FAQ
General
What types of communication does StellarStation support?
StellarStation provides access to both RF (VHF, UHF, S, X, and Ka radio bands) and optical ground stations.
How quickly is data streamed by StellarStation?
This is dependent on:
- Modem capabilities
- The network sitting between the client and StellarStation servers
- The volume of data
Generally, low rate (<50Mbps) can be reliably streamed in near real-time.
Consult with Infostellar staff on what infrastructure changes can be made to bump those speeds up into the 100Mbps or 1Gbps range.
What orbits are supposed by StellarStation?
At this time, StellarStation supports LEO and MEO orbits. Those include typical inclinations, polar, sun-synchronous, semi-synchronous, equatorial, and retrograde orbits.
Consult with Infostellar staff about GEO, lunar orbit, lunar surface, and deep space mission support.
How is data stored in StellarStation?
StellarStation takes advantage of cloud services to provide encrypted storage and secure streaming of data. Cloud storage is completely optional.
How long is data stored in StellarStation?
StellarStation stores all data by default for 90 days. This duration is configurable by users.
Where are your servers located?
StellarStation servers are distributed across many regions for performance and security reasons. The location of the infrastructure your mission uses is configurable.
What interface should we use?
This depends on your mission needs. If automating anything of importance, Infostellar recommends the CLI or API. If manually handling communications, Infostellar recommends the browser.
What kind of testing should satellite operators do?
Please see the Testing section for more information.
How much does StellarStation cost?
Please consult with Infostellar staff for pricing information.
What happens if the downlink rate exceeds network capacity?
No problem. StellarStation buffers data until all data is able to be offloaded.
What happens if the client network is slower than the ground station network capacity?
Also no problem. StellarStation buffers data until all data is able to be offloaded.
What are service packages?
Service packages are used by StellarStation to provide scheduling services with the proper configuration to users. A service package includes definitions for, but not limited to, minimum uplink and downlink elevations, reservation windows, cancelation windows, and cost calculations.
Please consult Infostellar staff to pick the right service package.
Legal and Licensing
As a satellite operator, what kinds of regulatory and licensing processes do I need to follow?
- The approval process of your National Radio Authority (MIC, OFCOM, FCC, etc)
- The approval process of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- If using amateur frequencies, then also The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)
- The application process of ground stations (through Infostellar). In addition, the ground station gets licensed to provide services for your mission through it's own country's authorities
The process of obtaining approval from the ITU is the biggest blocker, taking anywhere from 4 months to 7 years depending on your mission.
All countries require ITU approval and licenses issued by the country's authorities to downlink from the satellite. However, some countries do NOT require licenses issued by the country's authorities to uplink to the satellite. To further complicate the situation, some countries restrict operations of their own companies/organizations (e.g. not allowing the downlink remote sensor data or uplink of commands via foreign ground stations)
Infostellar can help streamline the processes outlined above. Please contact the Infostellar Support team for more information about our regulatory services.
Organizations
What is an organization?
StellarStation uses the concept of an organization to control access to satellites and ground stations that are part of the StellarStation network. When you log in to StellarStation you will not see any satellites or ground stations in the web console until your account has been added to an organization. Usually this is done by a user within your organization who is designated as an administrator.
I am an administrator of my organization. How can I manage members of my organization?
Administrators can manage users through StellarStation under settings. Here, users can be invited or removed. Invited users will receive and invite email. The user should follow the instructions in the email to join the organization.
How can I see user actions through StellarStation?
Right now there is no way to do this but this feature is on our roadmap.
Development
How often does Infostellar release changes?
About once every two weeks. Consult Infostellar staff on the scope and frequency of these changes.
Where can I get information about releases?
General StellarStation release information can be found in the browser under Releases. API release information can be found here. CLI release information can be found here.
How can I get an API key?
Contact your organization's administrator and ask them to provide you with an API key.
Where can I see some examples of API usage?
We have some examples provided in the StellarStation API repository under 'examples'.
Can we submit Pull Requests or Issues in the public API repository?
Yes! In fact, we encourage it. If you see any problems, have ideas improve the documentation, etc feel free to do so.
