In Space, timing is everything. During the commissioning and deployment of a satellite, operators have a limited time to get the system commissioned and handed over to the customer. The same is true when an anomaly occurs, such as an electrical glitch caused by exposure to radiation. Operators then have small windows of time to carry out critical work, such as rebooting subsystems, to resume normal operation of the satellite.

It’s not just these significant events in a satellite’s lifetime that require a rapid operator response. Time is of the essence even for day-to-day operations. For a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, operators only have a window of 10-15 minutes to "talk" to the satellite as it passes overhead. Twin this with the fact that it is often of vital importance to get satellite data as quickly as possible (for applications such as disaster response) and it goes without saying that those minutes must be used to full advantage.

SSTL supports its customers with training to make sure ground segment operators are prepared and properly equipped to get the most out of these short time slots. The only problem is that the satellite is often out of reach, or not even built, when training and testing of the customer ground segment is required. So SSTL uses simulators to give operators the chance to conduct "dry-runs" and familiarise themselves with ground station equipment. The "virtual" experience gained from training on a simulator is invaluable to improve the speed and efficacy of the operator and allows them to gain experience of recovering non-nominal situations without the use of a "live" or in orbit asset.

The simulators act as "dummy satellites", providing the same basic interfaces and functionality as a real satellite. The only difference being that wires replace the 700km-long wireless link that would connect the satellite to the groundstation from orbit.

Whilst training helps SSTL customers operate their own satellites, they certainly don’t have to go it alone. The satellites SSTL has launched are tracked from its groundstation in Guildford, and the operations team provides backup operations day and night.

It’s simple to see that simulators are invaluable in ensuring we make the most of the short windows in time we have to communicate with the satellites; and to provide the services that are now taken for granted in our daily lives. As our requirements get more complex, so do our satellites, and their corresponding simulators. Stay tuned to read about SSTL’s exciting new "Satellite in a Suitcase".

Last weekend over 2,000 software developers, engineers, hackers and space enthusiasts gathered at 26 different locations across the world to partake in the NASA Space Apps Challenge.

The two day Challenge took on real world problems and tried to solve them using freely available open-source data. It promoted collaborative development, and gave civilians the chance to improve life on Earth. SSTL sponsored one of the UK events, which was hosted by the International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) and took place in its Harwell, Oxford facility.



The international effort is reported to be a resounding success, with more than 100 solutions developed in under 48 hours. The UK’s Met Office took a moment off predicting the awful British weather to spearhead the European events and has chosen two solutions from Europe that will compete in the global finals. These solutions are Growers Nation and We Love Data.

Growers Nation is a collaboration between developers in Exeter, San Francisco, New York City, Santiago, Nairobi and Santo Domingo. It explores the potential of unused land for the growing of crops by determining what produce will grow where, based on soil characteristics and weather data. This app could have a huge impact on third world food security. For updates on this app follow the team on twitter @growersnation.

We Love Data have developed an app that will warn users when high pollen counts are imminent - helping them to prepare, making it handy for the millions of allergy sufferers across the world.



Other applications developed in Europe include MyTravelImpact, an app that assesses the effect of the weather and the convenience of transport options on people’s transport decisions and their subsequent carbon footprint and Predict the Sky (see the video above), an app that informs people about what they’ll be able to see in the night sky in a particular location by using ISS, HST and weather forecast. For a list of the top 50 solutions visit the Space Apps Challenge website.

The best regional solutions will now be judged and a global winner announced.

Tomorrow, space enthusiasts across the world will get together to try and work out solutions and applications that space technology can provide for mankind.

In case you hadn’t already guessed, we’re talking about NASA’s Space Apps Challenge, a 2 day codeathon-style extravaganza aimed at promoting open source development and partnership. Events will take place across all 7 continents, and even in space on the International Space Station. It will give the world’s best engineers, designers and developers a chance to solve some of the world’s greatest problems using freely available open data.



Whereas yesterday’s space industry was geared towards trumping the competition with superior technology, today’s space race is to find the new and novel ways to apply this technology to improve life on Earth.

