Space activities in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

This paper summarizes the establishment and current development of space activities in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Space activities in Venezuela are focused on the areas of telecommunications, Earth observation and research on the physical properties of the Earth, and have as a primary goal the satisfaction of social needs. Current development of space activities started in 1999 when the new National Constitution recognized the value of outer space as the common heritage of mankind, and the key role of science and technology in promoting human welfare. The Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities (ABAE) was created in 2007. Its legal framework recognizes three key elements that drive its policy: the participation of society, capacity building and human training, and international cooperation. Indeed ongoing international cooperation with partners such as China, India, Brazil and Uruguay has already expanded Venezuelan space capabilities, allowing the country to launch its first telecommunications satellite, Venesat-1 in 2008, to plan the infrastructure development for the design of small satellites, and to train 1195 local professionals in space science, technology and applications. Our analysis shows that Venezuela has the potential to become a space leadership country, promoting the social welfare, integration, and sustainable development of Latin American countries.     

Information Service System for Receiving and Processing Multi Source Remote Sensing Images

Based on international requirements for the application of commercial remote sensing data,an information service system for receiving and processing multi source remote sensing data was developed and introduced.The system consists of an Oversea Fixed Ground Service Station(OFGS),a Transportable Vessel-Borne Service Station(TVBS) and a Data Operation and Management Center(DOMC).Fixed and transportable service stations were developed in Venezuela,Latin America and for the China's Xuelong polar research vessel respectively,and serve the function of remote sensing data receiving,processing and application.The DOMC connects the OFGS and TVBS,so that they constitute a network to provide receiving,distribution,retrieval,browsing,ordering,and downloading functions for multi remote sensing satellite data and products.It validates the competence in providing 40 kinds of typical application products.The development of this system provides a reliable and comprehensive service for commercial remote sensing data applications for users both in domestic and oversea markets.     

卫星通信的未来发展

简要回顾了卫星通信的发展历程，介绍了静止轨道、中轨道和低轨道三种移动通信卫星的发展概况。讨论了实现空间信息高速公路的几项关键技术（如频段资源、ATM网络及其连接单元）。最后指出，窄带的移动卫星通信和宽带的空间信息高速公路，将是卫星通信未来发展的两大热点。     

Education curricula of the UN-affiliated regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education

Since 1988 the United Nations, through its Programme on Space Applications, has been supporting the establishment and operation of regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Asia. Simultaneously, education curricula have been developed for remote sensing and geographic information systems, satellite communications, satellite meteorology and global climate, and space and atmospheric science. The report briefly reviews these developments and highlights the most recent updated education curricula in the four disciplines that have been made available in 2002, in the six official languages of the United Nations, for implementation at the regional centres and beyond.     

Satellite communications and the Internet: implications for the outer space treaty

The speedily expanding Internet is in the process of transforming the technological, economic, and policy bases for nation-state regulation of telecommunications, including space-based satellite networks. Deployment of the packet-switched Internet has accelerated the liberalization of telecommunications markets and has led to far-reaching regulatory restructuring and policy shifts regarding state ownership and control of networks and information flows. As space-based GMPCS networks become integral parts of the globalizing Internet infrastructure, the state-centric legal paradigm requiring state “authorization and continuing supervision” of space activities by “non-governmental entities” stipulated under Article VI of the OST and associated treaties forming the outer space legal regime will be called increasingly into question. This paper examines the technological, economic/trade, and security issues that question whether the existing state-centric paradigm for regulating Internel-based GMPCS satellite systems will remain in legal phase with emerging liberalized regulatory regimes for terrestrial Internet-based infractructures.     

The enigma of small satellites for earth observation

Small satellites have captured a continuously increasing share of the market in the fields of science, technology and recently also in the telecommunications and Earth observation areas. User requirements and market opportunities for space based satellite systems for Earth observation products have grown substantially in the past decade. Criteria for the utilization of different classes of satellite systems (small and large) and analogies to developments in other areas, e.g. the telecommunications field are discussed. The end to end character of service and product oriented systems as key criteria for market success in the scientific, applications and commercial areas is underlined. Recent developments in the global change, the Earth observation applications and commercial sectors are reviewed and compared. Opportunities for small satellites in the field are related to technology advancements, cost reduction options, and progress in the state of the art in system design.     

INTELSAT and the challenge of competitive systems

If one accepts the overriding economic and social importance of telecommunications, then the importance of major shifts in international satellite policy becomes clear. In particular, proposals within the USA to redefine its relationship to the INTELSAT global satellite system take on broader significance than might be initially assumed. To understand why this is so, one must first focus on the role of INTELSAT and how it has changed the world of global telecommunications, at the national, regional and international levels.     

