. 24/7 Space News .
MICROSAT BLITZ
Lockheed Martin's First Smart Satellites are Tiny with Big Missions
by Staff Writers
Denver CO (SPX) Mar 21, 2019

Lockheed Martin's nanosatellite bus, the LM 50, will host the first SmartSat-enabled missions set for delivery this year.

Lockheed Martin has announced a new generation of space technology launching this year that will allow satellites to change their missions in orbit. Satellites that launched one, ten or even fifteen years ago largely have the same capability they had when they lifted off.

That's changing with new architecture that will let users add capability and assign new missions with a software push, just like adding an app on a smartphone. This new tech, called SmartSat, is a software-defined satellite architecture that will boost capability for payloads on several pioneering nanosats ready for launch this year.

"Imagine a new type of satellite that acts more like a smartphone. Add a SmartSat app to your satellite in-orbit, and you've changed the mission," said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space. "We are the first to deploy this groundbreaking technology on multiple missions. SmartSat will give our customers unparalleled resiliency and flexibility for changing mission needs and technology, and it unlocks even greater processing power in space."

This year Lockheed Martin is integrating SmartSat technology on ten programs and counting, including the Linus and Pony Express nanosats, which will be the first to launch. These are rapid-prototype, testbed satellites using internal research and development funding, ready for 2019 launches on the first LM 50 nanosatellite buses:

+ The Linus project delivers two 12U cubesats performing a technology demonstration mission, validating SmartSat capabilities as well as 3D-printed spacecraft components.

+ Pony Express builds multiple 6U satellites destined for a low earth orbit and will space qualify state-of-the-art networking technologies. Pony Express 1 is a pathfinder for a software-defined payload that will test cloud computing infrastructure and was developed in nine months. Follow-on Pony Express missions will prove out RF-enabled swarming formations and space-to-space networking.

"SmartSat is a major step forward in our journey to completely transform the way we design, build and deliver satellites," said Ambrose.

"The LM 50 bus is the perfect platform for testing this new, groundbreaking technology. We're self-funding these missions to demonstrate a number of new capabilities that can plug into any satellite in our fleet, from the LM 50 nanosat to our flagship LM 2100.

"And the same technology not only plugs into ground stations, improving space-ground integration, it will one day connect directly with planes, ships and ground vehicles, connecting front-line users to the power of space like never before."

Cyber security is at the core of this new technology. SmartSat-enabled satellites can reset themselves faster, diagnose issues with greater precision and back each other up when needed, significantly enhancing resiliency. Satellites can also better detect and defend against cyber threats autonomously, and on-board cyber defenses can be updated regularly to address new threats.

SmartSat uses a hypervisor to securely containerize virtual machines. It's a technology that lets a single computer operate multiple servers virtually to maximize memory, on-board processing and network bandwidth. It takes advantage of multi-core processing, something new to space. That lets satellites process more data in orbit so they can beam down just the most critical and relevant information-saving bandwidth costs and reducing the burden on ground station analysts, and ultimately opening the door for tomorrow's data centers in space.

SmartSat uses a high-power, radiation-hardened computer developed by the National Science Foundation's Center for Space, High-performance, and Resilient Computing, or SHREC. Lockheed Martin helps fund SHREC research, and in turn gains access to world-class technologies and student researchers.


Related Links
Lockheed Martin
Microsat News and Nanosat News at SpaceMart.com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


MICROSAT BLITZ
Ready for Launch, NASA: UVA Space Satellite is A-OK
Charlottesville VA (SPX) Mar 04, 2019
A project built by a team of University of Virginia engineering students took a giant leap toward outer space Tuesday when they and student colleagues from Old Dominion University and Virginia Tech delivered small satellites, called "CubeSats," to NanoRacks, an aerospace company in Houston. NanoRocks will integrate the CubeSats into a deployer aboard a rocket set for launch next month to the International Space Station. The satellites are part of the Virginia CubeSat Constellation mission, a ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

MICROSAT BLITZ
NASA's JPL seeking applicants for First Space Accelerator

Soyuz MS-12 docks at the International Space Station

NASA astronauts Hague, Koch arrive safely at Space Station

Astronauts on aborted Soyuz launch to blast off again for ISS

MICROSAT BLITZ
Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome Ready for Space, ISS Launches

Brazil leader, wooing Trump, opens base to US rockets

Aerojet Rocketdyne Powers WGS-10 Military Communications Satellite from Launch Pad to Orbit

NASA heavy rocket may not get off the ground in time for Lunar mission

MICROSAT BLITZ
NASA's Mars 2020 rover is put to the test

Trembling Aspen Leaves Could Save Future Mars Rovers

Drone maps icy lava tube to prepare for cave exploration on Moon and Mars

InSight lander among latest ExoMars image bounty

MICROSAT BLITZ
Super-powerful Long March 9 said to begin missions around 2030

China preparing for space station missions

China's lunar rover studies stones on moon's far side

China improves Long March-6 rocket for growing commercial launches

MICROSAT BLITZ
UAE announces pan-Arab body for space programme

Lockheed Martin develops world-first LTE-Over-Satellite System

OneWeb Secures $1.25 Billion in New Funding After Successful Launch

New observations for the new economy

MICROSAT BLITZ
Acucela Signs Agreement to Develop a Compact OCT for NASA's Deep Space Missions

Raytheon contracted for SPY-6 radars for DDG 51 Flight III destroyers

Not so fantastic: Can Japan end its love affair with plastic?

Materials could delay frost up to 300 times longer than existing anti-icing coatings

MICROSAT BLITZ
Carbon monoxide detectors could warn of extraterrestrial life

Cooking Up Alien Atmospheres on Earth

ALMA observes the formation sites of solar-system-like planets

SETI Institute: Agreement with Unistellar to Develop Citizen Science Network

MICROSAT BLITZ
A Prehistoric Mystery in the Kuiper Belt

Ultima Thule in 3D

SwRI-led New Horizons research indicates small Kuiper Belt objects are surprisingly rare

Astronomers Optimistic About Planet Nine's Existence









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.