Advanced communications applications in the modern space sector - with Alén Space

This episode of the Space Industry podcast by satsearch is a conversation with Nikos Nikolopoulos of Alén Space.

Alén Space is a Spanish satellite technology manufacturer offering both individual space systems and turnkey solutions for new missions.

In the podcast we discuss:

• Emerging trends in satellite communications
• How NewSpace suppliers are innovating to meet this demand
• The range of products and services that Alén Space develops for the industry
• What the next steps are for the company

You can find out more about Alén Space here on their satsearch supplier hub https://satsearch.com/suppliers/alenspace.

And if you would like to learn more about the space industry and our work at satsearch building the global marketplace for space, please join our newsletter https://satsearch.com/mailing-list.


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What is The Space Industry?

The Space Industry by satsearch - sharing stories about the businesses taking us into orbit.

We delve into the opinions and expertise of the people behind the commercial space companies of today, who could become the household names of tomorrow. Find out more about the companies and technologies discussed on this show at satsearch.com.

hywel: Hello everybody, I'm your
host Howell Curtis, and I'd like to

welcome you to The Space Industry by
Satsurge, where we share stories about

the companies taking us into orbit.

In this podcast, we delve into
the opinions and expertise of the

people behind the commercial space
organizations of today, who could

become the household names of tomorrow.

Before we get started with the
episode, remember, you can find out

more information about the suppliers,
products, and innovations that are

mentioned in this discussion on the
Global Marketplace for Space at satserge.

com.

Hello everyone and welcome to
today's episode of the Space

Industry Podcast by Satserge.

I'm joined today by Nikos from Allenspace.

Now, Alan Space is a space company based
in Spain, which specializes in small

satellite technology in various areas.

They offer kind of everything from
individual subsystems and ground

stations through platforms and
even end to end mission support.

And Alan Space is also a
Satsrush Trusted Supplier.

Now, today we're going to be talking about
advanced communications applications.

in the space industry day.

Very important topic as we're seeing
the nature of missions change, companies

scaling up certain areas and indeed
demand growing in different geographies

and different aspects of the global
industries, terrestrial industries.

Yes, could be really interesting
to get into this and get Nicholas's

perspective and hear more about
Alan Spacer's work in this area.

Firstly, Nikos, welcome to the podcast.

Great to have you here with us today.

I wondered if you could set the scene
a little bit for our listeners by

giving us a quick overview of your
background and explain what Alan

Space is working on today beyond the
very brief intro that I just gave.

Yes.

nikos: Hello.

How well thank you for having me here.

I'm really glad to be in this
podcast with you and thank

you also for the introduction.

So my name is Nikos Nikolopoulos and I
am a space sales engineer in ALEN space.

So basically my background is in
electrical and computer engineering

with a master's in space technologies.

And I have been working with
ALEN for the past few months.

Now what Len is doing, as you mentioned
we're offering core technologies that

revolve around space communication.

Talking about SDRs, ground stations
OBCs and the like, then our solutions

scale up to complete end to end.

Thank you.

Satellite missions.

And our company has more than 15 years of
experience as our team of core founders

has been collaborating since 2008.

And we were officially
established as a company in 2018.

A major milestone also in our history
was our acquisition by GMV in 2023.

And so far we are sporting a hundred
percent success in our projects.

So this is something quick to set the
scene about Alan Space and myself.

hywel: Fantastic.

Yeah, that's about as good a
success rate as you can hope for.

Thank you very much for giving
the listeners an introduction

there to, to Alan Space.

Now, as I mentioned briefly in
the introduction, we're seeing

increasing interest in communication
solutions that involve space systems.

And these are space based systems,
now these are being seen in different

industries, as I mentioned, different
geographies, but what do you think?

Could you go into more detail
and explain what do you think is

driving this increased interest and
appetite for communication systems

with the space based element?

nikos: Yes, indeed, as you mentioned,
we're seeing an increased demand for

this type of applications, but to
assess the reason, For this demand.

We need to take a step back
and see how space is actually

involved in our lives right now.

So actually, space is becoming a
key protagonist in modern society.

And the reason is that it can provide
solutions for demanding challenges.

For example, climate
change, natural disasters,

governmental, civil applications.

We can do research in space in
many scientific fields, et cetera.

Now, on the other hand, we also
have some significant geopolitical

incidents that have been taking
place as of recent, as we all know.

So there we have seen that space can
provide solutions for such crises as well.

Now as you understand, all this leads
nations and private companies to turn

more and more to space solutions.

