Your chance to Participate in Space
My name is Robert Brand and although I am part of the Echoes Of Apollo group, this proposal is from me personally. I tried to save a large dish in the US and build a Global Space Network some years ago, but could never find the customers. Things have changed and the opportunity must be secured or lost forever.
Disclaimer: This post has nothing to do with Echoes of Apollo and is a personal message from Robert Brand, a name synonymous with the space news. Echoes of Apollo is in no way involved in the project at this time.
I am working on a bold plan to build a Deep Space Network capable of communicating with distant spacecraft. It would be used for a large variety of missions from low earth orbit to distant planets, but would have significant other uses such as satellite Telemetry, Tracking and Control as well education and science. We are in the feasibility stage and there are plenty of technical hurdles to jump before this could ever happen. I invite all those with infrastructure that could be used for such a network to contact me. It is important to us to be able to have all the options on the table before we move forward with this.
Okay, so How is this Possible?
It would cost US$150M and more to construct a new network and who has that money? Well, we simply are using older infrastructure that we will own or lease as part of that network. We will be looking to generate enough secure income to make a profit before any investor funding.
Where are the dishes located?
The dishes that we wish to bring into the Network are distributed evenly around the world.
Western Europe: we have access to several 30m (100ft) dishes
North America: We are looking to buy a 30m (100ft) dish
Australia: we are looking to have a long term lease on a 30m (100ft) dish.
Why 30m Dishes?
We need the “gain” or” amplification” provided by a large dish to ensure reliable deep space communications. The network is only as good as the weakest link so 30m is a good size. The dishes are capable of tracking rapidly for satellites in low earth orbit and upgrades will increase the speed of tracking.
How Reliable will it be?
Very reliable. The dishes are either currently in use and well maintained or will be brought back to close to factory specifications. The drive systems will most likely be upgraded and new tracking and electronics installed.
What will the Network Look Like?
It will be a global redundant fiber optic loop linking all systems. This will include exit and entry points from each site and hopefully via different carriers and different cables and routes. The low delay of fiber optic networks are also a bonus with few when controlling remote sites. Data Access points will be available in Europe, USA and Australia. The centers will be able to provide standard services to those launching spacecraft into orbit or those launching missions to other destinations in our solar system.
How Sensitive will the Network be?
We will strive to make the system as sensitive as possible and in some centers may even have separate transmit and receive dishes to increase the sensitivity for communicating with distant sites and spacecraft.
Who will Use the Network?
A wide range of users from the space sector, science and education. it is even expected that at some sites, amateur radio operators will have access for space based communications. Research and education access is expected to be available when missions are not scheduled.
With the new direction from the US government, many new launch facilities are being built and the need for comprehensive coverage of space missions will increase. Even the Google Lunar Xprize is likely to create massive need for new communications services.
Who can get Involved?
We are looking for customers, stakeholders, volunteers, shareholders and a wide variety of end users especially those from the education sector. We are looking to build the optimum system that can give the right priorities to those needing the services. Needs must be specified early in the process for the right components to be put in place.
What is does the Business Model look like?
The business model looks sound as the costs to build the network are very low, however we need more data. We need to understand the possible end user requirements to complete the model and better understand the costs of equipping each site. With more data comes more accuracy and certainty. In short we will sign contracts to supply at exceptional rates before we seek finance. The contracts will be null and void if we do not get over the line by a predetermined date. So far we have one large customer that hopefully will confirm their requirements in the near future.
First Steps
We will look to secure the US site and then grow the others with customer take-up. Stage one may not even see the dish restored to service. We are looking at securing the site as a priority. The site has huge floor space for very secure server farm activities and space for additional dishes.
Who Will Run the Network
Professionals with the highest standards run by managers with experience in the field of tracking. The network will grow and be operated by local staff in each country.
Physical Security of the Sites?
In addition to data security and security ratings of the professionals running the sites, the site are located in secure environments with controlled access. Security will be increased to ensure operations are not interrupted during critical phases of operations.
Is more planning Required?
Yes. This will be the single greatest workload for the foreseeable future. Preparing solid plans and requests for grants will be key to success. We will need to finance these activities and welcome suggestions from future stakeholders about opportunities to fund the approach to governments.
Possible uses of the site
Specific opportunities where preliminary discussions have occurred:
- Military space: there is interest to outsource satellite data distribution for military and intelligence end users
- Google Lunar X-Prize: five teams (so far) have expressed interest in the ground station assets.
- A young commercial space company
- Power beaming experiments (DOD-NSSO and NASA-JPL)
- Remote sensing downlink and/or data distribution.