Operations
When can we start using StellarStation?
Anytime from the moment your organization is set up and handed off to your team! That's why we set up the fake satellite for your team and link it to some fake ground stations. That allows your team to try out scheduling and streaming data. In fact, we highly encourage getting used to the StellarStation interface and services as soon as possible.
We are about to start operations but deployment hasn't happened yet. What should we set the initial TLE to?
The initial TLE should be uploaded about one month ahead of launch. The TLE used depends on the method of deployment. If deploying via a launch provider, then they will usually give some expected orbital parameters in advance of the launch that you can use for the TLE. If deploying via the International Space Station, then simply use the station's orbital parameters for the TLE.
The satellite has been deployed, but NORAD has not assigned an ID yet. What should we set the TLE to?
Until NORAD assigns an ID, your team will need to manually update the TLE in StellarStation. Once NORAD assigns an ID then it will become possible to set StellarStation to automatically update the TLE.
Available passes shown in StellarStation are different from what we see by our own calculations. Why?
Double-check that the TLE in StellarStation matches the TLE uses in your calculations. Any minor differences in passes could be due to differences in the propagator. Any missing passes are due to unavailability of the ground station. We are very confident in our TLE handling and propagation services. They are tested on every deployment and validated every day in production by other users on the platform.
When we updated the TLE, some of our reservations changed from "Reserved" to "Drifted" or "Conflicting". Why?
Please see the section on Drift and Conflicts.
The TLE in StellarStation is different from what we expected. Why?
Some very common causes of this issue are operators changing the TLE and not informing the rest of the operations team and an operator accidentally setting the TLE to "Automatic" when it's supposed to be manually updated (or vice-versa).
When can I start reserving passes on ground stations for my upcoming mission?
In the several months leading up to launch Infostellar will inform the ground station of the expected beginning of your operations and that they should be prepared to accommodate your communications.
In the weeks leading up to launch, Infostellar will link your satellite as it exists in StellarStation to real ground stations. At that point, using the expected initial TLE, your team can start reserving plans with those ground stations.
If the expected initial TLE changes, make sure to check that the reserved plans have not drifted. If they have, reschedule plans as needed.
How far into the future can we make a reservation?
This depends on the ground station. Generally, it is around one week.
Consult with Infostellar staff about longer lead times.
StellarStation is not letting us reserve or cancel plans that are within 10 minutes of execution. Why?
StellarStation requires time to sync and reconfigure. Reservations made too soon in advance are not allowed.
Can I directly access ground station assets or the modem remotely?
At this time we do not allow this. Please consult Infostellar staff if you would like assistance setting up your own ground station assets or modem.
Please see the Monitoring and GS Modem Configuration sections for information about interacting with the ground station and modem through StellarStation standard services.
If we have problems, who can we talk to?
Please submit a ticket and an Infostellar staff member will assist you as soon as possible.
What kind of security practices does Infostellar follow?
We understand the importance of transporting your data through our network in a reliable, fast and secure manner. From the beginning of the project, security implementation policies have been at the core of our business and our system designers have incorporated several security measures in order to guarantee secure operation of your space assets through StellarStation. The following are just some of the security measures that are already up and running in our system:
- Cloud Services
- The core services for our network are deployed on the Cloud, which is a guarantee in terms of secure service provision for our customers.
- For more detailed information on the security of Cloud based services, please contact Infostellar staff.
- Encryption and Secure Access
- Our network runs its services over end-to-end encrypted communications channels that follow the latest security standards for web services like HTTPS.
- Each of the deployed sharing devices at each ground station is secured through a firewall system in order to guarantee that only authorized users can access the remote assets of the network.
- Server infrastructure is split into services by clear concerns, and any service only has the minimal permissions needed to function.
- Software Updates
- Services are periodically updated to the latest version of operating systems and components.
- Remote sharing devices are continuously managed and have updates and fixes deployed quickly after system-level (e.g. operating system) vulnerabilities are identified.
- Through implementation of these policies, our system is continuously updated against attacks through recently discovered vulnerabilities.