High performance satellite networks

The high performance satellite communications networks of the future will have to be interoperable with terrestrial fiber cables. These satellite networks will evolve from narrowband analogue formats to broadband digital transmission schemes, with protocols, algorithms and transmission architectures that will segment the data into uniform cells and frames, and then transmit these data via larger and more efficient synchronous optional (SONET) and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks that are being developed for the information “superhighway”. These high performance satellite communications and information networks are required for modern applications, such as electronic commerce, digital libraries, medical imaging, distance learning, and the distribution of science data.

In order for satellites to participate in these information superhighway networks, it is essential that they demonstrate their ability to: (1) operate seamlessly with heterogeneous architectures and applications, (2) carry data at SONET rates with the same quality of service as optical fibers, (3) qualify transmission delay as a parameter not a problem, and (4) show that satellites have several performance and economic advantages over fiber cable networks.     

Promoting research and education in basic space science: the approach of the UN/ESA workshops

UN-affiliated regional centres for space science and technology education are being established or are in operation in Africa (Morocco, Nigeria), Asia and the Pacific (India), Latin America and the Caribbean (Brazil, Mexico), and Western Asia (Jordan). Education curricula at the university level, embracing remote sensing, satellite communications, satellite meteorology, and space science have been developed for these centres. This article briefly reports on the structure of the most recent updated education curricula in the four disciplines that have been made available for implementation in 2002 and 2003, in the six official languages of the United Nations. This is also an effort to bridge the gap between such education curricula as they vary significantly between nations and among educational institutions in nations.     

卫星通信发展及与地面移动通信融合思考（英文）

With the further reduction in cost and the increase in bandwidth, as well as the increase in internet applications, satellite communications are gradually shifting from a complementary role to becoming a fully integrated component of terrestrial communications networks. This paper firstly introduces the development of satellite communications, mobile communications and the global space-terrestrial integrated network. We then propose the functional architecture and network architecture for the integration of satellite communications and terrestrial mobile communications based on 5 G core networks. Finally, in order to support the network of the future, four key technologies are presented, a space-terrestrial integrated air interface design, a multi-band space-terrestrial integrated transmission waveform design, space-terrestrial integrated switching and routing technology, along with spectrum sharing and interference coordination technology, all necessary for the development of space-terrestrial integrated networks.     

Telecommunications and the economic impact of communications satellites

This article provides several illustrations of the growing economic importance and scope of communications satellite service and discusses how rapid development of new telecommunications systems, particularly those that include communications satellite systems, serve as a major stimulant of economic growth. There is evidence that communications satellites are capable of making important economic contributions to developed and developing countries alike. The rapid proliferation of separate communications satellites, although stimulating economic growth, is giving rise to concerns about intersystem connectivity and saturation of the available radio frequencies in geosynchronous orbit. The growth of the communications satellite industry to an activity level of perhaps $10,000 million per annum by the mid-to-late-1980s could assist in the development of multipurpose space platforms that could minimize the problems created by satellite proliferation.     

Economics of telecommunications space segments

This paper proposes a complete model for assessing the economics of telecommunications satellite systems, accounting for spacecraft development and manufacturing, launch and operations in orbit. This allows to account for such parameters as the mass and lifetime of the satellites, the number and type of payloads, the number of satellites procured and launched, the spare policy, the launch vehicle, the insurances, the satellite average MTTF and the management of the space segment efforts.

The model is divided into four parts: the spacecraft mass model, the spacecraft procurement cost model, the MTTF model and the space segment cost-effectiveness model. It provides for the rapid solution of a number of problems within a wide range of parameters such as assessing the influence on space segment economics of —certain satellite technologies, —satellite and payload mass, —number of payloads per spacecraft, —satellite lifetime, or —spare policy.     

Developing the next phase in NASAs satellite communications program

NASAs early efforts in satellite communications development brought confidence in space technology use for improved telecommunications. New, worldwide satellite communications systems have resulted, and are now on a commercial, self-sustaining operational basis. Since 1973, NASA has conducted hundreds of user experiments and demonstrated newer technology using ATS-1, -3, -6 and CTS. Now, projections show that the commercial demand will continue to increase, soon exceeding the current technology's capacity.As a result, U.S. Space Policy affirmed in 1978 that NASA should embark again on a research and development program for satellite communications with specific, characterized goals. The resulting plan's elements include $\text{30}\text{20}\text{GHz}$ Ka-band technology, extending the current work in advanced multi-beam antennas; a narrowband system and technology study that could lead to mobile and transportable communications developments; and studies of future uses of technology in communications. The program plan and its evolution are described, followed by a report of current progress and future expectations.     

