Ksat Radar
Gwenda Gronert
Dark vessels are vessels that does not self-report as required by national or international law through systems like Automatic Identification System (AIS), Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT), Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), etc. Dark vessels can be involved in illicit activities such as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, smuggling, piracy, human trafficking, etc. and these are vessels of interest for different authorities and organisations.
Currently satellite based vessel detection services provide information about dark vessels by utilising mostly Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) but also very high resolution electro-optical imagery. The addition of satellite-based RF-data, especially the detection of vessel navigation radars, is expected to provide a valuable addition to these services. Using extended frequency information for the navigation radar detected it is also expected that it can be possible to create fingerprints of the individual radars, hence making it possible to identify a vessel that has been detected.
KSAT is expanding the existing vessel detection service based on SAR and optical data to include RF-data from the Navigation Radar Detector (NRD) on the Norwegian NorSAT-3, as well as from commercial providers such as Unseenlabs.
The space-based RF data represents the new and innovative element for the vessel detection service. The Norwegian NORSAT-3 satellite and the Unseenlabs constellation both operate navigation radar detectors, NRD, which can detect X- and S-band navigation radars. Other RF satellite constellations like HE360 provide additional spectrum capabilities capable to detect VHF, UHF and L-band communication as well as GPS jammers in addition to navigation radars.
It is possible to build a database of detected navigation radars making it possible to identify individual vessels based on the signature of the of navigation radar when combining it with AIS, LRIT and VMS.
The near real-time multi-mission SAR data has been the main source for the KSAT vessel detection service. The SAR data is the main source for initial detection and positioning of targets at sea. The SAR data covers large areas and provides surface information and is independent of light conditions and cloud-free skies.
Satellite AIS data as well as LRIT and VMS are the main components for the self-reporting vessel information used in the service. Combined with the RF and SAR detections it provides the basis for detecting dark vessels.
The International Blue Justice Tracking Centre, the Vessel Traffic Station in Vard and the Norwegian Defence Joint HQ have been visited physically, while the Maritime Coastguard Agency UK and SASEMAR in Spain have been interviewed by videoconference.
An initial system architecture has been established and interfaces to ingest the RF data from NorSat-3 NRD and Unseenlabs have been implemented. A Poof-of-Concept focussing on Service Offering 1 was performed based on the initial system architecture. All the critical aspect related to Service Offering 1 has been investigated. and Service offering 1 is concluded as both technical feasible and commercially viable. The critical aspects related to Service Offering 2 and 3 has not been investigated properly in this project. The reason for this is that the effort required to investigate this properly was larger than expected.
On the 25th of August 2022 Space Norway AS signed contracts with vendors and will immediately start building a radar satellite system optimized for maritime surveillance in Norwegian areas of interest.
The payloads will be developed and built by Norwegian suppliers, while the satellite bus and the radar antenna will be built in the UK. The first satellite will be launched early 2025. In the following years, the plan is to launch a number of radar satellites to establish a constellation.
The MicroSAR System is optimized for covering Norwegian needs. However, it will also offer and deliver maritime surveillance services in a global market in the same way as other radar satellites in space today, including surveillance of ship traffic, combating illegal fishing, search and rescue and oil spill detection.
Space Norway also work in close cooperation with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT). KSAT establishes, operates, and owns the MicroSAR Ground System, utilizing their existing global network. On behalf of Space Norway, they will provide services related to satellite operations and downlink of MicroSAR data. KSAT will also be responsible for marketing and sales of MicroSAR services and products as part of their portfolio, both in a national and an international market.
The Satellite System will be owned and controlled by Space Norway. This gives Norway an important strategic independent capability under national control to cover their needs for maritime surveillance.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is a UK company with long experience in building satellites. SSTL will deliver the satellite platform and be responsible for integration of the payloads on board. SSTL will also be responsible for building the radar antenna through their sub-contractor Oxford Space Systems (OSS).
The payloads will be developed and produced by the Norwegian companies WideNorth, Eidsvoll Electronics (EIDEL), Kongsberg Seatex and Norwegian Defence research Establishment (FFI). Hence, the project will also contribute significantly to business development of Norwegian companies.
The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) and Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) are launching the Inio service to uncover potential challenges in ground stability early, to improve risk management.
Small movements in the ground can have a big impact on operations, infrastructure, and construction projects across different sectors. With the ability to monitor deviations down to the millimetre level, it is possible to uncover potential challenges in ground stability early enough to take measures to reduce costs and the risk of damage.
NGI and KSAT are therefore collaboratively launching the Inio satellite service to precisely detect such movements. Inio is a global service that will be able to assist industry, regional and local authorities and transport projects in understanding and predicting ground movements.
The ground movements are measured with radar satellites through a technology called InSAR. Through this technique, small differences in the radar signals can be interpreted as changes in motion towards the satellite (uplift) or away from the satellite (subsidence).
The service is being launched together with KSAT, a world-leading provider of ground services for satellites in polar orbit. KSAT, which also provides environmental monitoring services in near real-time based on satellite data, is now aiming to scale terrestrial observation using satellites.
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Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT) is a commercial Norwegian enterprise uniquely positioned to provide ground station services for polar orbiting satellites and global earth observation services. Our ground stations in Troms Norway at 69N, Svalbard (SvalSat) at 78N, Inuvik, Canada at 68N, Punta Arenas, Chile at 52S and Antarctic TrollSat Station at 72S, provide great coverage for polar orbiting satellites. The Svalbard satellite station has a unique location, ensuring access to every orbit for most polar orbiting satellite. The Svalbard site is being used to acquire Landsat data.
KSAT has a growing global ground station network consisting of 25 sites, which can provide additional contacts for polar satellite and support lower inclination missions. Our robust and integrated network represents a complete ground network capability, offering flexible solutions for satellites and launch vehicles. KSAT supports more than 150 missions, including high resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical satellites, allowing us to provide earth observation data and services to a wide range of customers.
The Troms Network Operations Centre (TNOC) is staffed 24/7 all days of the year and is responsible for remotely operating facilities around the world as one single interconnected network. KSAT has a high focus on automated operations and multi mission assets to be able to support our customers efficiently and with a high reliability.
Data was collected to meet data requirements from the following CIRFA Work Packages: WP2 Sea-ice and Iceberg properties, WP4 RPAS technologies for operation under arctic conditions and WP6 Field work. Beyond the CIRFA SFI, the activities are also part of the project Arctic EO, the Fram Centre project Mapping Sea Ice (Fjord and coast flagship), and the long term Arctic sea ice monitoring of the Norwegian Polar Institute. The field measurements and satellite recordings are completed, and the work with data and samples starts or goes on for the coming months, before results can be discussed in more detail, and eventually can be published. The report below gives an overview of the activities and data collected during the campaign.
Daily Radarsat 2 quad (full) polarization fine mode (25 km x25 km, 10 m resolution) satellite data from ascending passes covering Kongsfjorden in the afternoon from April 14-18 were ordered from KSAT, a quick look is displayed in Figure 1. In addition data from Sentinel-1 will be available (Dual Polarization HH-HV, 70m resolution) example of HH image from April 17th pass is shown in Figure 2.