Interoperability is a large and encompassing topic, but a simple way to define it is when systems work together without force fitting or customizing every implementation. It is a topic that affects the entire space industry, but is often talked about in a defense context.

U.S. Army Regulation 34-1 defines interoperability as “the ability to routinely act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve tactical, operational and strategic objectives.” Greater interoperability leads to “reduced risk, improved success and scale of operations,” according to Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Space Portfolio Director General Steve “Bucky” Butow on a recent SmallSat Symposium 2021 panel.

The DoD has increasingly embraced the need for commercial satcom over the past few decades, which has brought benefits including increased technological innovation and reduced costs. A leading question in the industry is: What needs to be done to ensure that proprietary, mission-focused systems can integrate with each other?

According to the experts, here are three tenets to consider for better system interoperability.

Focus beyond the space layer

The space layer is a vital piece of the larger space network puzzle, but it’s important to keep both space and ground in mind.

We’re still living in a predominantly analog world, especially on the ground. “Space infrastructure is still in the 1990s,” stated Kratos Defense President of Space, Training, and Cybersecurity Phil Carrai. “The excuse [for not upgrading] has been that space is too small of a niche to have anything beyond that.”

Looking outside of space doesn’t just mean to the ground, but to other industries: “Another argument is that space is too small of a niche to define its own standards. I think that’s one of the reasons why you must look outside of space and think about how telecom works. You’ll find interoperability examples or standard examples that can be applied to the space domain.”

He continued: “We saw very similar things when people were trying to define standards for phones – when phones were IP-based – or for video. The market was more compartmentalized. There are unique things about space – but for the things that aren’t, is where we need to focus on progress from an interoperability standpoint.”

Looking at both the interplay between satellites and the ground infrastructure, as well as taking cues from other industries, will be important on the journey to greater interoperability.

Use more standardized supply chain elements

Instead of using unique, purpose-built supply chain elements, Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) elements and a supply chain leveraging broader markets can help facilitate interoperability.

On a SmallSat Symposium 2021 panel focusing on interoperability, Butow stated that “the 20th century model doesn’t exist anymore … If we’re going to do all the great things we want to do in space in the 21st century, we have to migrate to modularity.”

He is an advocate for a broader logistics infrastructure that is not exclusive to military, civil, or commercial space. Butow used the example of wanting to upgrade a satellite processor five years after launch. With a more sophisticated logistics infrastructure and standardized supply chain, the interested party can update the satellite using any small launcher or robotic capability on orbit.

“That will be transformational because we will move from a space environment that is largely based upon missions, or charter operations, to a more steady state activity-based economy where we have commerce as the foundational element supporting all the missions,” he said.

Move into the digital world

Early purpose-built hardware needed to be replaced with more hardware when it was time to upgrade. With the advent of Software-Defined Networking (SDN), software-defined satellites and ground stations make upgrading and replacing components much easier.

SDN carries many benefits. According to IBM, the benefits of SDN include holistic enterprise management, greater security, lower OPEX and CAPEX, and centralized network provisioning.

In the journey to SDN, virtualization is the first step. Satellites have been ahead of the ground infrastructure when it comes to virtualization specifically, but it’s important that the ground catches up. According to NSR Principal Analyst Lluc Palerm, the ground segment may become a “bottleneck” for new innovations if more virtualization does not occur. “Embracing virtualization is critical to respond to new scale and flexibility requirements. Moreover, virtualization opens a window of opportunity for satellite to become seamlessly integrable with terrestrial solutions, thus unlocking new use cases,” he said.

Although interoperability is heavily discussed in the defense community, it’s an issue that affects everyone, including commercial players. Incorporating more standardized supply chain elements, moving systems into digital, and focusing on the holistic space network can help foster much-needed system interoperability.