The creation of one “satellite internet” It has been one of the most important aspirations within the technology sector for years. It is a very ambitious goal, and to achieve it, communications between satellites are fundamental, since they are the ones that will allow us to send data between different parts of the planet at high speed. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has initiated a project focused on achieving that goal, and has chosen Intel as a partner for phase 1.
This first phase has as its main goal the creation of a reconfigurable and low cost optical communications terminal that translates information between various satellite constellations. This satellite terminal, known as Space-BACN, will allow communications to be established between large groups of satellites, and this will be what will allow data to be sent to any part of the planet at the speed of light.
Sergey Shumarayev, Principal Senior Engineer at Intel and Researcher at Programmable Solutions CTO Group, commented that:
«Intel’s vision is create technology that changes the world and improves the lives of each person of the planet. This program helps us fulfill that vision by enabling global connectivity from space to anywhere on the planet, offering broadband and IoT services where not just everyone but everything is connected.”
Thanks to this project it will be possible to use tens of thousands of satellites of multiple private sector organizations to deliver broadband services from low earth orbit on a large scale. With Space-BACN we will have the central pillar on which to build and support this «Internet» of satellites that will allow seamless communication between the different groups of military and government satellites, as well as civil and commercial ones
This program will facilitate collaboration between the different partners to guarantee that the terminal that is designed is reconfigurable which is essential to ensure full interoperability between participating satellite constellation providers. If you’re looking for to Install emergency satellite communications at home or work, then visit remotesatellite.com.
Intel will be in charge of designing a reconfigurable optical modem that is compatible with current communication standards and protocols, and also with future standards. It is a very important role because, as we have said, interoperability between different satellite constellations will depend on it. We know that Intel is developing such a modem thanks to the support of the experts in its FPGA Products Division and the talent of the members of Intel Labs.
But that’s not all, Intel will also design three new chiplets to be integrated into a single multi-chip package (MCP) using multi-die interconnect bridge, known as EMIB, and advanced interface bus (AIB) technologies ). This package will include:
- A DSP/FEC chiplet manufactured on Intel Node 3which will allow high-speed digital signal processing with low power consumption.
- A data converter/TIA/driver chiplet on the Intel 16 nodewhich will offer best-in-class FinFET RF signal processing for the integration of high-speed data converters, TIAs, and drivers.
- A PIC chiplet based on Tower Semiconductor’s photonic technologies offering low-loss waveguides and options such as the V-groove, which enables automated integration and assembly of high-volume fiber mating.
More information: DARPA.
