[Satellite Communication] AWS Ground Station [Let's get to know it roughly! ]

This is Nakagawa from the System Solutions Department.

I looked into various new AWS services.
Among them, I came across " AWS Ground Station ," which caught my interest.
The AWS official website describes it as follows:

An easy, cost-effective, fully managed service that lets you control satellite communications, downlink and process satellite data, and rapidly scale your satellite operations without having to build or manage your own ground station infrastructure.
https://aws.amazon.com/jp/ground-station/

I am always amazed at the scale of AWS's technological deployment, to the point where I can't believe they are even working on services for satellites

satellite communications

As I was reading the service description, I began to wonder what satellite communications actually was

https://www.ssc.slp.or.jp/faq/science-qa-box/qabox-communication/936.html

that it allows us to obtain data from physically distant locations, making global communication possible

How to use

Now that we have a basic understanding of satellite communications, what can AWS Ground Station be used for?

AWS Ground Station provides direct satellite antenna access to AWS services, enabling faster, simpler, and more cost-effective storage and processing of downloaded data, reducing data processing and analysis times for use cases like weather forecasting or disaster footage from hours to minutes or seconds.
https://aws.amazon.com/jp/ground-station/features/

It's a fascinating read.
Data can be downloaded efficiently, so after obtaining the data, it can
be used in conjunction with other AWS services for data analysis and machine learning.

application

We've given you a long overview of AWS Ground Station, but how do you use it?
You can easily apply for use in just five steps!

1. Log in to the AWS console
2. Select AWS Ground Station

3. Select a base station

4. Enter user information and submit a usage request

5. After the request is accepted, you will receive usage instructions from AWS

This completes the application process, but there is one thing that concerns me.
It says that usage is by the minute, but the specific amount is not yet known.
I'm sure it's a pay-as-you-go system, but I'm a little hesitant to use it for personal use,
, but I haven't verified that aspect.

lastly

Here's a summary of AWS Ground Station:
It's a service that uses satellite communications.
Individuals can use satellites on a minute-by-minute basis.
As of April 2019, there are two ground stations available (in Ohio and Oregon in the western United States).
It's fully managed.

I wanted to try out data analysis and S3 data storage with AWS Ground Station, but
due to the cost, I wasn't able to try it this time.

I realized something while researching satellite data and communications.
Even the aerial photos and weather data analysis on Google Maps, which I frequently use, use satellite data, but they are
so familiar to my daily life that I have been benefiting from them without even realizing it.
However, this was an opportunity to learn about the convenience of IT services using a part of my daily life as an example, and it
sparked my interest in learning more about and investigating other services.

Currently, it appears that base stations are only deployed in two regions, but it appears that the number will increase in 2019,
so once more information is released, I would like to try out the service itself.

Well, thank you for reading this far