So as a result, the
space sector is booming.

This is the overall scene, let's say.

And yes, specifically for the
communications applications it's

one of the main uses of space.

We have, for example, the need for
connectivity from space, satellite

broadband connectivity, sorry, 5G IOT.

So there are other applications as a
spectrum monitoring vessel tracking, a lot

of applications related to communication.

And of course, communications are at the
heart of virtually any space mission.

Because you need to transmit
data to Earth and from Earth.

Tied together this is the reason I
think we're seeing this increased

demand for communications applications.

hywel: Okay, brilliant.

Yeah, absolutely.

Makes sense when you you consider that
The prime by far the primary mode of value

exchange to and from space yet is in terms
of the data, which is all handled by the

communication systems and then there, as
you mentioned, there's all these different

areas where the appetite for this data
is is emerging is growing and and in some

cases has been there for a long time.

That's great.

It makes sense that we're seeing
this drive in the industry.

And specifically for the communication
systems, this is an area where we have

seen new space solutions gain some
traction, as opposed to those legacy old

space custom developed larger systems,
all the kind of traditional split between

the old space and new space new space
comms solutions can sometimes offer.

Systems, with shorter lead times
and lower prices, which has been the

selling point for a lot of the companies
that have cropped up in this area,

what does Alan space specifically
offer in terms of yeah, communication

systems in that could be said to
be in a new space mode of delivery.

nikos: Yes.

The new space companies actually
offer shortly times with a

commercial of the self components.

And as well, they offer
small satellite platforms.

Both these aspects lead to a faster time
from an inception of a space mission

until its realization and also lead
to an increased return of investment.

So this has been a game changer.

At the same time, I would like to mention
specifically for small satellites.

That by employing them in a
constellation, you can cover

larger areas with low revisit time.

As these two aspects have changed
the way space missions materialize we

have new breakthrough applications.

And for example, if a nation wants
to monitor its territory for marine

traffic and do it frequently.

They can employ a constellation
with AIS payloads to do that.

Yeah, this is just something
to set the scene about the new

advancements in the new space sector.

Especially regarding the
communications applications now, I

would like to mention the example
of SDRs or software defined radios.

Now, these SDRs, they are platforms
that integrate hardware and software

that make them highly configurable
and allow the development of

applications by the end user.

And actually they can implement a
lot of communication standards and

protocols, while at the same time, they
can cover a wide range of frequencies.

Here we're talking about high
versatility in these platforms.

So in this regard they can host
applications such as A DSB for air

traffic monitoring, a IS or VDS.

These are some examples.

At the same time these SDRs
can be used for telemetry and

telecom command purposes, or for.

Payload data transmission to
Earth with high data rates.

They facilitate a fast transfer
of valuable information

to Earth and from Earth.

Now in regards of what AlendSpace
offers in this field we offer two

SDR platforms Totem and Trevo.

Actually integrates one system on
ship and one transceiver and travo

is highly modular and can integrate
up to two and up to two transceivers.

So with these two SDRs we can cover a wide
range of potential mission objectives.

The choice between these two
SDRs depends on the requirements

that our customers have.

So depending on if they have
requirements for higher processing

power or simultaneous execution
of applications, for example.

Yes, this was a quick summary of the
SDR platforms and what Alen offers

for this specific type of product.

hywel: Okay, fantastic.

Yeah, the software defined category
is, is a very interesting one that I

think as we're seeing more demand for
versatile missions and systems that

can be have different mission profiles
or change in mission profiles as well.

I think this idea of a communication
system reliant upon an SDR that.

Has the ability to operate in these very
different ways is yeah very interesting.

nikos: Exactly, and practically
the end user can also, for example,

develop their own application based
on our HDR platform and then see

these applications fly in space.

hywel: Yeah, fantastic.

Which is a capability that wasn't
possible, 10, 15 years ago,

potentially without great costs.

So that's great.

What about the other subsystems
that Alan Space manufactures?

Where do you see the market opportunities
for these with the, it's such a clear,

niche or not niche, opportunity for SDRs.

But yeah where are the
opportunities for the other systems?

nikos: Yes.

So apart from the SDR platforms that I
mentioned before, Totem and Trevo, For

example, we offer three scale is the
name of the product, which is an OBC

and telemetry tele command module hosted
in the same PC 1 0 4 format module.

So we're talking about a two in one
OBC and TT c in a single module that

actually space in the nano satellite
platforms that we very well know

that they are volume constrained.

