Azure Space is one of the latest developments from Microsoft. It’s a satellite service that offers end-to-end connectivity, enabling data to be captured, processed, and analyzed in real-time by computers on Earth. Software developer Tom Keane explains that by using this service, you can significantly reduce latency (the delay between sending a request and getting an answer) for everything from exchanging data with remote mining operations to monitoring agricultural production across the planet.
Virtualization brings a new era to Space connectivity
The Azure Space platform allows you to take advantage of the latest advancements in satellite technology. Tom Keane informs that these, including small satellite advances, higher throughput electronics, and more reliable sensors. These advancements have set the stage for new capabilities enabling companies to conduct real-time space data collection and analytics at a fraction of the cost.
Azure Orbital takes advantage of virtualization and its ability to run multiple virtual machines in parallel for massively increased throughput. Azure Space provides end-to-end connectivity for data collection and analytics. Tom Keane adds that the Azure Space service is designed to bring all the benefits of satellite connectivity to customers without requiring that they have their satellite hardware.
Manage Satellite Data at the cloud scale with Azure Orbital
Azure Space is part of the Azure Orbital family of services as Tom Keane recalls. Azure Orbital provides a managed data collection and analysis service, enabling you to focus on designing solutions rather than dealing with more complex data movement and computing concerns. Azure Orbital allows you to easily ingest large amounts of satellite, scientific, and other data.
This, into a fully managed cloud-scale service backed by Microsoft engineering excellence, Tom Keane states. The Azure Orbital preview is compatible with Microsoft and Satellite ground stations. Customers can communicate with their satellites using Azure. You can also use the Azure Portal or the Azure Orbital APIs to access and manage your satellite systems. The ground station network is expanding with several partners, including ViaSat and USEI.