Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a
Technology Company in Defense, National Security and Global
Markets, introduced the first of its OpenSpace® vStar solutions
designed to modernize satellite communications (satcom) ground
systems and enable them to interoperate smoothly with terrestrial
and cellular networks. Part of Kratos’ OpenSpace® Platform, vStar
products are virtual replacements for the traditional
hardware-based hubs used in satcom today. As software, vStar offers
dramatic advantages over traditional hubs, including simultaneous
support for point-to-point and star topologies, multi-mission
operations, dynamic configuration and touchless deployment within
cloud and hybrid environments.
According to Greg Quiggle, SVP of Space Product
Management at Kratos, “With 5G, the wireless industry has shifted
from purpose-built hardware equipment to flexible, software-defined
networks, called vRANs, expanding their markets and services in the
process. OpenSpace implements this same model to mainstream satcom
services with the rest of the global communications infrastructure
while simultaneously capitalizing on the advanced capabilities
built into the new generation of software-defined satellites.”
The Evolving Satcom WorldToday,
satellite operators employ satcom hubs in their networks providing
connectivity to the many remote user terminals in the field. These
hubs are racks of purpose-built hardware devices, such as satcom
modulators and demodulators, which must all be physically installed
at one or more teleports or ground stations. The permanent nature
of these installations makes them severely limited functionally. In
addition, they lock satellite operators into a single vendor’s
equipment and usually to a specific network topology.
However, two phenomena are occurring across the
space industry making this approach obsolete. The first is that
satellite technology has made tremendous leaps forward in recent
years enabling more dynamic services, such as software-defined
satellites and large constellations of smallsats. The second is
that terrestrial and wireless networks, which make up 99% of the
world’s communications infrastructure, have advanced software-based
operations even further, from 3G to 4G to 5G, while satcom
infrastructure has remained effectively in a 2G world. As a result,
hardware-based hub systems form a bottleneck between these two ends
of the network. Hardware hubs simply cannot react fast enough nor
are they agile enough to support the increased beam proliferation
and reconfiguration capabilities at the space layer, nor processes
like automated provisioning and service level transparency common
in the global communications networks they feed.
The New Model for Satcom
NetworksWith OpenSpace vStar, satcom providers can finally
leverage the full dynamic capabilities of their next generation
satellites while catching up with the rest of the communications
industry’s networks, integrating their services with those of
global carriers. vStar employs a widely used, more modern framework
to perform the functions of a traditional hub—and more—at an
enterprise-grade scale without the hub’s limitations. vStar
simplifies, orchestrates and automates operations, as well as
laying the foundation for satellite to eventually become part of
mainstream 5G service delivery.
vStar replaces the traditional hub hardware with
fully virtual software equivalents that can run on generic x86
computing platforms, whether an off-the-shelf server or the cloud,
and without the need for performance enhancing hardware like FPGAs,
GPUs or ASICs. Hub functions can now be fully disaggregated, no
longer concentrated at one physical location. As a result, the
satcom network becomes far more resilient, scalable and adaptive to
changing conditions.
vStar solutions interoperate seamlessly with
Kratos’ recently announced OpenEdge™ software-enabled terminals to
support faster, more flexible and far more powerful services that
are more responsive to changing customer or mission needs. For
example, operators can actually turn an OpenEdge remote terminal
into a mobile “hub” in minutes simply by remotely enabling
additional network functions to accommodate increased demand or new
services. Working together as part of the OpenSpace Platform, vStar
and OpenEdge provide a full software-defined, virtualized satcom
ground system.
And virtualization is just the start. OpenSpace
Platform products, including vStar, are also orchestrated to
optimize service delivery from end to end across the network.
Orchestration is the next step beyond virtualization in the digital
transformation of satcom, enabling OpenSpace, to deliver dynamic
automated, intelligent services that are easy for network operators
to create, update and adapt in minutes. For example, as workdays
end around the globe, satellite operators can use OpenSpace
orchestration to automatically reduce satellite power in one time
zone and increase it where the workday is starting. Similarly,
defense and government networks can instantly shift resources to
new missions or disaster recovery efforts.
With traditional hardware hubs, this kind of
coordination is, at best, severely limited functionally because of
the purpose-built nature of the hub hardware. Compared to
OpenSpace’s orchestration, hub-based coordination is a complex and
time-consuming manual process that can take weeks when technicians
must travel to distant physical locations to add or reconfigure
hardware, rather than in just seconds with OpenSpace.