At the same time, I would like to mention
and I'm really glad to mention that we're

soon launching a new OBC only subsystem.

So stay tuned for that.

Yep.

So apart from our OBC 3scale, OBC
NTTC 3scale we offer ground stations.

That can facilitate communications with
Leo satellites in the UHF VHF and S Pand.

Now our ground stations can be
assembled by our customer and they can

implement multiple radio protocols so
they can be used in various missions.

You have one ground station and then
you can develop different types of

software modems and you can use the
same ground station to talk to various

satellites in different bands, of course.

And finally, I would also like to
mention our mission control software.

It's a solution that we
have developed at Alen.

And it's actually an important interface
that we use as part of our mission

implementation between ground and space.

It facilitates some interactions
with the satellites in orbit

into it in an intuitive way.

And the MCS is actually the interface
that allows us or our customer

Operate satellites and payloads
while, of course, receiving telemetry

data and scientific measurements.

We can see that there are a lot
of opportunities in the market for

this product because more and more
customers, be them governmental

organizations, institutions or companies.

They're all reaching for space, and
we see that the demand for small

satellite missions is increasing.

So our wide portfolio of products
can cover the communications and data

handling needs that arise in this aspect.

hywel: Excellent.

Thank you for that overview.

Yes, it certainly seems like a,
I may be wrong but a portfolio

that has developed very logically.

Based on the needs of the customers
over the years and and incorporating,

what is possible on the engineering
side at Allen space and where

innovation could be brought to market.

Very interesting.

Thank you.

Now, you mentioned a little bit earlier
the examples in the industry on the

demand side of kind of breakthrough
applications such as maritime

tracking for a whole territory.

It was one of the examples that
you gave and how this is now

more possible and cost effective.

using a space system or constellation
now than it has been in years past

because the launch costs are lower, the
technologies are better, the processes

and everything are proven and understood.

And I think this is a really key way
in which the industry is maturing.

So important to recognize this,
that these opportunities or These

application areas, they begin with
a need with a problem on earth that

a certain organization has to solve.

And in these cases, the customers, the end
users, the customers can sometimes be more

agnostic to the technology that is being
used and the solutions that is being used

than, we see space missions built from a
technologist's point of view and to try

and prove this out and prove that out.

Whereas the end users for Tresor
applications want results.

I think in this case, we're also
seeing this trend towards customers

looking for full mission design.

Particularly if they're new to
the space industry or the space

application is complimentary to
what they're doing terrestrially.

And as we mentioned at the start, I know
Alan Space has an offer here as well.

So I wonder if you could discuss this,
the end to end mission management aspect

of what you offer and where you see
the advantages of companies working

with a partner like Alan Space lie and
maybe touch on when teams should design

their own missions actually themselves.

nikos: Yes, exactly.

A lens space can design a full
space mission can design develop

and materialize a full space
mission beat for communications

or other types of applications.

That's, we're providing an
end to end solution based on

our customers requirements.

This solution includes the satellite
platform, the payload, the ground

station, the operation management,
a true end to end solution.

Regarding the advantages of this
approach let's say that a company or

an institution has designed a payload
and the given company or institution

does not have the capacity to design
and materialize a full space mission.

So they can just provide us
with their payload and let

Alan take care of the rest.

Thus, we can guarantee a safe
execution for the mission

objectives that our customer wants.

Of course, this also works if the payload
is designed and manufactured by us.

Then the customer only has to give us
his requirements and we take care, even

the payload design and development.

Now, another advantage of this approach
is that, The customer does not have

to worry about compatibility issues,
which to our experience is a common

occurrence when complex systems
such the ones that are used in space

applications, interface with each other.

And this occurrence actually something
that is not thoroughly assessed by those

that come up with a mission concept.

What we can guarantee with our end
to end space mission solution is

uniform design and operation based on
our in house developed technologies.

A true full turnkey solution.

And yes at the same time
another added benefit of our

approach is that we can offer.

Educational courses for
our customers teams.

So these courses are carried out
during the mission development

and execution by us, and they
revolve around assembly integration

and verification and operations.

For example, let's say that the
university wants us to develop a mission.

Then in the.

Duration of the mission design
development and execution, we can

have the student team here at our
premises and train them so they can

get some know how and real industry
experience about the processes used.

And also we can offer the
same for example, for the

operations part of the mission.

So they can get their payload in orbit
with low risk and at the same time

gain some new knowledge about how
space missions actually materialize.

hywel: That's fantastic.

