Session Description:
The tremendous growth in satellite systems deployment has been driven by the need for efficient, reliable, cost-effective low-latency implementations of real-time (or near-real-time) applications, as well as bringing broadband communications to wider segments of humanity. Pushed by those emerging applications, new connectivity solutions are of current research, design and development interest for LEO, MEO, GEO, and further satellite applications. Traditionally, satellite networks have used microwaves for satellite-satellite space and satellite-ground communications. More recently, researchers and manufacturers have been investigating the use of lasers for space-based communications and networking for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), with a mix of Radio Frequency and Free Space Optics. However, deploying optical transmission systems in space has challenges, including robustness in the hostile space environment, packaging size, power and weight, pointing, acquisition and stability of the laser beams, adaptive configurability of the time-varying satellite network, network interoperability (including protocols) with other space-based, airborne and global ground-station networks, system resilience, robustness against weather impairments, variable and adaptive data rate control, and traffic variations, just to cite some of the key design aspects. In this panel, experts will give an overview of this emerging field, including its opportunities and challenges for researchers, device manufacturers, systems vendors, service providers, and standardization bodies.
Organized by: 
Moderator
Doug Zuckerman, IEEE Communications Society, USA
Panelists
- Vincent W.S. Chan, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, MIT, USA
- Christian Fuchs, Head of Department, Institute of Communications and Navigation, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany
- Markus Gardill, Chair of Electronic Systems and Sensors, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany
- Kathy Grise, Senior Program Director, IEEE Future Directions, USA
- Loukas Paraschis, IEEE Communication Society, and VP Business Development, Alphawave Semi, USA