Phil Carrai: Kratos Wants to Revolutionize Ground Infrastructure for Satellites

Kratos is working to establish a solid ground-based infrastructure for the Department of Defense's effort to proliferate small low-Earth orbit satellites, according to a top company official. 

Phil Carrai, president of Kratos' space, training and cyber division and a Potomac Officers Club member, said the company has been heavily investing in ground infrastructure for small LEO satellites, also known as p-LEO, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

“We think that p-LEO is a big deal. And there’s got to be a revolution that has to hit the ground segment. We think this is kind of our play for the next many years," Carrai said. 

According to the executive, Kratos' space, training and cyber division has a significant behind-the-scenes footprint in the military and commercial satellite communications market. 

Kratos officials told Breaking Defense that the company's space communications systems and ground equipment are not well-documented but actually play a major part as subsystems in other companies' offerings. 

Carrai said communications and the ground segment primarily make up the company's space portfolio, claiming that 90 percent of U.S. satellite missions use Kratos technology in some way. 

"So, we are rather unique in the sense that we can claim the US Air Force and SMC as one of our largest customers, and, probably in our top 10 or top five, Intelsat and SES are also very large customers,” Carrai said. 

He argued that there needs to be a revolution in the ground segment that involves adding "way more sites" and configuring satellite ground stations to be more like terrestrial communications nodes with machine-to-machine operations.