, according to Space Commerce, over 80% of all U.S. government and military satellite
Military satellite
A military satellite is an artificial satellite used for a military purpose, often for gathering intelligence, as a communications satellite used for military purposes, or as a military weapon.-Description:*Star Wars program...
communications goes through commercial services.
Hosted payloads have been developed to give government agencies the ability to own and control a portion of a satellite’s capacity.
In 2007, the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
projected that satellite demand for the next 10-13 years would increase much more rapidly than the government could build and launch its own satellite systems, making hosted payloads on commercial satellites an attractive alternative.
Hosted payloads are perfect for a variety of missions. These include Space Situational Awareness (SSA) such as collision avoidance
Collision avoidance
In spaceflight, collision avoidance is the process of preventing a spacecraft from colliding with any other vehicle or object.-Launch Windows:Collision avoidance, or COLA is a concern during spaceflight launch windows...
, debris monitoring, nuclear detection
Nuclear detection
The threat of radiological attacks has led several organizations to develop specially designed nuclear detection systems. These systems differ in design and abilities.* * * Center for Neutron Research...
and still imagery; and data collection
Data collection
Data collection is a term used to describe a process of preparing and collecting data, for example, as part of a process improvement or similar project. The purpose of data collection is to obtain information to keep on record, to make decisions about important issues, to pass information on to...
for hyper-spectral sounding, ocean color analysis, ozone mapping, earth staring, and weather tracking; as well as communications; and research and development.
A Hosted Payload’s schedule usually takes from start date to launch around 30 months. This launch time is actually an advantage compared to the longer launch date of typical government satellite programs. Hosted Payload’s also allow the government a way to reduce and risks when it comes to program funding, launch delays and operational concerns.
As of March 2010, eighteen commercial satellites that had the capability to carry U.S. government piggyback payloads have been placed into production, but only one is expected to host a payload because the government has yet to have a policy on the matter.
The role of hosted payloads in the government has been increasing over the years. In 2007, Department of Defense’s projected satellite demand for the next 10–13 years shows a rise in satellite demand but a gap in actual capability. Hosted Payloads is a potential answer to meet the demand of satellites through their ability to provide rapid and dependable access into space.
In December 2010, mobile satellite provider, Inmarsat
Inmarsat
Inmarsat plc is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global, mobile services. It provides telephony and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate to ground stations through eleven geostationary telecommunications satellites...
, announced plans to construct three Ka-band satellites to provide bandwidth to commercial military customers. One of the Global Xpress satellites, to be built by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, will carry a hosted payload built by Inmarsat. It is expected to be leased by a customer of the U.S. Department of Defense.
A particularly promising area of development for hosted payloads is in earth observation
Earth observation
Earth observation is the gathering of information about planet Earth’s physical, chemical and biological systems. It is used to monitor and assess the status of, and changes in, the natural environment and the built environment. In recent years, Earth observation has become technologically more and...
missions. There are countless environmental monitoring
Environmental monitoring
Environmental monitoring describes the processes and activities that need to take place to characterise and monitor the quality of the environment...
missions, both old and new, which should be launched in the coming years.
IRIS
When it comes to Hosted Payloads, there is currently an Internet Routing in Space (IRIS)IRIS (Internet Routing in Space)
IRIS was a program to build a radiation-tolerant IP router created by Cisco Systems for satellite and related spacecraft. It is a follow on from Cisco's earlier CLEO router in space on the UK-DMC satellite...
program which is in plans to evaluate the utility of throughout enhancement
According to Intelsat
Intelsat
Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
, a leading provider of fixed satellites, IRIS is a “technology demonstrator” hosted payload. An example of such was launched in November 2009 called the Intelsat 14. According to Intelsat’s press release and Steve Boutelle, Vice President, Cisco Global Government Solutions Group, the IRIS payload supports network services for voice, video and data communications, enabling U.S. military units and allied forces to communicate with one another using Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
(IP) and existing ground equipment. In January 2010, Cisco completed the first-ever software upgrade of an IP router aboard a commercial satellite while in orbit.
