Keysight's New Study Highlight's the Importance of Software Validation as a Challenge for Satellite Industry

Keysight's New Study Highlight's the Importance of Software Validation as a Challenge for Satellite Industry

Keysight has released Defying Gravity, a new space technology survey revealing that three in four decision-makers consider software test automation as one of the top technical challenges impacting the satellite industry.  

The survey found that 76% of industry professionals see software test automation as the top challenge, followed by 53% for system-level modeling and simulation, and 46% for design validation. These findings highlight the need for advanced automation and emulation tools that can accelerate design and engineering processes. This is reflected in the top industry trends identified by respondents, with 43% citing shortened product development times as the leading trend, followed by 37% for advanced payload systems, and 34% for artificial intelligence. 

Other key findings from the Defying Gravity survey include:

  • Satellites driving industry trends – When looking at the top ten industry trends for the next three years, respondents mentioned satellites most frequently. The top trend identified was small satellites in geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO), followed by very high throughput satellites, cybersecurity, in-orbit services, and large constellations in low earth orbit (LEO).
  • Data gathering and communications top impacts – When identifying the applications that will impact the industry the most, respondents most frequently cited data gathering, research, and communications. The top application cited was big-data gathering and analytics, followed by uses including earth observation, global positioning/time services, science/research, and internet/voice/broadcast services.
  • Costs and supply chain greatest risks – When asked to assess the greatest risks to their projects, respondents reported that costs and supply chain were their primary concerns. The top risk cited was unpredictability in costs, followed by part/subsystem supply, technical scope, and program funding.

To help industry decision-makers and engineers take advantage of these trends by addressing their complex technical challenges, Keysight offers complete space and satellite solutions focused on the end-to-end design and development of product lifecycle and ecosystem. This includes support for the entire satellite product lifecycle from design to validation, including operations, ground stations, and user terminals, as well as proven testing expertise for satellite payloads, radio frequency systems, and power sub-systems.

"The satellite industry is undergoing a major transformation, driven by accelerating technology development in the commercial space sector, and is now turning out new designs with vastly reduced cycle times," said Greg Patschke, General Manager of Keysight's Aerospace / Defense and Government Solutions Group. "The need for high fidelity simulation and emulation, as well as testing expertise, has never been greater to ensure successful mission and business outcomes."

"By relying on Keysight's end-to-end design and validation tools, our customers can be more confident that their satellite and its subsystems will work the first time, every time, throughout the duration of its entire mission," said Patschke.

In addition, tools such as Keysight's PathWave System Design (SystemVue) can accelerate product development cycles through digital twin technology that emulates system-level designs in real-world scenarios. Keysight also accelerates software development through the automated testing capabilities of the artificial intelligence (AI) -enabled Eggplant test platform.

Coleman Parkes Research conducted the research on behalf of Keysight. C-suite members to managers from the space and satellite ecosystem were interviewed for the survey. Represented organizations included satellite developers, manufacturers, sub-system suppliers, operators, and service providers from the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe.

Click here to learn about Keysight's Space and Satellite Solutions.

Publisher: SatNow
Tags:-  SatelliteGround

GNSS Constellations - A list of all GNSS satellites by constellations

beidou

Satellite NameOrbit Date
BeiDou-3 G4Geostationary Orbit (GEO)17 May, 2023
BeiDou-3 G2Geostationary Orbit (GEO)09 Mar, 2020
Compass-IGSO7Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)09 Feb, 2020
BeiDou-3 M19Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M20Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M21Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M22Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 I3Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M23Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019
BeiDou-3 M24Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019

galileo

Satellite NameOrbit Date
GSAT0223MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0224MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0219MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0220MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0221MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0222MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0215MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0216MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0217MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0218MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017

glonass

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Kosmos 2569--07 Aug, 2023
Kosmos 2564--28 Nov, 2022
Kosmos 2559--10 Oct, 2022
Kosmos 2557--07 Jul, 2022
Kosmos 2547--25 Oct, 2020
Kosmos 2545--16 Mar, 2020
Kosmos 2544--11 Dec, 2019
Kosmos 2534--27 May, 2019
Kosmos 2529--03 Nov, 2018
Kosmos 2527--16 Jun, 2018

gps

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Navstar 82Medium Earth Orbit19 Jan, 2023
Navstar 81Medium Earth Orbit17 Jun, 2021
Navstar 78Medium Earth Orbit22 Aug, 2019
Navstar 77Medium Earth Orbit23 Dec, 2018
Navstar 76Medium Earth Orbit05 Feb, 2016
Navstar 75Medium Earth Orbit31 Oct, 2015
Navstar 74Medium Earth Orbit15 Jul, 2015
Navstar 73Medium Earth Orbit25 Mar, 2015
Navstar 72Medium Earth Orbit29 Oct, 2014
Navstar 71Medium Earth Orbit02 Aug, 2014

irnss

Satellite NameOrbit Date
NVS-01Geostationary Orbit (GEO)29 May, 2023
IRNSS-1IInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)12 Apr, 2018
IRNSS-1HSub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)31 Aug, 2017
IRNSS-1GGeostationary Orbit (GEO)28 Apr, 2016
IRNSS-1FGeostationary Orbit (GEO)10 Mar, 2016
IRNSS-1EGeosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)20 Jan, 2016
IRNSS-1DInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)28 Mar, 2015
IRNSS-1CGeostationary Orbit (GEO)16 Oct, 2014
IRNSS-1BInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Apr, 2014
IRNSS-1AInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)01 Jul, 2013