Iridium Completes Ground Station Infrastructure Upgrade

Iridium Completes Ground Station Infrastructure Upgrade - Via Satellite
Iridium has also deployed a new TelePort Network (TPN) architecture for routing traffic in place of the legacy “fixed” network design. For this upgrade, Iridium replaced ground station hardware and software, and the company’s partner in the Next constellation, Thales Alenia Space, verified that the system had passed the TPN factory acceptance test.

Legacy Fixed Gateway Architecture

new TelePort Network (TPN) architecture

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Iridium Communications Inc. Upgrades Ground Station Infrastructure Worldwide for Enhanced Reliability and Performance

Apr 28 14

Iridium Communications Inc. announced the completion of an extensive upgrade to its ground station infrastructure in advance of the launch of its next generation constellation, Iridium NEXT, which is scheduled to begin in 2015. The upgrade encompasses several major components, designed to provide seamless connectivity with the new Iridium NEXT satellites as well as backward compatibility to its current network. With 66 low-Earth orbiting (LEO), cross-linked satellites and multiple in-orbit spares, the fully meshed network is the large commercial satellite constellation in the world.

The upgrade modernizes five global ground stations and 21 antennas allowing the ground infrastructure to support:

• Enhanced reliability,
• Added capacity to handle more customers and throughput,
• Rapid re-routing of traffic,
• Increased redundancy and high power amplifier enhancements to meet Iridium NEXT power control and phase noise requirements.

As part of the upgrade process, Iridium has deployed a new TelePort Network architecture allowing dynamic routing of traffic versus the legacy 'fixed' network design. The upgrade replaces ground station hardware and software, resulting in higher expected reliability and performance. Iridium NEXT mission team partner Thales Alenia Space participated in the efforts to verify that system performance meets expectation and confirmed that Iridium has passed its TelePort Network (TPN) factory acceptance test.