Related press releases
Related research
ESA Satellite Telecommunication Technology Enhances Nuclear Monitoring Around the World
:: 29 March, 2008
Satellite telecommunication technology developed with support from ESA is being used to enhance the connections between the International Atomic Energy Agency's remote monitoring centre and nuclear facilities around the world, including the Chernobyl site.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is well known for their mission of monitoring the worldwide flow of nuclear materials and safeguarding the implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. From their headquarters in Vienna, the IAEA safeguards numerous nuclear facilities in many countries and across several continents.
To support the online monitoring of nuclear facilities, the IAEA has a remote monitoring data centre, which downloads data from over 140 systems worldwide. Fifty radiation detection systems and 90 surveillance systems (including 340 cameras producing 150,000 images per day) generate to up to two gigabytes per day of global data traffic.
Online monitoring depends on reliable communications between the remote sites, IAEA headquarters and its regional offices in Tokyo & Toronto. Following intensive investigations of technological solutions, the IAEA - in cooperation with ESA - has now decided to verify the suitability of a worldwide satellite communications network. This project will play a very important role, assisting the IAEA in performing a thorough assessment and in obtaining evidence of the performance and benefits of a space-based communications infrastructure.
For the IAEA, connectivity via satellite to reach the locations of geographic interest will be an important step forward. Reaching all corners of the world with a single hop via satellite makes IAEA communications independent of terrestrial networks. This is achieved by the multi-satellite and multi-transponder capability of the selected network technology. Furthermore, the new system allows the simultaneous carrying of all types of services at the same time via one network. Telephony, written reports, images and data can be all be sent, along with live videoconferencing.
Under ESA and IAEA supervision, the deployment of a pilot network, which will be used to identify and evaluate interoperability and network design issues, has begun. The central hub of the network in the IAEA headquarters building will be connected this year to sites in four countries: Brazil, Hungary, Armenia, and the Chernobyl facility in the Ukraine. Further sites can be added at any time in the future.
The selected communications technology is known as 'Digital Video Broadcasting - Return Channel via Satellite' (DVB-RCS), an open standard for two-way transmission of digital data. Development and promotion of DVB-RCS has been funded by ESA as part of its Advanced Research in Telecommunications (ARTES) programme.
The partnership with ESA will give the IEAE welcome additional infrastructure capability for its ever-expanding remote monitoring network.
Note for Digital Video Broadcasting - Return Channel
Digital Video Broadcasting - Return Channel via Satellite (DVB-RCS, also Return channel over system) is a digital broadcasting format created in 1999 by SES and commercialised in 2003. DVB is the technology prevalent in the US under such brands as DirecTV and Dish network.
In older systems, interactive video broadcasting was possible, through a physical cable. However, in rural areas of large countries cable connections can be unavailable. The two-way interactive connections are then impossible. In this case there are 2 solutions: 1 = installing a very long cable (which is very expensive) 2 = using a return channel (for the interactive information) over satellite. Solution 2 is also expensive, but cheaper than solution 1. This is because by using a satellite connection you have to pay only the costs of a satellite antenna, and costs for the connection (the user rents bandwidth of the satellite for a certain time).
This technology offers a full datastream to the operator. For example to participate on a tv-game where with older technologies people had to send their answers with sms. Now people can do it with a satellite-datastream.
There can be much users in one time of this technology, which creates a maximum speed of 38Mbit/second (and in some technologies this can be improved by 2Mbit/second).
To be able to use this kind of communication, the home-user has to buy a device called "SIT" and a satellite-dish (mostly combined in one device), which is a "Satellite Interactive Terminal" (also called "astromodem" or Satellite modem). The user gets videostreams from the reception of downlink-signals from the satellite. When the user wants to send data himself he sends data to the SIT. This device uses the dish-antenna to create an uplink to the satellite. When the connection is made, the satellite sends his data to the provider. This takes about 0.5 seconds to connect one-way with the satellite (1 second up and down, and another second to the provider for Round-trip delay time).
