Federal Tech Talk

Satellites: Ground station innovation parallels satellite surge

Phil Carrai, President of the Space, Training and Cybersecurity division at Kratos, joins host John Gilroy on this week's Federal Tech Talk to discuss how a sur...

October 20, 2020 7:26 am

1 min read

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This week on Federal Tech Talk, host John Gilroy spoke with Phil Carrai, president of the Space, Training and Cybersecurity division at Kratos. Their products are used by more than 75% of the world’s satellite operators and 85% of U.S.-based space missions.

The dominant story of 2020 has been COVID-19. The next biggest story may be the number of satellite launches. It seems like every day you see news of another satellite, or group of satellites, being sent into space. This flurry of activity has caused innovation in the ground systems that get data from satellites.

From the perspective of a federal information technology professional, what does this mean?

Carrai explained the outmoded technology approach used by some ground systems will not be able to handle the hundreds of new satellites projected for the next few years. His company is at the vanguard of applying newer technology that will allow federal information technology professionals to provide data that is dynamic, flexible, and able to integrate with other systems.

The platform from Kratos is called OpenSpace. It uses technologies like virtualization and software-defined networks in satellite communications.

This new architecture will allow federal agencies to apply concepts like Zero Trust, make them be able to integrate systems, and increase cybersecurity.