Press release
Kratos Introduces the Software Replacement for Traditional Satcom Hubs
Fully virtual and orchestrated, OpenSpace vStar enables operators to deploy flexible satcom networks for next generation satellites SAN DIEGO, March 09, 2023
About this update from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Fully virtual and orchestrated, OpenSpace vStar enables operators to deploy flexible satcom networks for next generation satellites\nSAN DIEGO, March 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a Technology Company in Defense, National Security and Global Markets, introduced the first of its OpenSpace® vStar solutions designed to modernize satellite communications (satcom) ground systems and enable them to interoperate smoothly with terrestrial and cellular networks. Part of Kratos’ OpenSpace® Platform, vStar products are virtual replacements for the traditional hardware-based hubs used in satcom today. As software, vStar offers dramatic advantages over traditional hubs, including simultaneous support for point-to-point and star topologies, multi-mission operations, dynamic configuration and touchless deployment within cloud and hybrid environments. According to Greg Quiggle, SVP of Space Product Management at Kratos, “With 5G, the wireless industry has shifted from purpose-built hardware equipment to flexible, software-defined networks, called vRANs, expanding their markets and services in the process. OpenSpace implements this same model to mainstream satcom services with the rest of the global communications infrastructure while simultaneously capitalizing on the advanced capabilities built into the new generation of software-defined satellites.” The Evolving Satcom WorldToday, satellite operators employ satcom hubs in their networks providing connectivity to the many remote user terminals in the field. These hubs are racks of purpose-built hardware devices, such as satcom modulators and demodulators, which must all be physically installed at one or more teleports or ground stations. The permanent nature of these installations makes them severely limited functionally. In addition, they lock satellite operators into a single vendor’s equipment and usually to a specific network topology. However, two phenomena are occurring across the space industry making this approach obsolete. The first is that satellite technology has made tremendous leaps forward in recent years enabling more dynamic services, such as software-defined satellites and large constellations of smallsats. The second is that terrestrial and wireless networks, which make up 99% of the world’s communications infrastructur...