Originally reported by Geospatial World. Original announcement date: July 2019.
ATLAS Space Operations Integrates Freedom™ Network with AWS Ground Station
ATLAS Space Operations has announced support for AWS Ground Station within its Freedom™ ground station network. The integration expands the number of antenna sites available to satellite operators, simplifies satellite communications management, and provides direct access to the broader AWS cloud ecosystem for downstream data processing, storage, and analysis.
ATLAS is a member of the AWS Partner Network (APN). According to Sean McDaniel, CEO and Co-Founder of ATLAS, the partnership reflects a shared focus on customer priorities: “ATLAS is working with AWS to simplify communications for satellite operators, and I think our customers are going to love leveraging AWS Ground Station from our network.”
What the Integration Offers Satellite Operators
ATLAS has pre-integrated Freedom™ with the AWS Ground Station network, which means both new and existing AWS customers can use AWS Ground Station antennas alongside ATLAS-operated sites through a single platform interface. The integration aims to reduce the operational complexity satellite operators face when coordinating ground contacts, scheduling passes, and routing downlinked data into cloud pipelines.
Key AWS services made accessible through the Freedom™ platform include:
- Amazon EC2 – For network scheduling optimization and load balancing across ground contacts.
- Amazon S3 – For cloud storage, recording satellite pass data, and storing operations metadata.
- Amazon CloudWatch – For network and application-level system monitoring.
- AWS Site-to-Site VPN – For secure, encrypted connectivity between physical ground sites and the AWS cloud.
A Practical Example: Earth Observation Constellations in Polar Orbit
One scenario highlighted by ATLAS illustrates the operational value of this integration. Consider a team operating a constellation of Earth observation satellites in polar orbit. This type of mission typically relies on polar ground stations for downlink opportunities — meaning contact windows are infrequent and tightly scheduled. If a satellite anomaly occurs between passes, the team cannot afford to wait for the next scheduled contact.
Through a single integration with Freedom™, ATLAS can route contact requests to any available ATLAS or AWS Ground Station antenna on demand and in near-real time. This flexibility gives mission operators greater confidence that critical telemetry and payload data will reach them within acceptable timeframes, even when primary contact opportunities are missed.
Broader Context: Ground Stations as Cloud Infrastructure
The ATLAS–AWS collaboration reflects a broader industry trend toward treating satellite ground infrastructure as a managed cloud service rather than a fixed capital investment. AWS Ground Station, launched by Amazon in 2018, operates a global network of antenna sites that customers can access on a pay-per-use basis. By integrating Freedom™ with this network, ATLAS gives operators a unified scheduling and data-routing layer that spans both AWS-managed and ATLAS-managed hardware.
For DevOps and platform engineering teams supporting space missions, this model has meaningful implications: ground contacts can be provisioned programmatically via APIs, downlinked data can flow directly into existing cloud data pipelines, and infrastructure scaling decisions do not require new antenna deployments. The result is a more agile operational posture for satellite missions of all sizes — from single research satellites to large commercial constellations.
Summary
- ATLAS Space Operations has integrated its Freedom™ network with AWS Ground Station as a member of the AWS Partner Network.
- Satellite operators gain access to a broader pool of ground station antennas through a single platform integration.
- AWS services including EC2, S3, CloudWatch, and Site-to-Site VPN are accessible directly within Freedom™.
- The integration supports on-demand, near-real-time contact scheduling across both ATLAS and AWS antenna sites.
- The model reduces capital overhead for satellite operators and enables cloud-native data workflows immediately after downlink.