KSAT can see the whole world from Tromsø

There are somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000 satellites orbiting the Earth, depending on which sources you consult. Together, they can tell us almost everything about what is happening on the planet below, whether it concerns climate change, the ocean surface, weather systems or high-resolution images of specific areas. Some can even ‘see’ in the dark and through clouds.

Downloading and using this data requires enormous satellite dishes that can communicate with the satellites. No company in the world has greater expertise and capacity in this field than Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), headquartered in Tromsø.

The company downloads the data and passes it on to end users, ranging from public authorities to private individuals, for a wide variety of purposes.

Satellites are used to understand weather systems, adjust flight paths and shipping routes, monitor rainforest deforestation, assess the extent of oil spills at sea and determine where people should be evacuated when a hurricane or tornado is approaching. These are just a few examples. In a more turbulent world, it has also become increasingly important for countries to monitor what is happening in their immediate surroundings, whether at border crossings or at sea.

With several thousand satellites orbiting the Earth, equipped with a wide range of sensors, they can provide data on virtually anything. Many companies own and communicate with their own satellites. KSAT does not own a single satellite, but it can communicate with all of them. This is the Tromsø-based company’s unique competitive advantage.

‘Many companies provide data from their own satellites, but we collect and combine data from a wide range of different satellites. We know which satellites are above which areas at any given time, so we are well placed to bring together the information and services our customers need,’ says Ekstedt.

This is why KSAT has customers all over the world. The US has always been an important market, and the company is now seeing strong growth in Asia and Europe. This is partly due to the volatile geopolitical situation.

Ekstedt explains that in stable times, KSAT supplies large volumes of data for climate monitoring and research. Now, its deliveries also support situational awareness, where recipients need data and analysis quickly, almost in real time.

‘The global balance of power has shifted, prompting Europe to build up its own capabilities, and we are expanding our cooperation with countries we have not previously worked with as closely. Countries want to know what is happening in their waters and border regions,’ says Ekstedt.

To understand how Norway became a major player in satellite data, we need to understand polar-orbiting satellites. These satellites orbit from north to south, passing over both poles on each orbit around the Earth, with 14 to 16 passes per day. Because the Earth rotates, the satellites will photograph the entire globe over a given period. The further north (or south) a satellite station is located, the better its contact with these satellites.

We recognised early on the importance of monitoring Norway’s vast maritime areas and the country’s strategic position for receiving satellite data. As early as 1967, two years before the Moon landing, Tromsø Satellite Station received its first signal from space.

But because the poles are the only points on Earth that polar-orbiting satellites pass over on every orbit, it was Svalbard that truly cemented Norway’s position in the satellite industry. This was where NASA and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites wanted to explore the possibility of building a station.

‘So people climbed the mountain outside Longyearbyen and concluded that, yes, we can build antennas here. It was a collaboration between Europe and the US on either side, with KSAT in the middle,’ says Ekstedt.

It started with just a few antennas on Platåberget outside Longyearbyen. Today, several hundred stand there, making SvalSat the world’s largest commercial ground station.

Our partnership with KSAT dates back to the 1990s. We helped establish ground-based antennas that enabled faster distribution of satellite data to customers. We were also involved in establishing the subsea cable between Svalbard and Andøya, which provided sufficient capacity for downloading satellite data at SvalSat, the ground station operated by KSAT.

Regional Director Anne Berit Figenschau at our Arctic office (Troms and Finnmark) says that KSAT has been a highly capable and exciting customer, delivering quality at every stage.

'It has been important to enable profitable international growth for KSAT while also delivering significant benefits to society in the areas of climate, security and emergency preparedness,' says Figenschau.

KSAT also highlights its collaboration with our international offices. We have helped the company connect with relevant partners in different markets and understand each market before establishing a presence.

‘We recently opened a new office in Japan, and working with Innovation Norway opened doors and gave us valuable understanding and insight. They worked closely with us to build a new industry in a market that was new to us. That was hugely important,’ says Ekstedt.

In Japan, private space company ispace is among KSAT's customers. KSAT supports communications between lunar landers and ground control in Japan. This is a critical service that enables the company to realise its ambitions. On its website, ispace writes that by 2040 it envisions a lunar community with 1,000 permanent residents and 10,000 annual visitors, and that its contribution will be to build space-based infrastructure.

Fast, precise communication from the Moon to Earth will be essential. KSAT offers the world's first purpose-built ground network for lunar communications. The antennas are specially designed to meet the requirements of future lunar missions and are distributed evenly to ensure continuous coverage.

KSAT will soon send its first antenna into space. The aim is to minimise delays in data transmission.

Much has changed since Tromsø Satellite Station received its first signal in 1967, and since a handful of pioneers made the arduous climb up Platåberget in Svalbard to see whether it was possible to build antennas there.

‘It is exciting to think that these pioneers paved the way for KSAT in Norway. We are the world’s largest company in our field and have an extensive network of antennas around the globe. This is both because we are located so far north and because some people dared to pursue bold ideas,’ says Ekstedt.