O3b mPower satellite over the US, SES graphic.

WASHINGTON: Microsoft today announced it plans to integrate its Azure Orbital ground network with satellite firm SES’ next-generation O3b constellation, in a move that could position the tech giant to provide greater coverage for the Defense Department.

The new satellites, dubbed “03b mPower,” will have an increased throughput speed and lower latency (time it takes to transmit to the ground), according to SES and Boeing officials who spoke to reporters today. The first generation of O3b satellites were built by Thales-Alenia; Boeing will manufacture the next-generation sats.

SES and Boeing are “hoping” to launch the first three next-gen systems on a SpaceX rocket by the end of the year, said Steve Collar, SES CEO, with another batch planned for early in the year. The full constellation of 11 O3b mPower birds is expected to be on-orbit by 2023.

SES currently operates 20 O3b satellites in MEO at about 8,000 kilometers in altitude, plus another 50 in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO, some 36,000 kilometers).

Microsoft’s Azure Orbital essentially rents ground stations as a service to satellite operators, and links them to Microsoft’s cloud services. It is specifically cultivating ties to the Pentagon to serve as a link between DoD satellites and commercial satellites, something DoD is keen on in order to create a more robust network less susceptible to crippling attack.

Microsoft announced in October last year that it was expanding its space services with Azure Space, and partnering with SES and SpaceX to link into their space-based internet constellations; in December 2019, Microsoft linked to SES’s GEO communications sats along with those of Viasat and Intelsat.

“Utilising SES’ medium earth orbit system enhances the power of Azure Orbital and enables us to deliver greater resiliency and comprehensive satellite connectivity solutions for our customers,” said William Chappell, VP Azure Global, in today’s SES press release.

Because the O3b constellation is in MEO, it doesn’t actually require a lot of ground stations to operate, unlike satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO, below 2,000 kilometers) — and the integration of the satellites (and the stations) in the Azure Orbital eliminates the need for optical inter-satellite links, explained Collar.

“With a MEO constellation, one of the great benefits is you don’t need, sort of, hundreds of ground stations. In fact, with only seven grand stations around the world, we’re able to deliver full global service,” he said. “As I mentioned, a number of those ground stations are being integrated directly into Microsoft’s network, directly into Azure, to make sure that one hop away from those ground stations, our customers are going to get full access to cloud services, and it’s part of this whole power of cloud scale. We don’t have communications between the satellites because frankly we don’t need them.”

Collar noted that the SES is using open systems software to integrate the new satellites into the rest of its network — a feature that will make it easier for DoD to link its satellites as well.