The emergence of new Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations has revolutionized connectivity at sea, enabling greater automation and opening new opportunities for maritime service providers. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global autonomous ships market is projected to grow from USD 6.11 billion in 2024 to USD 12.25 billion by 2032, a CAGR of 9.1 percent.
These numbers reflect the increasing recognition that the future of shipping is autonomous. Governments and private industry alike are advancing the conversation:
- In Europe, Belgium is leading efforts to coordinate the autonomous shipping ecosystem.
- The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on Autonomous Ships to examine the need for new or revised laws and regulations to enable the Coast Guard to fully leverage new autonomous capabilities.
- Autonomous vessel developer Saronic Technologies is collaborating with NVIDIA to advance maritime autonomy, robotics, and shipbuilding with AI.
However, while there’s strong momentum towards autonomous shipping, there are also growing concerns about the satellite connectivity that makes it possible.
Two non-negotiables – security and reliability
The Fortune Business Insights report discusses how, in Japan, fully autonomous operations are not legal due to cybersecurity concerns. And reliability was front and center at the 2024 Autonomous Ship Conference in Amsterdam, where one of the key takeaways was “the most common malfunction of autonomous ships is internet connectivity.” These issues put the reliability and security of LEO satellite connectivity at the centre of the autonomous shipping conversation.
Here’s a closer look at these two essential elements in the context of autonomous shipping and what it will take for LEO satellite operators to address today’s concerns.
From secure enough to security first
As autonomous ships increasingly integrate information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems, their attack surfaces expand significantly – making cybersecurity a far more critical concern than ever before.
The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) and other organizations have identified several key attack vectors specific to autonomous ships, including:
- Positioning systems
- Sensors and firmware
- Voyage data recorders
- Ship Area Networks (SANs)
- Communication systems
- Remote operations interfaces
These risks mean LEO satellite operators must guarantee not just uptime and performance, but a proactive security posture.
To counter the attack vectors listed above and others, every component in LEO satellite networks must be built following Secure by Design principles that ensure security measures are incorporated into all hardware and software from the earliest design stages, rather than added as an afterthought.
A Zero-Trust Architecture (ZTA) is the cornerstone of a Secure by Design approach because it provides no implicit trust to any user, device, or application that attempts to access the LEO satellite network. The ZTA should be applied across network access control, authentication, and supply chain security, rather than simply as a general principle. This requires alignment with industry, government, and even military-level cybersecurity standards, including:
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)
- NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-53 information security standard
- Committee on National Security Systems Instruction No. 1253 (CNSSI 1253) for categorization and control selection for national security systems
- U.S. Space Force Infrastructure Asset Pre-Approval (IA-Pre) program for Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) systems
These standards provide a consistent baseline for secure design and implementation across space and ground infrastructure.
If you would like more insight into the cybersecurity considerations LEO satellite operators must address, please download our in-depth cybersecurity guide.
Reliable data delivery is mission-critical
The onboard systems that allow autonomous ships to safely operate rely on continuous, high-volume streams of real-time data. If this data isn’t consistently delivered, ship operations can be compromised from multiple perspectives:
- Collision avoidance: Data delivery errors or inconsistencies could result in misjudgments, potentially endangering the vessel or other assets in its vicinity.
- Remote monitoring and control: If shore-based operators can’t maintain a clear picture of the vessel’s status and environment, they can’t make informed decisions or take over ship operations in a timely way.
- Navigation and route optimization: If real-time data on sea conditions, weather patterns, and port activity isn’t available, autonomous systems can’t select the most efficient, safest, and cost-effective route.
To deliver the reliability required to operate these mission-critical systems, the LEO satellite network must include redundancies and intelligence in space and on the ground.
For example, each Telesat Lightspeed satellite is equipped with four high-performance laser communication terminals that implement optical inter-satellite links (OISLs) to form a dynamic mesh network in space. Next-generation networking technology constantly calibrates thousands of potential paths for data delivery, avoiding issues such as weather interference. Each satellite can simultaneously connect to multiple landing stations, ensuring data is always reliably delivered.
At the foundation of reliable service delivery is a software-defined network that dynamically allocates capacity to adapt to continuously changing demand distribution. By leveraging advanced digital phased-array antennas on each spacecraft, the network can dynamically concentrate high-capacity beams to meet vessel demand.
To ensure the highest levels of reliability, ground infrastructure must be equally robust as the space component. Telesat’s global terrestrial network provides high redundancy through landing-station geographic diversity and redundant landing-station antennas, offering strong protection against localized outages and severe weather events.
Secure and reliable LEO unlocks maritime autonomy
As ships become increasingly automated, the underlying connectivity infrastructure must also evolve. The security and reliability challenges outlined by recent market reports point to a common requirement: trusted, high-performance communications that can meet mission-critical demands at sea.
The shift towards autonomy requires more than technological innovation on the vessel itself. It will depend on advanced LEO satellite networks that are designed to deliver the security and reliability needed to navigate the future of autonomous shipping. Telesat Lightspeed is purpose-built to support this transformation.
For more insight into the trend towards smarter, more autonomous shipping, read my recent blog on the topic.
