Working hard on your software defined networking strategy? That’s like, so early 2016. The next thing is software defined satellites. This isn’t just putting routers in space, which has been done, or just orbiting data centers. It’s putting up general purpose satellites that can be configured for a variety of tasks. Think Satellites as a Service.

A collaboration of rocket scientists at Vector Space Systems and virtualization geeks at VMware named Galactic Sky plans to make satellites available to a wider market through a software-defined satellite platform. The completely virtualized microsatellites will be able to change their mission dynamically and in near-real time. The applications include working as flying (continuously falling?) test beds, as well as full-fledged commercial, industrial and government applications.

Reducing the traditional sky-high costs and long times to market associated with space, not to mention that fact that putting a satellite in orbit is, well — rocket science, is expected to open up a new horizon for space-based applications.

Terrestrial management of satellites

Orbiting applications for Uplogix are still a ways off, but our local management platform is proven on the terrestrial side of satellite infrastructure.

Whether your operation is a field-based comms trailer in the oilfield, a ship at sea or a base in a war zone, our capabilities to continuously monitor both satcomms and network devices as well as take automated actions makes satellite networks more reliable. And with the ability to spin-up out-of-band connections over alternate satellite options like Iridium and Inmarsat or a little closer to home, cellular networks, your primary network doesn’t have to be your only network.

For more on satellite network applications for Uplogix, check out some of our customer case studies.