World-class space science centre plans unveiled for Goonhilly

The iconic Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station on Cornwall’s Lizard peninsula might once again be set to play a “starring” role at the forefront of technology. The former BT Satellite Earth Station is now set to be upgraded and re-developed by a consortium, Goonhilly Earth Station Limited (GES), for use at the forefront of world-leading Radio Astronomy projects and Deep Space Network communications.

There are also plans to redevelop the Visitors Centre into an exciting new “Space” themed outreach centre. The plan has been almost three years in the making and was the brainchild of Ian Jones, Managing Director of the space sector company, Orbit Research Limited and now Chief Executive Officer of GES.

GES has worked closely with BT to develop the opportunity and a deal has been agreed, which includes GES taking a three-year lease on most Goonhilly antennas, including the four largest giant dishes, and an option to purchase the whole site for an undisclosed sum.

BT will continue to occupy parts of the site. It will retain possession of some of the operational buildings, retain use of some of the smaller satellite dishes and will continue to employ about 50 people there engaged in research, testing and other operations.

GES has identified and advanced exciting plans for the site to undertake a programme to upgrade the antennas to enable deep space communication with spacecraft missions and to develop an exciting Space themed outreach centre. In addition, the GES partnership with Oxford University has enabled the scope of the project to include the delivery of ground breaking radio astronomy work focussed on the origins of the Universe.

Ian Jones, Chief Executive of GES, said:

“Goonhilly is one of those amazing places that inspire people and has a pioneering heritage in international communications from the time when the first trans-Atlantic satellite TV broadcasts were made in the 1960s. Now we have plans to go one stage further and to use the antennas at Goonhilly to support space science missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. We plan to link up with the e-MERLIN Network operated out of Jodrell Bank creating an enhanced radio telescope that will increase our understanding of the universe and act as a stepping stone to the development of the largest telescope ever to be built: The Square Kilometre Array.

“At a time of the biggest down-turn in the economy for a century, the Space Sector in the UK has continued to grow at over 9% per annum. Even so, it has been a long and difficult path for a small company to negotiate and to gain support for an ambitious project such as this. Today I feel very proud that our dedicated team has won the support of so many key partners, particularly Oxford University, QinetiQ, the UK Space Agency and the International Space Innovation Centre at Harwell, without whom this whole venture would not be possible. Space exploration has always been a joint effort – and as the World population grows we will need to look increasingly to space technology to help us manage, sustain and safeguard our life here on Earth. Investment in Space is an excellent investment in our future.

“As a child I can remember being inspired by the Apollo missions – my work as a satellite communication design engineer brought me here to Goonhilly to design, build and test mobile satellite communication systems. In the future I want Goonhilly to continue to provide inspiration to the next generation of scientists and engineers as we plan a challenging range of outreach and education initiatives for families, researchers and industry leaders. It is our vision that Goonhilly and the UK will continue to be recognised world leaders in Space science.

“Goonhilly can become a vital part of the rapidly-evolving story of the UK’s space programme and an important source for skilled jobs in Cornwall. Space science is undoubtedly one of the technology sectors offering great opportunity for expansion in the years ahead.”

One initial focus for the project will be to upgrade the site’s antennas to enable a sustainable and cost effective means of ensuring their longevity and their continued practical but alternative use for Deep Space Communications work and Radio Astronomy projects which will enable both ground breaking science and the development of teaching opportunities for Oxford and other University undergraduates and graduates from the site. In addition, an exciting upgrade to the old visitor centre is planned, to transform it into an outreach centre promoting Space and Space science for visitors, including local residents and schools.

Antenna upgrade funding and funding for the outreach centre upgrades will be subject to support from both public and private sectors.

Mr Jones said: “

We are confident that the necessary support will be achieved. There is already a great deal of interest in this project, both nationally and internationally. The space sector is very vibrant and growing rapidly – and Goonhilly could be a vital part of that exciting expansion.”

Professor Steve Rawlings, Oxford University Professor of Astrophysics and global academic lead for the 1.5 billion Euro Square Kilometre Array Radio Astronomy project, said:

“The opportunity to include Goonhilly in a number of leading Radio Astronomy projects and related Research and Development work is truly exciting. Once upgraded, the dishes at Goonhilly can quickly be connected to the e-MERLIN network operated out of Jodrell Bank and revolutionize its ability to study the Universe alongside the giant optical and infrared telescopes run by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the satellite observatories run by ESA and NASA. Goonhilly telescopes can also be connected to global radio astronomy networks that will eventually include the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

“ The SKA will attack truly fundamental questions: the origin and fate of galaxies, stars, planets and life; and the nature of the fundamental laws of the Universe, going beyond Einstein into the biggest unsolved problems like dark energy and quantum gravity. Oxford University is also thrilled by the possibilities of having its students and staff down in Cornwall where the new outreach Centre will attract many young new scientists. At Goonhilly, these young people will be rubbing shoulders with top flight engineers and physicists from around the world.”

