![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/11_03b.jpg-rotated.jpg\")
Because ground controllers will be able to update the smart sat\u2019s security system in response to emerging threats, end users should see a more robust cyber-defense posture, Phares said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ability to adjust a satellite\u2019s performance parameters could also make it easier to handle big data-processing loads more effectively. Say, for instance, engineers develop an app that will allow for on-board processing of data that formerly had to be sent down to Earth-based analysts. An end user could substantially reduce the bandwidth demand, by sending down only data that requires analyst expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reduce, reuse \u2026<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
With software as the basis for a satellite\u2019s operations, it may be possible to leverage space hardware more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSay you had a communications satellite delivering coverage of western Europe, but a couple of years after it launches, the demand in eastern Europe grows substantially,\u201d Demaree said. Rather that deploy another satellite to close the gap, it might be possible to reconfigure the existing asset to cover the changed mission requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or suppose a weather satellite stops functioning. With smart sats, the end user could pick up the flow of needed data by reprogramming other satellites. It\u2019s already possible to pull such data from multiple sources, \u201cbut today you\u2019d have to stitch that data together on the ground,\u201d said Demaree. Rather than take that expensive and time-consuming route, a smart sat might allow the user to redirect other assets to cover the weather mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are limits to this approach. Software may enable a satellite to make new or better use of its existing hardware, but the satellite still will be constrained by the sensors that it has on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou are not going to turn an imaging satellite into some other kind of satellite. It will have the payload that it has, but you can optimize that,\u201d Phares said. Existing sensors can be made more efficient, or repurposed for alternate uses beyond what was originally envisioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A number of technology trends have come together to make smart sats possible, including the advent of the hypervisor and the rise of multi-core processing. Lockheed Martin has leveraged these via an open-standards approach so that the software-driven methodology can be applied across a range of hardware platforms and ground control capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The net result should be a satellite architecture that is more nimble and more readily adaptable to changing missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe way the flight software and the payload software today are coded, it is very mission specific. When we do an upload it\u2019s just to fix an issue,\u201d Phares said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With smart sats, by comparison, \u201cwe can constantly update the capabilities of the satellite, as opposed to just fixing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new generation of satellites is coming to the launch pad, and it\u2019s promising a tectonic shift in satellite operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":55091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":23,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,12,163,49,36,23],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2220],"class_list":["post-25415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-industry","category-military-space-report","category-techwatch","category-newsletters","category-space"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"52GVTOVQGVH7RGLON4BOVRWYXU","arc_canonical_url":"\/c2-comms\/satellites\/2019\/04\/05\/are-reprogrammable-satellites-ready-for-prime-time\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n