Polar Communications & Weather (PCW) Mission December 6, 2010 Guennadi Kroupnik, Martin Hebert CSA

Outline Introduction Mission overview System level trade-offs Meteorological payload considerations Communications payload considerations Project status Challenges and Opportunities Conclusion 2

Mission Objectives Reliable communications services in the high latitudes (North of 70º) to ensure: –Security –Sustainable Development –Support to Northern Communities –Safety of the Air and Marine Navigation –Arctic Science Provide high temporal/spatial resolution meteorological data above 50º N in support of: –Numerical Weather Prediction (short to medium range) –Environmental monitoring, emergency response –Climate change monitoring Space weather monitoring 3

Mission Overview 2 satellites in HEO to provide: Continuous GEO-like imagery above 50º N (refresh rate 15 minutes) 24/7 High data rate communication services in Ka-band (X-Band under review) 12h period 63.4º Inclination Apogee: ~39,500 km Perigee: ~550 km 4

Areas of Interest (AoI) Meteo requirements pertain to the entire circumpolar domain Meteorological AoI: requirement >50º N: will provide Level 1b and 1c data that meets quality requirements Meteorological AoI: goal >45º N: will aim to provide Level 1b and 1c data that meets quality Communications AoI requirement Communications AoI Goal Image quality requirements met for viewing angles (local zenith angle) >70º 5

Met Products and Services Winds from sequences of images: high priority product, Surface type analysis: ice, snow, ocean, vegetation and surface characteristics such as emissivity, albedo, vegetation index, Surface temperature, detection of boundary-layer temperature inversions, diurnal cycle, Mid-tropospheric humidity/temperature sensitive channels for hourly direct assimilation complementing GEO radiance assimilation, Volcanic ash detection, Smoke, dusts, aerosols, fog in support of air quality models and environmental prediction, Total column ozone, Cloud parameters: height, fraction, temperature, emissivity, phase, effective particle size. 6

7 Seamless 24/7 broadband, two-way connectivity to allow uninterrupted data (IP) transfer, as well as video-conferencing and imagery transfer, including entertainment content. Support to science, resource exploration and exploitation activities, and Search and Rescue operations. Interoperability with existing communications services. Support to icebreakers and marine navigation in the Arctic. UAV Missions: − Command and Control link − Communications link Potential support to Air Traffic Management (ATM) and E- Navigation. Comms Services 7

Spacecraft Concept (Core mission) 8

System Level Trade-offs Phase-A trades-off analyses: Image Navigation and Registration (INR) Analysis, PCW Communication Payload (PCP) Beam Pointing Analysis, Increased Imaging Operations Analysis, Constellation and Orbit Definition Trade-Off, Payload and TTC Downlink Trade-Off, PCW Met Payload Data Downlink and Transfer Trade-Off, User terminal (UT) performance versus Space Segment Analyses, User Terminal Design and Performance Analysis, and Communications Network Topology Analysis. 9

Payloads Core mission: Ka – band 2-way High Data Rate communications payload (up to 12 Mb/sec), Addition of X-band is being evaluated, Imaging Spectroradiometer (20 channels, km VIS, 2 km IR), Space weather suit of instruments. Enhanced mission (under evaluation): Scientific meteorological or space environment instrument (4 PHEMOS Phase 0 studies), GNSS augmentation payload (provided by ESA), Air Traffic Management (ATM) payload (provided by ESA), Technology demonstration. 10

11 PCW Met Payload Phase A Baseline design (COM DEV-ABB) meets performance requirements but requires ~ 10 years of development Options analyses: –RFI: ITT. Raytheon, Thales, and Astrium –Canadian Concepts: COM DEV and ABB Outcomes of options analyses: –Validated payload performance requirements –Possible path to launch in 2017 based on low NRE approach IR detectors cooled by a mechanical cooler, –Cooler attached to the S/C

Communications Payload X-band, commercial Ka-band, and government Ka-band planned. Ka-band is also to support downlink for met data. Ka-band Forward Link: 4 commercial channels + 4 government channels. Ka-band Return Link: 1 commercial channels + 1 government channel + 1 mesh channel. Ka-band coverage area to be served by 4 user beams and one gateway beam. X-band coverage area to consist of one user beam with re-use of Ka-band gateway beam.

Canadian Comms Requirements Commercial Ka Frequency BandMinimum Throughput 57 Mbps Government Ka 15 Mbps 20 Mbps Government X Mbps Met Downlink Ka

Carrier & Spectrum Frequency BandEarth to SpaceSpace to Earth Gov. X Band* Commercial Ka Band Gov. Ka Band 7.9 – 8.4 GHz 7.25 – 7.75 GHz 29.5 – 30.0 GHz 19.7 – 20.2 GHz 30.0 – 31.0 GHz 20.2 – 21.2 GHz * The following restrictions apply to the X-band: Mobile Applications: MHz (downlink) MHz (uplink) Fixed Applications: MHz (downlink) MHz and MHz (uplink) 14 Met Downlink (Ka)26.15 – GHz200 MHz Bandwidth

Communications Architecture Comm Area of Interest Gateway Station Two Dual Ka & S band Antenna User Terminals m Antenna MET data transmission 15

Ground Segment 16

Project Status Phase 0 completed: September 2008 Phase A Approved: November 2008 Phase A contract awarded: July 2009 Phase A Major Milestones: –Phase A kicked-off: July 2009 –Technology Readiness Assessment Review: October 2009 –Mission Requirements Review: February 2010 –Preliminary System Requirements Review: June, 2010 –Met Payload Options Analyses: November 2010 –Phase A contract close out: March 2011 Critical Technologies development contracts award: March 2011 Phase B/C/D contract award: June 2012 (TBC) Launches: 2017 (TBC) 17

Challenges Sever radiation environment Complex thermal management Spacecraft life limited by the environment Potential significant orbit perturbations caused by 3 body interaction Significant upfront investments Up to 40 month lead time for the components of the Met Payload Applications development 18

Opportunities Orbit design (f.e. a modified Tundra Orbit) “Make or buy” trade-offs Business model: –Major Crown Project vs. PPP –Canadian mission vs. International Partnership: Launch Met Payload Ground Segment Systems and subsystems of the spacecraft Applications algorithms and products 19

Conclusion PCW represents an exciting opportunity to close the gap in global broadband communication services and meteorological observation coverage in the Arctic. PCW is an engine for development of new technologies, applications and capabilities. The mission is open for international collaboration. Interesting opportunities have been identified and actively pursued. The Phase A outcomes clearly demonstrate merits of the PCW mission for Canada and in the international context. The technical feasibility of the PCW system is well established. 20