Other examples
An example of a hosted payload implemented into the military is the U.S. Coast Guard's Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) Project. According to the Office of Space Commerce, NAIS is designed to enhance the current Automatic Identification SystemAutomatic Identification System
The Automatic Identification System is an automatic tracking system used on ships and by Vessel traffic services for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and AIS Base stations...
(AIS), which monitors vessel traffic for maritime domain awareness. The payload is testing the feasibility and effectiveness of AIS message reception and reporting from space for ship tracking and other navigational activities.
The Coast Guard paid a commercial satellite operator (Orbcomm
Orbcomm
ORBCOMM is a company that offers M2M global asset monitoring and messaging services from its constellation of 29 LEO communications satellites orbiting at 775 km. Like its voice-centric competitors Iridium and Globalstar, it filed for Chapter 11 protection, in September, 2000. ORBCOMM issued...
) to develop and integrate the NAIS demonstration payload on one commercial satellite. Sensing a business opportunity, the company used its own funds to add the same capability to five additional satellites. Other customers of a satellite-based AIS data service could include the Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
, NOAA, insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
firms, and trucking companies.
The U.S. Coast Guard is not the only branch of the military involved with Hosted Payload opportunities. Air Force's Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) Flight Demonstration Program, which will launch a wide field-of-view, passive infrared sensor on a commercial GEO (SES-2) in 2011. The experiment supports next-generation infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
sensor system development and is essential to reducing technology risk for the Third Generation Infrared Surveillance (3GIRS) system.
The Air Force is expected save costs by flying this mission via hosted payload. According to the Office of Space Commerce, it would cost approximately $500 million to launch a dedicated free flyer to satisfy 100% of the technical questions associated with the experiment. The hosted payload ended up costing $65 million and should satisfy 80% of the technical questions.
The Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA) has also employed a hosted payload approach to set its own payloads on four commercial geosynchronous satellite
Geosynchronous satellite
A geosynchronous Satellite is a satellite whose orbit on the Earth repeats regularly over points on the Earth over time. If such a satellite's orbit lies over the equator, the orbit is circular and its angular velocity is the same as the earth's, then it is called a geostationary satellite...
s.
Australian Defence Force/ ILS
International Launch ServicesInternational Launch Services
International Launch Services is a U.S.-Russian joint venture with exclusive rights to the worldwide sale of commercial Proton rocket launch services from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.- Ownership :...
teamed up with Intelsat and an ILS Proton will launch the Intelsat 22
Intelsat 22
Intelsat 22 is a new satellite under construction by Boeing Space Systems for the Intelsat Corp. The satellite is planned to be located at 72 degrees East Longitude over the Indian Ocean....
satellite for Intelsat S.A. In April 2009 Intelsat announced an expansion agreement when it comes to Intelsat 22’s mission for hosted payload services with the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
(ADF). According to a press release, the Intelsat 22 satellite is under construction by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems is scheduled for launch in the first half of 2012. The ADF purchased the remainder of the specialized Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) communications payload that Intelsat is integrating within its Intelsat 22 satellite.
The Intelsat 22 satellite is set to provide optimal coverage for growing opportunities for enterprise networks, mobility and defense-related applications.
With budget concerns facing the US space program, increasingly hosted payloads are being examined as a more cost effective alternative to traditional space launch
Space launch
Space launch is the earliest part of a flight that reaches space. Space launch involves liftoff, when a rocket or other space launch vehicle leaves the ground at the start of a flight...
es into orbit.WSJ This increased focus has led to development of knowledge bases to further promote the perceived benefits of hosted payloads by the space industry
Space industry
Space industry refers to economic activities related to manufacturing components that go into Earth's orbit or beyond, delivering them to those regions, and related services. Owing to the prominence of the satellite-related activities, some sources use the term satellite industry interchangeably...
, the best example is the development of hostedpayload.com by Space News and Intelsat General.