Integration between telecommunication, navigation and earth observation systems for crisis response management

With an increasingly capable and complex European Security landscape, Space technologies are playing a vital role in crisis response both within Europe and across the globe. In this domain, Europe is developing capabilities to address many useful space technology applications that are directly applicable to both civilian and security needs. As expressed by various actors in the civil security and defense domains, there is a need for operational and sustainable space-based services that would be more responsive, integrated and under European control (i.e. based on European assets) through the combination of services provided by the different domains of space applications such as Earth observation, telecommunications and navigation. In the frame of the "European Integrated Space Architectures for Crisis Response" study led by Thales Alenia Space (T AS), and funded and supported by ESA, several crisis scenarios have been thoroughly analyzed in order to identify the needs of all the crisis response stakeholders in terms of telecommunication, observation and navigation services. A trade-off has been carried out on existing and planned space and non space assets to fulfill the mission requirements and led to identify some gaps which can be removed by innovative space assets. From an aggregation of existing and planned assets operating with various standards, spectrum and non interoperable terminals and networks that will be available in 2015, the study led to propose a reduced set of new space assets to fulfill the crisis response requirements that could not be addressed by non space assets only. Through an integrated and harmonized approach, the infrastructure foreseen at the 2025 time horizon will make it possible to improve the management of natural disasters, piracy or oil-spills wherever it may occur and efficiently support the European security policy and the external action service for the benefit of all member states at optimized overall cost. This article presents the main findings of the study. In particular, it discusses the main mission requirements that new assets dedicated to crisis management will have to fulfill.