What is Azure Orbital Ground Station?
Azure Orbital Ground Station is a fully managed Ground Station as a Service. The service enables communication with satellites directly from Azure Cloud without operating your own ground stations. Organizations can receive satellite data and send commands while Azure provides the ground infrastructure.
The service uses a global network of ground stations and integrates seamlessly with Azure Compute, Storage, and Analytics services for downstream data processing.
Core Features
- Access to global ground stations for satellite contacts
- Scheduling of satellite contacts via Azure Portal or API
- Direct integration with Azure Storage and Virtual Networks
- Support for various frequency bands (X-Band, S-Band, UHF)
- Virtual RF (vRF) for flexible signal processing
Typical Use Cases
Earth Observation: Receiving image data from Earth observation satellites for agriculture, environmental monitoring, or disaster management.
Satellite IoT: Communication with IoT constellations for global asset tracking solutions in remote areas.
Space Research: Data downlink from scientific missions and small satellites without own ground infrastructure.
Benefits
- No investment in own ground infrastructure
- Global coverage through distributed stations
- Pay-per-use model based on contact minutes
- Seamless integration with Azure services
Frequently Asked Questions
Which satellite types are supported?
Azure Orbital supports LEO (Low Earth Orbit), MEO (Medium Earth Orbit), and geostationary satellites. The focus is on LEO constellations with frequent, short contact windows.
How does contact scheduling work?
Contacts are scheduled via Azure Portal or API. You define time windows and satellite parameters, Azure Orbital calculates available contact times based on orbital data.
Can I use custom modem software?
Yes, Azure Orbital supports both managed modems and custom software via virtualized RF processing (vRF).
What does Azure Orbital Ground Station cost?
Billing is per contact minute, depending on frequency band and ground station. A free test mode enables initial experiments.
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory supports you with Azure Orbital Ground Station: architecture for satellite data workflows, integration with Azure Analytics, and contact planning optimization.