- A commercial lunar science proposal
The main building is thick all-concrete construction, and contains 21,150 square feet of climate controlled space with a 20-foot high ceiling. The building has substantial power and Telco speed optical fiber feeds. As a vital component of national Telco infrastructure it was hardened for cold war survival. Pipes to add two additional fiber feeders are in place. This is ideal for a data center or computer server farm supporting multiple storage area networks. Lease rates for such space vary greatly, but are conservatively estimated at $30/sq-ft/year or $600K/year. In high demand markets, lease rates in the range of $35 to $75/sq-ft/year are typical. Considering the special circumstances of this site (Vault-like thick concrete walls, security cameras, barb-wire perimeter, multi-gated access points, and a manned guardhouse) a premium is anticipated. Structurally, the space can support a second floor, added internally, and it is also possible to add a third floor, externally on the roof. This adds up to potentially 60,000+ square feet of high value real estate.
Valuable Storage
The main building resembles a vault, with advanced security systems, hence could also be used to store other high value goods, and e.g. wines, art. The main local agricultural use is vineyards, hence wine storage is envisaged. Here also, lease rates can vary greatly, but are often above $4/sqft/month, which would be $960K/year.
- Robert Brand. Sydney Australia
Who do we Contact for More Information?
At this time please refer all contact to me personally. I am located in Australia and can be reached via the following contacts:
Robert Brand
robert.brand@pluscomms.com
+61 408 007 533 (within Australia 0408 007 533 )
Please note the time difference is 10 hours ahead of GMT and at the time of writing 11 hours ahead due to daylight saving
There are hundreds of 20 to 30 meter dishes built around the world (I was COTR to 3 of them – see 22°07’35.35″ N 159°39’53.92″ W) and probably some available surplus at any one time. Getting a dish is the beginning, not the end, of the process. I don’t see nearly enough details to be able to evaluate this properly; here are a few to think about.
The cost of running such a dish for deep space is not just the cost of the dish, or of the electronics (which could easily be $ 1 million per dish, and which you are highly unlikely to get surplus), but primarily personnel costs. Are you going to staff your antenna sites ? 24×7 ? (That takes 5 shifts, BTW.) Can you find a partner to help with site staffing ( that is how to really get costs down). How are you going to handle multi-national crews ? How, for that matter, are you going to train them ?
On the technical side, what spacecraft do you want to communicate with ? At what frequencies ? (Earth orbiters typically use S band, while Deep Space has moved to X or even K/Ku bands). Are you going to support multiple frequencies ? Is your tracking going to be open, or closed, loop ? Are you going to build your own feeds ? Are you going to do duplex transmit / receive operations ?
Hi Marshall, Yes, this was a teaser and there has been a lot more work on this project compared to what I have released already. To address your points:
You mention 20m dishes, but we are focusing on 30m. Yes, there several 30 metre dishes around the world, but not all have a long life ahead of them and not many are located in a convenient place for other activities. The 3 dishes selected match roughly the NASA longitudes for their DSN and thus may be able to be of some use to NASA under some circumstances, although this is not likely and we are not counting on it. The trio do however provide continuous tracking as the world turns of any spacecraft that is above Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Yes, it is the “start only” as you suggest. There has been a lot more thought put into both the arrangements for the business plan and the way to refurbish the dish to. Agree that the main costs will be staff. The potential customer for the US site wants to install 2 x 11 metre dishes and will staff them. We thus have staff on call for some activities of a minor nature or agreed nature without the cost of continuous staffing. We also have allowed more money to buy the necessary electronics for the project.
We are collecting the operational costs as we speak. These include the fees to the county, electricity, diesel, air con, water, fibre, staffing, fire, accommodation, licensing, selling, consumables, transport, etc and even septic tank pumping.
We will eventually offer TT&C services and expand the site for fixed dishes and other services. The future services for the dish are private missions to the Moon (and Mars) as well as some work that cannot as yet be declared. In all the income including server hosting should be great enough to be profitable before we even look at fixing the dish to offer services through it, although that will still be part of the initial funding.
Frequencies should be good to 15GHZ according to specs and a recent dish survey. It may be good for some services to 40GHz with level degradation, but that is yet to be tested.
We have access to other dishes on a lease basis and thus can do duplex. The base of the BWG (Beam Wave Guide) will be typically a fast configure circular track allowing different systems to be added as desired and easily configured at short notice.
We are happy to discuss deeper information under a non-disclosure agreement.
Regards, Robert Brand