Digitalisation and interoperability in satellite ground segments is crucial to growing a more competitive and flexible satcom sector. ESA came together with nine companies during the Digital Intermediate Frequency Interoperability (DIFI) European Plugfest event on Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, UK.
Hosted at Satellite Applications Catapult facilities, the event showcased the wide plethora of interoperable products and capabilities that are developed within the DIFI consortium and of which boasts over 60 different companies that work together through regular working groups.
The drive for interoperability stems from the DIFI standard, which is focused on establishing a standardised digital interface for the exchange of intermediate frequency signals between equipment and systems from different vendors.
Through these standards, various platforms will be compatible and interoperable with each other, working towards a more efficient and flexible ecosystem for satellite ground segment operations. By developing standardised interfaces, it reduces integration complexities and enables the ground segment to scale up faster, while supporting innovative applications - from commercial broadcasting to critical governmental communications.
ESA is supporting the development of future-facing software defined modems and virtual networks, and collaborated with organisations at the event, exchanging with industry leaders and experts on how it can best support a growing collaborative ground segment ecosystem promoting digitalisation and interoperability.
Over the course of the three-day event, the participating teams integrated and tested products across 178 test cases (93% were partially compliant and 75% were fully compliant with DIFI standards), showcasing the importance of the higher benchmarks.
“All [engineers] agree that failed tests might’ve been the most important takeaway, highlighting ESA’s role in encouraging, driving and de-risking innovative technological progress,” said Sanna Sandberg, Ground Segment Engineer for cloud and AI solutions at ESA.
ESA worked with the DIFI consortium through the co-funded activity, “Digital IF for satellite ground segment”, which is primed by ETL Systems, as part of ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) Core Competitiveness programme.
A keynote from ESA’s Acting Head of Ground Segment, Ilias Panagiotopoulos, showcased ESA’s role in enabling the disruptive evolution of ground segment technologies, through such events as PlugFest. The event provided a platform on specification validation, a range of product types, and showcase of integrated industry.
"The adoption of DIFI standards is not merely a technical enhancement; it is a strategic move towards achieving greater efficiency and interoperability in our satellite ground operations undergoing fast paced digital transformation,” said Panagiotopoulos.
The ground segment team forms part of ESA’s ARTES’ Core Competitiveness programme, which provides funding and multi-disciplinary expertise to enhance competitiveness in satellite communications.
