Assured satellite command & control in austere or contested space environments

Government missions don’t always occur in locations with a secure, reliable, or even existent infrastructure. But that lack of infrastructure should not stop or delay the mission.

While space relay constellations and antenna systems have traditionally supported commercial and government needs, the shift toward increasingly congested and contested environments requires more agile satellite operations. Specifically, government and commercial satellite operators primarily rely on Direct to Earth (DTE) ground stations to send and receive commands and data to their satellites.

The USSF Satellite Control Network (SCN) is a critical global network of ground stations to communicate with and control over 100 military and government satellites. Despite its importance, the network faces significant limitations that make having resilient additional capability an operational necessity.

Viasat’s HaloNet portfolio delivers a unified ecosystem comprised of GEO-LEO space relay and terrestrial ground stations that seamlessly connect satellites across the full orbital lifecycle. A unique element of HaloNet is its Mobile Satellite Gateways (MSGs). These deployable, self-sustained communication nodes—which include vehicle-mounted "truck" versions as well as transportable gateways for land or maritime use—are helping operators overcome the challenges of operating in austere environments, disaster recovery, and contingencies. They enable tactically responsive space operations in even the most competitive environments.

Because these gateways can be deployed effectively anywhere in the world, they allow operators to fill communication gaps over landmasses and reduce delays between connectivity sessions. They provide infrastructure capable of supporting multiple mission operations, including:

• Command and control (C2)
• Telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C)
• Communications from virtually any location on Earth.

Configurable for a wide range of satellite constellations, bands (including Ka, Ku, X and S-bands), and orbits (LEO, MEO and GEO), these remote C2 gateways deliver maximum flexibility for rapidly evolving requirements, extending a customer’s operational reach regardless of geographical constraints.

In modern conflict, connectivity must be both assured and resilient. By leveraging Viasat’s Hybrid Adaptive Network (HAN), these mobile gateways provide enhanced path diversity and automated backhaul. This "Secure by Design" approach ensures that if one network is compromised or congested, the system can dynamically route data through the most effective available path — whether commercial or government-owned.

Viasat’s mobile gateways provide secure “bent-pipe” communications between mission control and space assets, safeguarding sensitive command and telemetry information. This makes them well-suited for Department of Defense (DoD) programs, responsive space missions, and commercial test ranges that require secure C2 in non-traditional settings.