Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has demonstrated the technology readiness level (TRL) 8 of its Enterprise Ground Services (EGS) by commanding an on-orbit spacecraft using the US Air Force’s (USAF) EGS framework.
The demonstration comes after the company recently announced three successful pathfinder studies to migrate the Command and Control System-Consolidated (CCS-C) ground system to the EGS architecture.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Introduced in 2001, the CCS-C system is responsible for providing consolidated military satellite communication tracking, telemetry and command capability for 14th Air Force and 50th Space Wing launch and early orbit, on orbit and anomaly resolution operations.
The company’s demonstration is in support of the USAF’s strategic approach to implement a common service-based satellite ground infrastructure that will create an integrated platform in place of existing satellite ground systems.
EGS is focused on a space architecture that can tackle emerging threats and protect space-based assets.
During the demonstration, Kratos showcased capabilities, including dynamically allocating satellite ground resources and executing deployment automation with the ability to spin up new satellite command and control instances in less than ten minutes.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions federal programme vice-president Larry Lind said: “These capabilities are critical to achieving a resilient EGS and the agility needed to survive the new realities of space.
“In the past, the demonstration of a new satellite ground command and control station has taken months and in many cases years to execute. The test and demonstration of this first live contact run out of the Space Mission Battle Lab was made possible in less than three weeks and its success validated TRL 8 readiness of Kratos EGS technology.”
TRL is used to determine the maturity of critical technology elements of a programme during the acquisition process.
The TRL 8 readiness of Kratos EGS confirms the completion of the actual system and makes its mission qualified through test and demonstration in an operational environment.
