Toronto based Kepler Communications isn’t content with just its original constellation of 140 Internet of Things (IoT) low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. It’s filled applications with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for another larger constellation of 360 satellites that would offer a variety of broadband services. Those services could also be used by the military in Canada and the US. The proposed constellation would provide continuous coverage in the Arctic.
Kepler submitted its application to the FCC in late May and to ISED in early June.
Carpe Diem – An opportunity seized?
It does comes as a bit of surprise that Kepler has decided to expand into another market segment so soon. After all, Kepler only has two demonstration satellites on-orbit. They do however have four Gen1 production small satellites scheduled to launch in September and October along with upwards of 11 others by the end of the year on a SpaceX rideshare mission.
Perhaps the bankruptcy of OneWeb, and the reluctance of Telesat to move faster has provided Kepler an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. That and their experience with their two demonstration satellites, including Arctic tests, provided Kepler with enough data to take the plunge.
As you’ll read, Kepler is very much focused on the Arctic marketplace including consumer, commercial, and military. One very interesting fact is the size of the satellites Kepler wants to use. While SpaceX, OneWeb and Telesat will all use satellites ranging from 147 kg to 260 kg in mass, Kepler has come up with a design that weighs in at 22 kg at launch. That could be a game changer.
The Kepler Broadband Constellation and the US
In learning the capabilities of the proposed constellation we’re relying on documentation provided to the FCC. ISED does not make the applications public.
Here’s how Kepler describes their system.
The System will be a constellation of 360 NGSO small satellites in a near-polar (89.5° inclination) circular orbit at an altitude of 600 ±50km. The 360 satellites will be spread across 12 planes, each with 30 satellites per plane. The mission lifetime for each satellite is a minimum of 5 years (up to 7 years) with a total maximum time-to-disposal after end of service of 24.8 years.
Network coverage showing (left) isometric and (right) top-down views. The red circle indicates the region of supported commercial coverage available. The constellation would provide continuous coverage above 55N latitude. Credit: Kepler Communications
Remember, the following summary is meant for the FCC and Kepler’s US application.
The System will expand upon the capabilities delivered from Kepler’s initial constellation by focusing on broadband connectivity for underserved customers in the High North, including rural consumers in Alaska, maritime vessels in Arctic waters, long-haul flights transiting at high latitudes, or public sector customers that operate in the Arctic for national security operations. The System will serve the public interest in the United States by helping to close the digital divide in Alaska, promoting economic activities in the Arctic, and enhancing the United States’ ability to maintain security and freedom of travel through the increasingly contested High North.
Continuing with the FCC application, Kepler takes pains to note that the system is specifically designed for those north of 55°. That happens to be the lowest latitude in Alaska. Kepler is not applying for a license for other parts of the US.
The Kepler System is designed specifically to provide high-speed and low-latency connectivity for customers operating above 55°N latitude. As such, the system design has been optimized for targeting customers operating in this region. The constraint of this underserved region brings several benefits, including needing only a relatively small constellation and satellite size to deliver full broadband capability, simpler coexistence schemes with other NGSO networks, and improved mitigation of interference to GSO.
The Kepler Broadband Constellation and Canada
While we don’t have any documentation about Kepler’s plans in Canada, it would be safe to say based on the FCC documentation that they are looking to deliver broadband services to consumers, the commercial marketplace, and to the Department of National Defence with a focus on the Arctic.
Like their competitors, Kepler says their service would provide “upwards of 50 Gbps of low-latency broadband capacity.”
We also know that Kepler applied to ISED on June 10, 2020 for the following spectrum requests.
- 2025-2110 MHz (Earth-to-space)
- 2200-2290 MHz (space-to-Earth)
- 10.7-10.95 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 11.2-11.45 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 12.75-13.25 GHz (Earth-to-space)
- 13.75-14.0 GHz (Earth-to-space)
- 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space)
- 17.7-18.3 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 18.3-18.8 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 18.8-19.3 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 19.7-20.2 GHz (space-to-Earth)
- 27.5-28.35 GHz (Earth-to-space)
- 28.35-28.6 GHz (Earth-to-space)
- 28.6-29.1 GHz (Earth-to-space)
- 29.5-30.0 GHz (Earth-to-space)
Likely the most important factor in their decision is the satellite platform they would use. We know they have been working closely with Toronto’s Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) on a new satellite design using SFL’s Jaeger platform. Also with the help with SFL, they’ve developed a manufacturing production line that can produce 10 satellites a month and which is in full production now.
The Kepler Broadband Constellation Jaeger Satellite Design
Thanks to the FCC documentation we have some specifics on the new Jaeger derived satellites that will make up the constellation. They are small and only weigh 22 kg at launch. Here’s the specs.
The Kepler satellites are approximately 22 kg wet mass (approximately 0.7kg of fuel), with physical dimensions of around 360 x 750 x 115 mm3 (stowed). The satellites contain a single long deployable and mechanically actuated solar array, with deployed planar dimension of 2 approximately 0.45m . The payload consists of a bent-pipe Ku-to-Ka radio, a Ka-band service link phased array antenna (TX and RX) and two Ku-band feeder links which are electrically steered phased array antennas with mechanical off-axis assist (TX and RX). The antennas are physically separated from the main avionics package (BUS). The main avionics box contains the platform electronics, including battery bank, on-board processing, propulsion, electrical power, and attitude control systems. The payload control is maintained in a separate and distinct enclosure for thermal safety of the battery and other critical health systems. An illustration of the spacecraft in mission operation configuration is shown in Figure 14, and some key spacecraft parameters are provided in Table 9. Nadir is in the positive z-direction, whereas the velocity vector varies about the z-axis depending on the right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN) to maximize power generation, as shown in Figure 14 (below).
Conceptual design of Kepler satellite as submitted to the FCC. Credit: Kepler Communications.
Spacecraft parameters. Credit: Kepler Communications.
Kepler plans to start the launch campaign in July 2023 and have the system completed by June 2024.
Considering the nature of the constellation it will be interesting to see if they apply to offer broadband services to other nations.
Other than waiting to hear if they’ll get FCC and ISED approval, the biggest obstacle Kepler faces will be funding the constellation.