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

This is Nakagawa from the System Solutions Department.

I researched various new AWS services.
AWS Ground Station " and I was interested
in it The official AWS website explains it as follows:

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

I'm always surprised by the scale of AWS's technology deployment, and I never thought they'd be working on services that extend to satellites.

satellite communication

As I read the service explanation, I wondered what exactly satellite communications was.

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

is that it is possible to obtain data from physically distant locations that enables global communication

How to use it

Now that you have a general idea 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. This can reduce data processing and analysis time for use cases like weather forecasting or hour-to-minute or second-long disaster footage.
https://aws.amazon.com/jp/ground-station/features/

This is a fascinating article to read.

, it can be used for data analysis or machine learning in conjunction with other AWS services

application

I have given a long overview of AWS Ground Station, but how can I use it?
You can easily apply for use with the following 5 steps!

1. Log in to the AWS console
2. Select AWS Gound Stantion

3. Select a base station

4. Enter user information and send usage request

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

The application procedure is now complete, but there is one thing you should be concerned about.
It is explained that it will be used per minute, but the specific amount is not known at this time.
It's true that it's pay-as-you-go, but I'm a little hesitant to use it personally
, but I haven't tested it yet.

lastly

I will summarize about AWS Ground Station.
・This is a service using satellite communication.
- Individuals will be able to use satellites in one-minute increments.
・As of April 2019, there are two ground stations available (in Ohio and Oregon in the western United States).
・Fully managed.

I wanted to try data analysis and S3 data storage with AWS Ground Station, but
due to cost issues, I did not try it this time. It's a shame.

I realized this while researching satellite data and communications.
Google Maps, which we often use, uses satellite data to analyze aerial photos and weather data, but it
has become so familiar to our daily lives that we have been benefiting from it without even realizing it.
However, since I had the opportunity to learn about the convenience of IT services using a part of my daily life as an example,
I became interested in learning about and researching other services as well.

Currently, it seems that they only have base stations in two regions, but they plan to increase the number of base stations in 2019, so
if more information is released, I would like to try out the service itself.

Well, thank you for reading this far.