What is AWS Ground Station?
AWS Ground Station is a fully managed service that lets you control satellite communications, downlink and process satellite data, and scale your satellite operations without having to build or manage your own ground station infrastructure (antennas).
Key Concepts
1. Ground Station as a Service
- Rent access to antennas at AWS locations globally to communicate with your satellites.
- Pay by the minute of antenna time.
2. Direct Ingest to Cloud
- Data downloaded from the satellite goes directly into your VPC (e.g., to EC2 or S3) for immediate processing.
Exam Tips
[!IMPORTANT] "Control satellites" or "Process satellite data": The answer is AWS Ground Station.
Common Use Cases
- Weather Forecasting: Downloading real-time weather data.
- Earth Observation: Collecting imagery for agriculture or disaster relief.