Ciscon Nigeria Ltd, an oil industry servicing company, have launched a network using the new Amos-5i satellite which has excellent coverage in C-band over the whole of Africa. The network is hosted on our iDirect Evolution hub at Rugby and employs a 9.1 metre Vertex antenna. The network is managed remotely by Ciscon with network management support provided by Orbit Research. The equipment installed at the customers’ sites comprises a 1.8m C-band antenna and an iDirect X3 Evolution satellite router.

Services on this network are available through Orbit Research, to request further information, please go to our contact page.

For more information regarding Virtual Network Operator services, see here.

The coverage area of this network can be seen here.

Another possibility is to start with a Virtual Network Operator (VNO) option within a larger, shared hub hosted by a Host Network Operator (HNO) like Orbit Research. With the VNO capability, customers are in full control of their own networks and remotes. The customer needs to purchase only a VNO license, dedicated line cards, protocol processors and NMS servers. The hub itself and the entire supporting infrastructure can be shared transparently with the HNO. The infrastructure at the Rugby teleport offers access to satellites covering Europe, the Middle East, Africa and America and has dual gigabit fibre connections to the internet backbone.

The VNO functionality provides lower cost of ownership for customers entering new markets.

See here for more details.

Rally Bulgaria
WRC round 7 of 13
Friday 9 July – Sunday 11 July

The seventh event in this year’s World Rally Championship calendar takes place in Borovets, Bulgaria from Friday 9th July to Sunday 11th July. Once again Orbit Research are providing satellite internet connectivity on our iDirect platform over Telesat’s T11N satellite.

This is the first time that Bulgaria has hosted a WRC event. The location is in a ski resort in the Rila mountains called Borovets, 70 kilometres south of the countrys capital Sofia.

At each event a service park is set up and this is where the rally cars and teams are based. The cars are overhauled before each rally stage and all return to the service park afterwards.

The satellite equipment is set up in the service park and distributed to the end users using both wired and wireless ethernet connections. The users of the system include the rally organisers, the rally car teams, press and TV media, and the spectators.

The satellite internet connection is used by the teams to communicate with their engineering teams in their home countries, it is used by the media to send reports, photographs and video clips. In addition, everybody uses the connection for general web browsing, email and social media sites. A number of VOIP telephone circuits are also implemented.

The satellite internet connection is busy almost around the clock. The teams have an early start to prepare for the rally stages and once all the cars have left the service park there are constant updates on the progress of each stage which are fed back to the WRC official website. In the evening, video footage that has been filmed during the day’s rally stages is edited back at the service park and then sent over the satellite link for international distribution.

Website links

You can find more information on Rally Bulgaria at the official website at www.rallybulgaria.com

Preview information from each of the leading teams over the coming days can be found here on wrc.com

Orbit Research, Social Media Strategist and ipercast today announce the launch of the Social Media Experiment (www.socialmediaexperiment.co.uk), which will take place in the Igloo Dome at Glastonbury 2010.

The experiment will fuse live music, DJ sets, spoken word, comedy and art with various online and social media platforms on Glastonbury’s 40th Birthday party. This merger will occur through the Igloo Dome’s high definition visuals and Dolby 6.1 surround sound technology. It will incorporate a variety of different social media platforms, streaming technology and Bluetooth, making the experiment a truly immersive experience.

The Social Media Experiment will take place on Friday the 25th June between 1pm & Midnight, and will feature a number of comedians, musicians, performance artists and live shows incorporating social media and interactive web technologies. Such events include a stand-up comedy act using ‘Chatroulette Live’. Other highlights include a virtual art gallery and a range of musicians using social media within their performances.

Today will also see the launch of the Social Media Experiment’s ‘Perform at Glastonbury 2010’ competition, which gives entrants the chance to perform live on the Glastonbury stage. In order to win, visitors to the site are asked to join the competition group on Facebook and post a link to prove that they are a in a band, an artist etc. The winning act will then be chosen from the group at random in this ‘flash mob’ style competition.

The experiment has been devised and coordinated by Social Media Strategist, while ipercast has built the website, the content management system and provided the web streaming technology. Orbit research will be providing satellite connectivity for the project.

James Norris, of Social Media Strategist, comments: “Glastonbury is all about performance, fun and expression. The Social Media Experiment allows attendees to have memorable, interactive experiences whilst being surrounded by the Igloo domes state of the art technology.”