That's a really great way to approach this
kind of upskilling and building capacity

in your customer base today and for the
future and in the wider industry as well.

So that's great.

Thank you.

Thanks for explaining how how it works.

the mission management
aspect of things work.

And I guess to bring this home a little
bit more for the listeners out there,

could you share some information on
what Alan Space is working on next

and, upcoming real missions and
projects that you have in the pipeline?

nikos: Yes.

So actually right now we're
expecting the launch of the satellite

constellation, 5G IOT constellation.

It is comprised of four 6U satellites.

It was designed and
manufactured by LN Space.

And it will be launched in July
hopefully as part of the Transporter

11 ride share mission with SpaceX.

And I would like to mention that we're
really looking forward to that launch.

And also we are now materializing the
SatMAR mission actually, this mission

involves the development of a 6U
satellite platform hosting an SDR payload.

Designed and manufactured by us, and
this payload will test the feasibility

of the VDES standard, which is actually
an evolution of the AA standard to

maintain connectivity and communication
at great distances from the coast.

And finally, I would also like to mention
that we have an active role in the ESA

project called LEO PNT so Low Earth
Orbit Position Navigation and Timing.

Where we're designing a satellite.

So for all these updates regarding
our missions, stay tuned in our

social media and our website.

hywel: Oh, fantastic.

That's great.

Thank you.

And best of luck with all
those missions and launches.

Always nervous times, but.

As the launch cadences and
launch reliability is increasing

every year, maybe less and less
nervous as with each iteration.

So great.

That's everything I wanted to ask
you about in terms of Alan Spacer's

work and and on communication
systems in space missions.

Finally, I just wondered Perhaps on a
more personal level, if you could share

with us, I ask this question to a lot
of our guests, a variation of this.

I wonder if you could share with us
what you are most excited about in

the space industry in the next, say
10 years, this is a really exciting

time, lots of things going on.

And yeah, what's what are you,
what's really interested you?

Yes.

nikos: So personally, and also all of
us at Allen, we are looking forward to

contribute to the autonomy of Spain in
the space sector, with the development

of cutting edge technologies that of
course are beneficial for society.

And Spain is actually making a great
effort to advance its space sector.

With the National Spanish Space
Agency being operational since 2023.

Of course, by extension, this will
contribute to the much needed autonomy

of Europe in this field as well.

Also personally, I'm really looking
forward to the establishment

of human presence on the moon.

I think it's a, an event
that cannot be overlooked.

And I also expect that the new
space companies will be called

to play a really important role
in this emerging lunar economy.

Of course, this endeavor of establishing
bases and human presence on the moon will

act as a stepping stone to reach Mars.

And this thought of expanding our space.

Our presence in extraterrestrial
bodies has been in the collective

mind of humanity for many years now.

And it is amazing to see it materialize
slowly but surely in our days.

hywel: Fantastic.

Yeah, me too.

Thank you, Nikos.

This is a great place to wrap up.

I think it's Our audience
will have learned a lot.

today from you about the different
areas that Alan Space is working on, the

importance of these communication systems
for space missions, bringing this added

ability to cope with the demand that's
coming up and the versatility to adapt to

different mission scenarios, et cetera.

And, the role that SDRs have to play
in that is it's obviously clear.

So that's fantastic.

Thank you.

And then explain in the other aspects
of the products and services that

you offer and where they fit in and
relate to actual real world missions,

which is the most important thing the
actual, genuine results that we can get.

So thank you very much for sharing
so much of this information with us

and with all our listeners today.

nikos: Thank you very much.

Hi, Will.

And I'm really looking forward
to talking to you again.

It was a pleasure.

hywel: Yeah, absolutely.

We'll certainly do it again And to all
our listeners out there, thank you too

for spending time with us today on the
Space Industry Podcast by SatSearch.

We will include links in the show
notes to all of the different products

and services that Nikos has mentioned
that Alan Space offers today.

And yeah, you'll be able to find
a lot more information on those.

Really appreciate you
giving us your attention.

If you like the show, please do
give it a rating and review on

your favorite podcast player.

It really helps us spread the word about
the work that these companies are doing.

across the global sector are doing
to improve the supply chain, improve

the value chain and take us all
in some way or another into orbit.

So thank you and please stay tuned
for the next episode of the Space

Industry Podcast, when it's live.

Thank you.

Thank you for listening to this episode
of the Space Industry by SatSearch.

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one of the companies taking us into orbit.

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