Satellite and space systems
Transparent (bent-pipe) payloads
Payloads that frequency-translate and amplify signals, keeping the gNB or hub on the ground.
We design and integrate.
3GPP TS 38.300 (NTN, Rel-17) · 3GPP TR 38.821 (NR NTN solutions)
NTN and direct to device: a satellite beam reaching a handheld and a tower at once. The loop, step by step: 1. A phone in a valley with no tower. 2. A satellite rises over the ridge. 3. Instruments confirm the response took effect. 4. The handset finds the satellite’s beam. 5. Each reading is stamped with time and place. 6. A short message climbs to orbit. 7. Relays carry the packets without reading them. 8. Signatures are checked before any model runs. 9. The satellite relays it to a ground tower. 10. The edge releases confirmed results only. 11. The recipient’s phone receives the text. 12. The alert arrives with its evidence attached. 13. The satellite moves on and the tower takes over. 14. Instruments confirm the response took effect. 15. The whole chain is archived for audit. 16. Everything settles back to idle.
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A phone in a valley with no tower
Nexus Observatory/
Space and satellite systems/
NTN and direct-to-device3GPP non-terrestrial networks, from orbit to handset.
NTN and direct-to-device, inside Space and satellite systems: transparent (bent-pipe) payloads, regenerative payloads and on-board processing, 5G NR over satellite (NR-NTN), ioT over satellite (NB-IoT and LTE-M NTN) and more. Every item is traced to its specification, from 3GPP TS 38.300 (NTN, Rel-17) to 3GPP TR 38.821 (NR NTN solutions), and runs on the open Observatory Protocol.
Plan with usArchitectureThe protocol- Technologies
- 7
- At the frontier
- 3
- Protocol functions
- 5 of 12
- Industries served
- 10
01What it is
Communications payloads, NTN and direct-to-device.
The space segment end to end: orbits and constellations, spacecraft buses, communications and Earth observation payloads, inter-satellite links, tracking and command, space safety, launch, and the licensing and filings that let a system operate over a site. The radios, networks, gateways, device management and field protocols that connect low-power sensors and controllers to the grid, sized to a measured power budget. Each technology below carries what it is, what we do with it, and the standard it is drawn against.
Frontier · Satellite and space systems
Regenerative payloads and on-board processing
Payloads that demodulate, route or run base-station functions in orbit, cutting gateway dependence and latency.
We design and integrate.
3GPP Rel-19 NR NTN enhancements (regenerative payload) · 3GPP TS 38.300
Satellite and space systems
5G NR over satellite (NR-NTN)
3GPP NR adapted for satellite delay and Doppler so standard 5G devices and cores work over orbiting access.
We design, integrate, deploy and operate.
3GPP TS 38.300 (NTN, Rel-17) · 3GPP TS 38.101-5 (UE RF, satellite access) · 3GPP TS 38.108 (satellite access node radio)
Satellite and space systems
IoT over satellite (NB-IoT and LTE-M NTN)
Low-power cellular IoT over satellite for sensors in places with no terrestrial coverage.
We design, integrate, deploy and operate.
3GPP TR 36.763 (IoT NTN study) · 3GPP TS 36.300 (Rel-17)
Frontier · Satellite and space systems
Direct-to-device in mobile bands
Satellites serving unmodified phones in terrestrial mobile spectrum to extend coverage at the edge of networks.
We design, integrate and support.
FCC Supplemental Coverage from Space framework (2024) · ITU WRC-27 agenda item 1.13 (Resolution 253 (WRC-23))
IoT, LPWAN and mesh
NB-IoT and LTE-M over satellite (IoT-NTN)
Standard cellular IoT devices reaching satellites where there is no terrestrial coverage.
We design, integrate and deploy.
3GPP TR 36.763 (NB-IoT/eMTC over NTN) · 3GPP TS 36.300 (Rel-17 IoT-NTN)
Frontier · IoT, LPWAN and mesh
NR NTN and direct-to-device
5G NR links from satellites to standard devices, including RedCap over NTN in Rel-19.
We design and integrate.
3GPP TS 38.300 (Rel-17 NR NTN) · 3GPP TR 38.821 (NR NTN solutions)
02Architecture
Where it sits, and what it speaks.
NTN and direct-to-device draws on the spectrum below; the highlighted layers carry this area, and the protocol functions it speaks are marked.
Orbits and constellations
8
Spacecraft buses and platforms
9
Communications payloads, NTN and direct-to-device
9
Inter-satellite and space-to-ground links
7
Earth observation payload classes
10
Tracking, telemetry and command and space safety
9
Launch, licensing and regulation
8
Frontier and research
6
Gateways and teleports
8
User terminals
9
Baseband, modems and software-defined radio
8
Ground-station-as-a-service and antenna networks
7
CCSDS protocol stacks
9
Mission control and flight dynamics
7
Data downlink, processing and distribution
8
Earth station spectrum coordination and interference
7
01Join Identity, attestation quote, signed policy.
02Admit Admitted for a stated scope, nothing wider.
03Describe What, where, how and by whom, with calibration.
04Time One clock across the grid, with its error bound.
05Observe Every value with quality and provenance.
06Qualify Tested against the specification, state on record.
07Federate Signed exchange across grids and trust domains.
08Orchestrate Software and configuration by signed plan.
09Correct A correction marks what depends on it and publishes a new version.
10Exchange Products reach people and applications through versioned interfaces.
11Prove Signed proof receipts that an independent verifier can check.
12Exit and decommission An open exit path, and a record that closes.
03On the grid
Every site joins one observing grid.
The open networks on the grid today, over real relief and the geodesic cells we count them into, filtered to the space domain this area serves. A site built here enrols into the same grid.
The observing grid
- Open space instruments on the observing grid.
04In the field
Where this runs, sector by sector.
Deployment scenarios from the sector research that rely on NTN and direct-to-device.
Government and public safetyDeployable communications and sensing for incident command
A cell on wheels with satellite backhaul, mesh telemetry and environment nodes at the incident base.Development and humanitarianSchool connectivity with a school observatory
Satellite or fixed wireless, school Wi-Fi, an open connectivity probe and an optional station.Development and humanitarianDisplacement-site connectivity and sensing
Point-to-multipoint wireless, satellite backhaul, solar and water-point sensors with protection safeguards.ScientificOcean and coastal low-cost buoy arrays
Satellite-backhauled wave buoys accepted in a national programme trial.TransportHighway corridor mobile coverage for safety
Small cells and satellite backhaul along unserved roads.Government and public safetyNational GBON surface and upper-air network
WMO-grade stations reporting through WIS 2.0, funded through the systematic-observations financing pathway.05Open and enterprise
Open by default. Enterprise by contract.
The open counterpart lives on the main site for anyone to read and run. The enterprise service is designed, deployed and operated with you, under contract.
Open, on the main site
- Orbit and pass methods
- Payload class catalogue
- Ground-station interfaces on the protocol
Enterprise, on this site
- Mission and payload integration
- Tasking and downlink services
- Non-terrestrial backhaul for remote sites
06The rest of the line
Space and satellite systems, area by area.
Space and satellite systemsConstellations and orbits
LEO, MEO and GEO, sized to revisit and coverage.Space and satellite systemsSpacecraft and payloads
Buses and optical, radar and RF payload classes.Space and satellite systemsTasking and downlink
Request, schedule, receive and process: one chain.Space and satellite systemsSpace safety
Tracking, telemetry and command, conjunction awareness.Space and satellite systemsLicensing and spectrum
Filings, coordination and earth-station rules, by country.Bring us the site.
Survey, design, deployment and operation for NTN and direct-to-device. The form names who receives your details.
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