Ian Jones, Managing Director of Orbit Research noted: “We are really pleased to be supporting this event, providing a high speed satellite streaming capability directly into Glastonbury whilst simultaneously enabling a large WiFi network allowing visitors to participate in these new events…. and check their emails, of course!”

Marina Sirotkin, UK country manager for ipercast, adds: “Being involved with such a groundbreaking project is a real thrill, and it’s exciting to see all the aspects of the Experiment come together. It’s this kind of technology which will really propel performance into the 21st Century and we can’t wait to see the results.”

The WRC is an international event with a huge following of fans from all over the world. The car manufacturers know that the fans will want to buy their winning cars so a huge effort is made to get things right! It’s big business. On the other hand, a large number of privateer teams compete raising their own sponsorship.

Being part of a winning team, means having reliable, effortless and secure communications, but in these difficult financial times every penny must be accounted for and the communication solution must provide excellent value for money.

Reliable internet connectivity allows the touring engineers and service team to keep in close contact with the engineers and designers back at their home HQ . In an event such as a rally every second makes a difference, so the ability to upload critical engine data, analyse it and update the engine management system between stages could be the difference between winning and losing.

But a rally is nothing without the fans and an audience, and keeping fans informed with up-to-date information is also a critical part of communications mix.

Orbit Research has been working closely with the WRC teams and organisers for three years delivering satellite communication solutions meeting all of these needs.

In many respects the WRC is one of the toughest challenges for a rapid deployment communication system. Typically, in operation the system can be handling up to a thousand simultaneous internet connections distributed across a service park which is several hundred metres long, often split between two or more locations and between different teams (who insist that their data is totally secure and secret from the other teams). At the same time it must carry the rally radio uplink and many voice-over-IP (VoIP) connections;  all without loss of data integrity. Increasingly, the teams are looking to create live video clips  interviews with drivers at the end of a stage, views of the service routine etc . all for immediate upload to their web sites. At the end of each stage the critical engine data needs to be uplinked as quickly as possible… several tens of megabytes in a few minutes, and of course the critical email and social networking needs of the many on-site staff also have to be met!

This is a very tough challenge, but the Orbit Research satellite internet deployment achieves it in its stride:

The first part of our deployment begins with our robust and secure earth station at Rugby, UK, complimented, when required, by our partner earth station in Turin, Italy. From these two locations we can provide satellite links to most of the World. Backhaul, redundant (duplicated for safety), gigabit fibre connects the earth station to the Internet at London Telehouse. The earth station is equipped with the very latest iDirect DVB-S2 technology providing flexible quality of service options that can be programmed on the fly. We always maintain excess satellite capacity to allow for the greatest peaks in bandwidth demand to be handled with ease.

In any satellite communication system, the link budget is the critical calculation. See our tutorial on link budgets. We have designed a system that delivers the maximum data capacity both in the forward and return links. Unlike many competing systems, we are able to deliver huge data capabilities on our return links,  ideal for the WRC where data upload (for Rally Radio, engine data, video clips, VoIP) is such an important part of the equation.

On the ground at the rally park, we deploy between one and three antennas depending on the geography and layout of the service area. These are complimented by local Paketeer Quality of Service (QoS) packet management system, web cache, and WiFi hot-spot controllers. Data is distributed using CAT-5 cable and WiFi  utilising state-of-the-art antenna beam-forming transceiver which is capable of delivering WiFi data over 1km. Difficult areas are augmented with WiFi mesh devices, which together provide a blanket coverage of the entire area.

The entire system can be set up in a few hours, providing vital communication instantly and reliably.

What for the future?

The WRC is broadcast on numerous conventional TV channels. However, the team organisers are now beginning to realise the huge potential for direct marketing to their fan base via IP-TV. Orbit Research has already proved the validity of this approach by providing the satellite communications link to transmit the LIVE Rally Ireland Donegal stage directly to the WRC web site home page.

The event was watched, live, by xxx,xxx people. Web statistics are much more accurate than TV viewing statistics – but more importantly, visitors to a web site have self-selected that web site and therefore are already keenly interested in the subject matter. They are in an interactive position and open to marketing opportunities presented to them. With such a high value product to sell (cars and accessories) the value of satellite-delivered IP-TV streams can clearly be demonstrated.

How can we help?

Orbit Research has a vast experience in engineering satellite communication based IP solutions for events that create huge opportunities for organisers and participants to engage with their audience and increase their turn over. We are unique in the market, no other company has the range of skills and experience to help you deliver a winning strategy for communication.

Call us on 0800 043 7768 to see how we can help you.

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