This transformation is significant. It represents a complete paradigm shift in how we conceptualize, build, and operate satellites, and allows modern satellites to be reconfigured and updated functionality post-launch – a capability that was nearly impossible just a decades ago.
Today, through software-defined architectures, these same platforms can be reprogrammed, repurposed, and enhanced while orbiting hundreds of kilometers above Earth, which is becoming essential for the commercial viability of space operations.
With missions becoming evermore complex and the market demands more dynamic platforms, the ability to adapt satellite functionality through software updates is transforming the economics of the industry.
FPGAs and Reconfigurable Satellite Systems
At the center of this transformation lies a powerful technology: Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). These sophisticated chips represent a fundamental departure from traditional hardware, offering unprecedented flexibility in satellite systems. Unlike fixed hardware configurations, FPGAs can be reprogrammed in orbit, effectively changing their internal architecture to perform entirely different functions.
The impact of FPGAs is especially prominent in software-defined radio (SDR) systems. These systems allow satellites to adapt their communication protocols, frequencies, and processing capabilities through software updates alone. It's a capability that would have seemed like science fiction just a decade ago – the ability to complete change a satellite's communication architecture without physical intervention.
"With this new space era and privatization of the space sector, we need products that aren't restricted to one specific use case. We need platforms with a general purpose... That cannot be done with old hardware that is very restrictive," explains Alexander Spaniol, Radio Frequency Engineer in the space department at Terma.
In such a general purpose plaftform, the true power is versatility. A single hardware platform can now serve multiple missions, adapt to new requirements, and even recover from certain types of failures through software reconfiguration. This has profound positive implications for both mission planning and satellite longevity.
Software Defines Systems set New Hardware Demands
The transition to software-defined systems brings its own set of challenges. Modern satellites require more robust power systems to support increased processing capabilities, and radiation-hardened components must protect sensitive reconfigurable hardware from the harsh space environment. These requirements have sparked innovation in thermal management and power distribution systems.
“Space is environmentally difficult to handle... We have radiation, that's the most important impact for digital devices. But we also have thermal fluctuations... We need to consider that the power configuration must survive both the radiation and temperature,” explains Andreas Stren, Lecturer in Aerospace Scientist at University of Applied Sciences in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
Consequently, engineers must now balance the desire for powerful, flexible computing systems against the harsh realities of space operations. Temperature fluctuations of hundreds of degrees, constant radiation exposure, and the impossibility of physical maintenance create a unique set of constraints. Yet the industry has responded with increasingly sophisticated solutions.
This evolution demands new approaches to redundancy and failure management. Software-defined systems can now reconfigure themselves to work around hardware failures, essentially creating new circuits within their programmable arrays to maintain critical functions.
Market Forces and Satellite Innovation
The push toward software-defined satellites is more than a technical evolution. It's increasingly driven by commercial necessities as private space companies, operating under market pressures, are leveraging space tech-manufacturers to reduce costs, extend mission lifespans, and create more reuseable platforms.
Cost reduction manifests in multiple ways: reduced hardware specificity means more standardized production processes, while the ability to update capabilities in orbit extends useful mission life. Furthermore, a single satellite design can now serve multiple market segments through software reconfiguration, dramatically improving return on investment and allowing for multiple organisations to utilize and benefit from a single satellite.
The impact on mission planning is equally significant. Teams can now adapt to new requirements or market opportunities without launching new hardware, fundamentally changing the risk-reward calculations for space ventures. Compared to earlier space missions, this single change means that the race for space innovation is not lost just because your competitor launched first – if you reconfigure, you still have the ability to turn the table by focussing your mission goals on something slightly different – even if your own platform is already orbiting!
"Having everything in software [even] allows us to do automated mission design... How we react, how we change the orbit, how we plan our trajectory, how we configure our spacecraft, especially regarding risk management, [can now be automated],” says Spaniol.
The Software-First Space Future
As we look to the future, the trend toward software-defined systems shows no signs of slowing.
Emerging technologies like cloud virtualization and advanced AI processing are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in orbit. The ability to process complex data onboard, rather than transmitting everything to Earth, is opening new possibilities for real-time Earth observation and deep space exploration.
Yet perhaps most significantly, this software revolution is democratizing space access. Smaller companies can now enter the market with flexible platforms that can be adapted to multiple use cases, rather than requiring custom hardware for each application.
As software capabilities continue to evolve, we're likely to see an increasing number of space companies with small and medium-sized satellites in orbit, as well as increasingly autonomous, adaptable satellites that can respond to new challenges and opportunities without human intervention. The age of the static satellite is ending – welcome to the era of software-defined space.