D-Orbit Reduces Space Logistics Costs and Improves Visibility Using AWS Ground Station

D-Orbit is a market leader in the space logistics and transportation services industry. As one of the first companies to address the logistics needs of the space market, D-Orbit is looking to improve upon the services it offers to customers while reducing associated costs. When planning missions, satellite operators generally need to either build their own ground network or rent time on a third party’s antenna. The process of defining all of the costs related to a mission is complex.

To address these challenges, D-Orbit developed a cloud-based mission control software known as Aurora, which is fully integrated with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The collaboration between D-Orbit and the AWS team gives satellite operators access to an expanded network of satellite ground stations and facilitates the ingestion of satellite data to the cloud.

Gaining Access to a Global Network of Antennas

Founded in 2011, D-Orbit has been able to accelerate the use of small satellites (SmallSats), which generally weigh less than 1,000 pounds, and cube satellites (CubeSats), which are cost-effective, miniature satellite cubes about three times the size of a baseball. Both SmallSats and CubeSats can be launched in small groups that work together as systems known as constellations. D-Orbit uses its ION Satellite Carriers to transport SmallSats and CubeSats and release them individually into distinct orbital slots. D-Orbit customers deploy SmallSats and CubeSats for a variety of use cases, such as Earth observation, global telecommunications, and space logistics. Customers use Aurora through a standard web browser on any device to monitor and control the spacecraft, to uplink commands, and to downlink and process satellite data.