Whether it’s international cooperation for disaster management, building experimental nanosats, or trialling the latest commercial technologies in space – collaborating on new innovations and new approaches in space is something SSTL are delighted to support. It’s for this reason that SSTL are sponsoring the Space Apps events in Exeter and Oxford. Sir Martin Sweeting, Chairman of SSTL said:

“We are pleased to support this event as access to space has become universal, and at the same time the application of data from space has become ingrained in our daily lives. Projects like our STRaND-1 collaboration with the University of Surrey, and the UK’s TechDemoSat-1 allow us to explore new ideas and technologies that are the catalyst for tomorrow’s space applications.”

Challenges highlighted in the event include ‘The Pineapple Project’ - a task to use climate data to help agricultural planning, and ‘#HazardMap’ that would take advantage of the immediacy of citizen journalism and social media for disaster management and emergency response. And ask yourself this: What would you do if you wanted to repair the International Space Station without the cost of sending up parts? Well, another challenge addresses just that, proposing the possibility of using a 3D printer in space to make new parts to order! These are just a couple in the broad range of applications for space data that the event, will explore.

This is a year of momentous milestones in the life of Britain, ranging from Charles Dickens’ bicentenary to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Adding further significance to 2012 is the UK space industry, which has a golden anniversary to mark: the launch of the nation’s first satellite, Ariel-1, on April 26th 1962.

Built by NASA in collaboration with a team of British academics, Ariel-1 was the world’s first international satellite, and constituted the foundation of the UK space sector – now annually worth £7.5 billion to the UK economy, and supportive of some 70,000 jobs across a variety of the nation’s industries.

To mark this special anniversary, the UK Space Agency is presenting a two-day space symposium on the 26th and 27th of April, at the home of their active co-hosts, the Science Museum. Now a year old, the UKSA has much to be enthusiastic about; and the symposium will commemorate past achievements, and explore the future direction of Britain’s thriving space industry – with contributions from some of the leading players in the sector today.

The UK Space Agency was founded to provide strategic support to the sector, while making significant investments through its 230m civil space budget. Almost 90 per cent of the agency’s budget currently goes to the European Space Agency, for collaborative pan-European space projects. This strategy is helping to secure Britain’s role as a key player in the development of Europe’s space going future.

SSTL is a case in point; with its current role in the European Commission’s European GNSS program. The company will assemble eight batches of satellite navigational payloads, on top of the 14 it is already building. In addition, the UK government recently announced that it would invest in the development of NovaSAR, SSTL’s small radar satellite. The space agency’s work signifies government recognition of the groundbreaking work in space technology by UK universities, research centres, and companies like SSTL.



SSTL is itself of historical significance, as the creator of the first ‘talking satellite’, UoSAT-1 in 1981. Their current work in nanosatellite and microsatellite technology, is a far cry from the ancestral Ariel-1, which had the aesthetics of a 1950’s ‘sci-fi’ fantasy space craft: multiple, sphere-like radio antennas protruding from a cylindrical body; multiple solar arrays; inertia booms to control the craft’s spin, and a 100-minute tape to store a single orbit’s worth of data.

Perhaps the most dramatic contrast in SSTL’s current work, to the ‘little-green-man’ craft that was Ariel-1, is its Smartphone satellite STRaND-1. This unique nanosatellite is designed around a Google Nexus One, Android Smartphone. In a playful nod to classic science-fictions’ dream of a space-going future, is the inclusion of an App on the phone that tests out the film Alien’s infamous slogan: ‘In space no-one can hear you scream’.

Providing SSTL’s contribution to the UK Space Agency’s symposium, will be Shaun Kenyon, lead System Engineer on the aforementioned, nanosatellite STRaND-1. On the 26th, 
he will discuss the importance of flagship projects and small satellites to UK space technology. Shaun’s insights will help to put in context the retrospective significance of Ariel-1, as he expounds his belief in the importance of satellite technology and low cost access to space for commercial endeavours.