A brand new purpose built satellite ground station has been established in Adelaide to support Airbus Defence and Space’s Skynet secure military satellite communications.
The Australian facility extends an existing chain of teleports in France, Germany, Norway, the UK and the USA, providing global coverage for fixed and mobile satellite services. This worldwide teleport network provides global coverage for connectivity services by providing the link between the satellite constellation and terrestrial networks for reliable end-to-end connectivity at the highest service levels.
Photo is courtesy of Airbus Defence & Space.
Skynet supports military SATCOM operations across the globe, especially in remote areas with little or no communication infrastructure and in mid-ocean, distanced from land and shipping lanes—making it ideal for naval and airborne platforms, as well as land operations.
The new Australian ground station is managed by Airbus Defence and Space in partnership with Speedcast, which has a long heritage in ground station and teleport operations and already manages more than 30 ground stations around the world. Speedcast, as a local Australian provider for more than 25 years, has worked with the Australian military developing a wide range of complex communication solutions.
Airbus Defence and Space’s teleports are fully redundant and operate 24/7. They have more than 25 antennas, ranging from 2.4 to 14 meters in size and are all locked onto the Skynet constellation of high powered X-band and UHF satellites, as well as commercial Ku-band assets.
Artistic rendition of the Skynet 5A satellite.
Image is courtesy of Airbus Defence & Space.
Airbus Defence and Space completed the move of the Skynet 5A military communications satellite to 95 degrees East over the Asia Pacific region in September 2015. The relocation was initiated to extend the Skynet constellation’s coverage and services from 178 West to 163 East, including the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific region. The Skynet network now offers global military coverage, expanding core service reach for the UK military and augmenting coalition capabilities in the region.