KT SAT "Strengthening Satellite Signal Surveillance to Enhance Space Sovereignty"

New Space Era: Leap to Advanced Space Nation

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] Ahead of the full-scale opening of the satellite communication era, KT SAT is strengthening its satellite signal monitoring activities to enhance space sovereignty. This year, it plans to secure a monitoring system capable of simultaneously tracking and monitoring multiple satellite constellations.

On the 16th, KT SAT held a press study session to introduce the current status of its satellite signal monitoring activities.

If interference or jamming occurs in radio frequency resources, communication quality deteriorates. Since satellite communication services are mainly used in communication shadow areas, they are the only means of communication for customers. In particular, among KT SAT’s customers are the military, government agencies, and broadcasting stations, so if communication quality deteriorates due to interference, critical problems may arise.

With the advent of the New Space era (private-led space development), the importance of satellite signal monitoring activities has increased. Recently, as global private companies such as SpaceX and OneWeb compete in space business, they are launching numerous satellite constellations, including low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, into space one after another. As the number of satellites rapidly increases, communication disruptions caused by frequency interference between satellites occur frequently.

A KT SAT official explained, "Especially due to the explosive increase in low Earth orbit communication satellites recently, it is expected that tens of millions of satellites will pass over the Korean Peninsula within the next 10 years," adding, "It is necessary to take preemptive measures by establishing a new monitoring system."

This is also linked to strengthening space sovereignty. To leap forward as a space-advanced country, technology development and industrial revitalization are important, but above all, it is essential to establish systems and frameworks that protect radio monitoring and frequency resources.

KT SAT conducts annual simulated training to detect illegal signals and collaborates with the Satellite Signal Monitoring Center to track interference. In 2021 and 2022, it identified the cause of interference that occurred on the Mugunghwa 6 satellite after tracking it.

Collaboration with satellite operators from neighboring countries such as China, Japan, and Hong Kong is also ongoing. When adjacent satellite interference (ASI) occurs, they cooperate promptly to maintain the service quality of the Mugunghwa satellites at the highest level.

This year, KT SAT is accelerating the advancement of its satellite signal monitoring system.

KT SAT is discovering next-generation technologies through research on interference avoidance technology for non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites, network operation and satellite network monitoring methods for high-throughput satellite (HTS) networks, and system advancement research combining big data and artificial intelligence (AI) with existing systems.

In preparation for the increasing demand for low Earth orbit satellite communication, it is establishing a monitoring system capable of simultaneously tracking and monitoring multiple satellite constellations.

A KT SAT official stated, "To analyze satellite constellations passing over the Korean Peninsula within 10 to 15 minutes, we have added four real-time signal analysis devices to the existing non-geostationary system," adding, "We plan to develop operational software that shortens the time required to measure and analyze one satellite and enables simultaneous measurement of satellite constellations."