Small satellites team with ground sensors in demonstration of future battlefield communications- A&S Automation Co., Ltd

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Small satellites team with ground sensors in demonstration of future battlefield communications

Nicknamed "Able" and "Baker," two nanosatellites were launched Sept. 13 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on an Atlas V launch vehicle. Members of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command used the satellites, coupled with unattended ground sensors, to conduct recent tests at Redstone Arsenal to show how the technology could be teamed to protect combat troops.

The simulation included the use of unattended ground sensors linked to the satellites. The information gathered could then be downloaded directly to a soldier on the battlefield.

"Soldiers would then be able to get area info, such as infiltrations, from ground sensors so they don't have to go into harm's way. Basically the warfighter will have to initially go into harm's way to place the unattended ground sensors, but once they have put them in the ground the satellite will interrogate the sensors on every pass," said Cindy McCoy, USASMDC/ARSTRAT Space and Cyberspace Directorate contractor.

"Whatever crosses the sensors will receive a time stamp and whatever changes or activities happen in a specific area will be noted and the soldiers will not have to be put into danger to retrieve and it will ultimately save lives," she said.

The Army launched its first nanosatellite, the Space and Missile Defense Command - Operational Nanosatellite Effect , or SMDC-One, in 2010. That launch marked the first U.S. Army-built satellite launch in more than 50 years.

The original orbit was to test the satellite's capabilities to relay data from a ground transmitter to a ground station. Eventually, Army officials said they would like to build several identical low-orbit satellites to enhance communications.

The most recent test is part of that ongoing effort to utilize low-cost space capabilities in assisting tactical units. According to Mark Ray, general engineer with SMDC Technical Center, Space Division, the test was used to verify that the satellites can use the unattended ground sensors to relay data.

"The satellite launched in December 2010 had the ability to communicate using digital data using the unattended ground sensors and the manned ground stations in Huntsville and Colorado Springs. The two satellites launched in September 2012 have been modified so that ground stations can communicate using military FM radios in analog and voice," Ray said.

"We will experiment with these satellites differently than we did with the first satellite in 2010 by using multiple radios and multiple radio channels," he said. "We plan to have a ground station in Colorado Springs but have not set one up yet. The goal is that any two users within the footprint of the satellite can talk to each other by voice using the military FM radios. That footprint is approximately 2,200 kilometers, or almost half the surface of the continental United States is covered by one or the other satellite."

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Small satellites team with ground sensors in demonstration of future battlefield communications

Small satellites team with ground sensors in demonstration of future battlefield communications- A&S Automation Co., Ltd

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