A low-cost femtosatellite to enable distributed space missions

A new class of distributed space missions is emerging which requires hundreds to thousands of satellites for real-time, distributed, multi-point sensing to accomplish long-awaited remote sensing and science objectives. These missions, stymied by the lack of a low-cost mass-producible solution, can become reality by merging the concepts of distributed satellite systems and terrestrial wireless sensor networks. However, unlike terrestrial sensor nodes, space-based nodes must survive unique environmental hazards while undergoing complex orbital dynamics. A novel sub-kilogram very small satellite design is needed to meet these requirements. Sub-kilogram satellite concepts are developing elsewhere, such as traditional picosatellites and microengineered aerospace systems. Although viable technical solutions, these technologies currently come at a high cost due to their reliance on high-density technology or custom manufacturing processes. While evaluating these technologies, two untapped technology areas became evident that uniquely encompass low cost and mass producibility by leveraging existing commercial production techniques: satellite-on-a-chip (SpaceChip) and satellite-on-a-printed circuit board (PCBSat). This paper focuses on the design, build, and test results of a prototype PCBSat with a prototype unit cost less than $300. The paper concludes with mission applications and future direction.     

基于条件生成对抗模型的遥感卫星影像重建技术研究

为了快速侦察未知区域的地貌信息，遥感卫星可对特定区域进行扫描以获取遥感卫星影像。当卫星经过国外未知区域时，部分卫星无法针对某特定区域进行长时间的驻留扫描，本文提出一种基于条件生成对抗网络模型（Conditional Generative Adversarial Network，CGAN）进行网络训练，前期将某方法获取的区域轮廓地形信息作为CGAN网络的生成网络和鉴别网络中的条件约束信息，通过网络生成器与判别器在训练过程中互相博弈产生特定的输出集，有效地实现由单张电子轮廓图像到对应卫星遥感图像的端到端的非线性映射。本文通过原真实卫星遥感图像与生成卫星遥感图像进行四种对比误差计算，平均误差、均方误差与结构相似度均高于99%，峰值信噪比高于30 dB，生成的图像与原图像之间具备高相似度，实现了在获取坐标定位轮廓信息的先验条件下，对特定区域进行遥感卫星影像内容重建技术。     

6G时代卫星算力网络发展思考

卫星已被广泛认为是6G网络的重要组成部分，卫星算力网络结合实时网络和计算资源状况，进行卫星计算节点间的任务调度，能够满足多样性业务的时延要求，实现在轨通信、处理、存储等资源的高效利用。首先，阐述卫星算力网络的概念内涵，对卫星通信网络的发展现状和趋势进行了总结；其次，从总体架构、硬件组成和软件架构三方面给出了卫星算力网络的设计考虑；最后，对卫星算力网络所面临的技术挑战进行总结，对卫星算力的发展进行了展望。     

Current barriers and factors of success in the diffusion of satellite services in Europe

Satellite services benefit civil society by helping tackle challenges such as climate change, the digital divide, etc. They have the potential to deliver concrete benefits to European society through innovative services supporting economic, societal and environmental policies. Such benefits can trigger increased public support for space in Europe. However, this potential has yet to be achieved. This paper argues that technological bias, the diversity of interests and initiatives among stakeholders and their individual actions do not always serve their collective objective to ensure wide diffusion of satellite services. It draws on theories of diffusion of innovation and on its authors' participatory work with the space and the user communities and at their interface in an effort to help diffuse satellite services within civil society. One of the major causes of insufficient service diffusion is the weakness of the interface between the space and user communities; some of factors that currently contribute to this state of affairs are the space community's over-reliance on publicly financed, technical demonstration projects as solutions to service diffusion; insufficient coordination by public authorities of innovation policies and programmes with other public policies and objectives; and an insufficient integration of satellite services within users' culture, traditional tools and services. The discussion allows for conclusions to be drawn on how the system of stakeholders could function better in order for satellite services to be successfully diffused in Europe.     

China's space communications goals

As a large, developing country with poor communications networks, China is in a good position to benefit from satellite communications systems. This article describes the country's efforts since the late 1970s to develop satellite technology, particularly in the field of long-distance, broadcast education. Attention is also given to the role satellite communications can play in reaching remote, sparsely populated areas and in providing bilingual channels for ethnic minorities. The basis of the government's policy is a ‘Leasing for Transition’ programme arranged with Intelsat. But while emphasizing the value of cooperation and exchanges, the author also points to the headway made in indigenous technological development.     

集群卫星网络信息拓扑控制技术探讨

集群卫星网络所具有的高动态拓扑、信息异构及灵活组网的特性,使其对信息层面的拓扑控制提出了新的挑战,需要在现有的卫星网络拓扑控制技术的基础上进一步研究。在深入解析集群卫星网络信息拓扑控制内涵的基础上,根据集群卫星网络特点,提出通用的集群卫星网络信息拓扑模型及星地拓扑控制策略,并对现有的卫星拓扑控制算法进行分类说明,根据拓扑的分类方法,分析不同卫星拓扑控制技术在运用于集群卫星网络中的限制条件,最后针对应用需求及技术特点,指出集群卫星网络拓扑控制技术的发展趋势及研究方向。