Viasat announces new Azure Space initiative

California-based communications company Viasat announced that it is collaborating with Microsoft to use Azure Orbital to provide the global Viasat Real-Time Earth (RTE) ground service.

Five RTE sites will use high-speed connectivity to connect with Azure. Satellite operators will be able to set up passes by RTE antenna systems for secure end-to-end connectivity with Microsoft private WAN. Viasat’s announcement comes as Microsoft is announcing updates on the ways Azure Space is being used to support government digital transformation.

True Anomaly are working with Microsoft and Viasat, leveraging their integrated platform for training and simulating spacecraft manufacturing infrastructure. The firms will use the Viasat RTE integration with Orbital Ground Station.

The new initiative between the firms was prompted by a trend toward higher downlink rates among satellite operators. This has reduced the cost of delivering data from space to ground, particularly as satellite operators have shifted into the higher bandwidth Ka-band compared with the more crowded X-band. The initiative is intended to support growing demand for synthetic aperture radar and hyperspectral remote sensing workloads. To support this demand, Viasat also offers Ground-Station-as-a-Service capabilities, with pay-per-use transmission in the X- and Ka-bands.

"Viasat Real-Time Earth is enabling remote sensing satellite operators who are pushing the envelope of high-rate downlinks. Our strong relationship with Microsoft enables those same customers, through increased access to our ground service, Azure Orbital, and a dependable, high-speed terrestrial network, to reduce the time it takes to downlink and deliver massive amounts of data,” stated John Williams, vice president Viasat Real-Time Earth.