Intelsat, one of the world’s largest commercial
satellite operators, will employ OpenSpace vStar technology as part
of the advanced network being built to deliver services for their
new family of software-defined satellites. According to Carmel
Ortiz, VP of Systems Innovation at Intelsat, “OpenSpace software
will enable us to reliably deliver flexible services to our
customers across our network all the way to the edge. This is
particularly important for growing our offering of mobility and
migrating to 5G services.”
Benefits of OpenSpace
vStar SoftwareVirtual and
orchestrated, OpenSpace vStar solutions are far more powerful and
flexible than hub systems in other ways:
- Simultaneous support for
multiple topologies. With few exceptions, hardware-based
hubs are typically optimized for one service delivery structure,
called a network topology, such as SCPC or FDMA. This can mean many
duplicative hubs often running under capacity. With vStar software,
however, a service like unified Carrier Ethernet can be offered
over a range of topologies, toggling between SCPC and FDMA in
concert with demand; and support for TDMA will be available later
this year. Operators can fully leverage their infrastructure as
customer needs change and new missions arise.
- Better strategic planning,
scalability and resource optimization. Support for added
network capacity can be accomplished in seconds with OpenSpace
simply by remotely enabling new network functions. As a result,
infrastructure investment grows in step with real demand without
over-provisioning. In contrast, today’s expensive hardware hub
systems must be purchased far in advance, shipped and installed,
tying capital in unused or sub-optimized equipment. In addition,
since vStar has no hardware to ship, global operators will not be
burdened with meeting the bureaucratic and costly demands of
exporting regulated equipment between countries.
- Cloud native
operations. Operators can design the best network
architecture for their growing needs, mixing onsite implementations
at the gateway with cloud environments. Since all OpenSpace
products comply with industry standards for openness and run on
generic x86 servers, operators have maximum network design
flexibility and lower CAPEX costs.
- Accelerate time to
revenue. Network operators can design and deploy new
services in minutes tailored to specific customers or missions,
specifying needed apps, rules, policies and procedures from the
teleport, across the cloud and all the way to the network’s edge.
Provisioning and delivery can happen almost immediately, adapting
to peak usage times and multi-mission support needs.
For more information about OpenSpace for Satcom
visit: https://www.kratosdefense.com/satcom
For more information about Kratos’s OpenSpace
dynamic ground platform visit:
https://www.KratosDefense.com/OSP
About Kratos OpenSpaceKratos’
OpenSpace family of solutions enables the digital transformation of
satellite ground systems to become a more dynamic and powerful part
of the space network. The family consists of three product lines:
OpenSpace SpectralNet for converting satellite RF signals to be
used in digital environments; OpenSpace quantum products, which are
virtual versions of traditional hardware components; and the
OpenSpace Platform, the first commercially available, fully
orchestrated, software-defined ground system. These three OpenSpace
lines enable satellite operators and other service providers to
implement digital operations at their own pace and in ways that
meet their unique mission goals and business models. For more
information about the OpenSpace family visit
http://KratosDefense.com/OpenSpace.
About Kratos Defense & Security
SolutionsKratos Defense & Security Solutions,
Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a Technology Company that
develops and fields transformative, affordable systems, products
and solutions for United States National Security, our allies and
global commercial enterprises. At Kratos, Affordability is a
Technology, and Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technology
is rapidly brought to market – at a low cost – with actual
products, systems and technologies rather than slide decks or
renderings. Through proven commercial and venture capital backed
approaches, including proactive, internally funded research and
streamlined development processes, Kratos is focused on being First
to Market with our solutions, well in advance of competition.
Kratos is the recognized Technology Disruptor in our core market
areas, including Space and Satellite Communications, Cyber
Security and Warfare, Unmanned Systems, Rocket and Hypersonic
Systems, Next-Generation Jet Engines and Propulsion
Systems, Microwave Electronics, C5ISR and Virtual and
Augmented Reality Training Systems. For more information,
visit www.KratosDefense.com.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking
StatementsCertain statements in this press release may
constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current
beliefs, expectations, and assumptions of the management of Kratos
and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking
statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no obligation to
update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes
that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements
are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially
from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking
statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in
these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the
business of Kratos in general, see the risk disclosures in the
Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the year ended December
25, 2022, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other
filings made with the SEC by Kratos.
Press Contact:Yolanda White858-812-7302
Direct
Investor
Information:877-934-4687investor@kratosdefense.com
Kratos Defense and Secur... (NASDAQ:KTOS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Kratos Defense and Secur... (NASDAQ:KTOS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024