This technology can also be used for internet over satellite (also possible on tv!). For example the user wants to be in his mailbox. All the graphics of this come via the downlink of the satellite to the users SIT. This is decoded in Phase-shift keying QPSK or GMSK. At the moment the user selects an email from his mailbox, some signals should be sent to the mail-provider. This is via the uplink-channel. At the provider's this is demodulated by a burstdemodulator (using the MFTDMA-protocol via the shedular). From now on the data can be routed over the wired internet (and can go on this way to the mail-provider). The information to the other direction go by a normal modulator.
The used protocol for this is MFTDMA: this stands for Multiple Frequency Time Division Multiple Access. This means that a user gets slots (bursts) that are separated by time and by frequency (this generates a virtual 2-dimensional array). This protocol is implemented so that a user who pays more gets more bursts (and can use more datastream from the satellite-link). A shedular (this is a device from the provider) is used to maintain this bursts (and that there are no doubles).
About International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for military purposes.
Media often refer to the IAEA as "the UN's Nuclear Watchdog". While this describes one of the Agency's roles, it is by no means the only one.
The IAEA has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Two "Regional Safeguards Offices" are located in Toronto, Canada; and Tokyo, Japan. The IAEA has two liaison offices, located in New York, USA; and Geneva, Switzerland. In addition, it has laboratories in Seibersdorf and Vienna, Austria; Monaco; and Trieste, Italy.
It was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957. In 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower envisioned the creation of this international body to control and develop the use of atomic energy, in his "Atoms for Peace" speech before the UN General Assembly. The organization and its Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize announced on 7 October 2005.
The IAEA serves as an intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology worldwide. The IAEA's programmes encourage the development of the peaceful applications of nuclear technology, provide international safeguards against its misuse, and facilitate the application of safety measures in its use. IAEA expanded its nuclear safety efforts in response to the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
The IAEA was headed by Hans Blix from 1981 to 1997. The current head of the organization is the Egyptian Mohamed ElBaradei. At the 49th General Conference, ElBaradei was confirmed as Director General until 2009.
The IAEA's mission is guided by the interests and needs of Member States, strategic plans and the vision embodied in the IAEA Statute (see below). Three main pillars - or areas of work - underpin the IAEA's mission: Safety and Security; Science and Technology; and Safeguards and Verification.
The Agency and Director General Mohamed ElBaradei were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. In Dr. ElBaradei's speech he stated that only 1% of the money spent on developing new weapons would be enough to feed the entire world and that, if we hope to escape self-destruction, then nuclear weapons should have no place in our collective conscience, and no role in our security.
About European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1974, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member states. Headquartered in Paris, ESA has a staff of about 1,900 with an annual budget of about €2.9 billion in 2007.
ESA's main spaceport is Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana (French territory). It is close to the equator, hence commercially important orbits are easier to access. ESA became the market leader in commercial space launches in the 1990s. In recent years, ESA has also established itself as a major player in space exploration.
ESA science missions are based at ESTEC in Noordwijk, Netherlands, Earth Observation missions at ESRIN in Frascati, Italy, ESA Mission Control (ESOC) is in Darmstadt, Germany, and the European Astronauts Centre (EAC), that trains astronauts for future missions is situated in Cologne, Germany.
ESA has ambitious space plans that may be divided into three large categories. First, ESA will maintain its scientific and research projects (e.g. tests and developments of new propulsion systems), try to find ways to reduce costs for their rocket fleet while enhancing their capacities, honour its commitments regarding the ISS and engage in further space exploration like the Venus Express mission that was launched in late 2005. The second category has many parallels to NASA's plans and consists of astronomy-space missions such as the Planck Surveyor studying the cosmic microwave background (2008), the Herschel space observatory (2008), and the Darwin interferometer.
ESA comprises the national space organisations and other entities of seventeen countries that participate to various degrees in the mandatory (23% of total expenditures or €667 million in 2005) and optional space programs (72% of total expenditures or €2138 million in 2005):
According to the Resolution 8, Annex 1, of the Convention for the establishment of the European Space Agency. all meetings of the agency are held in English, French and German, with translation provided in these three languages. All official documents are available in English and French with all documents concerning the ESA-Council being available in German, too.
