November 7, 2025
Last spring, we took a moment to reflect on our nearly 20-year journey through a blog post, revisiting the key projects, people, and milestones that have shaped our company.
Now that our anniversary is officially here, we’re celebrating the path that has brought us to this point while looking eagerly toward the future. The field we operate in is always evolving, and so are we.
Building on our position at the global forefront of non-terrestrial networks (NTN), we’re now extending our system-level digital twins to optimize systems across an even wider range of industries.
What’s currently happening in space and connectivity – and how are our simulation tools evolving to support new domains? Keep reading to find out.
In recent years, there has been a surge in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, supporting applications in telecommunications, Earth observation, and science. Companies worldwide are deploying large LEO constellations, with Starlink leading the field with over 8,500 internet satellites.
The space sector has shifted from government-led Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites to a service-oriented industry. LEO satellites are driving this change, being more affordable than GEO satellites to build and launch. Their proximity to Earth also enables detailed insights into the state of the world, such as environmental aspects, suspicious activity, and anomalies.
“The customers benefiting from this kind of data can come from a variety of fields, such as defence, insurance or agriculture”, demonstrates Kimmo Kaario, the CEO of Magister Solutions.
Although there have been doubts about the performance and cost of satellite internet compared to terrestrial networks, it’s rapidly improving and becoming more affordable with LEO satellites. These advancements enable new services, such as IoT connectivity for moving platforms like cars.
However, LEO constellations come with challenges. With lifespans of 5-8 years – much shorter than the 15-20 years of GEO satellites – companies must continuously plan for replacements. For instance, the first Starlink satellites launched in 2019 are now deorbiting at a rate of one or two per day.
The growing number of LEO satellites also increases space debris, raising collision risks. Agencies are tackling this issue with methods such as optical telescopes and sensors. Active debris removal missions are being planned, but they’re expensive and challenging to execute.
In addition to the LEO satellite boom, the space industry is pushing further into deep space, expanding space tourism, planning Moon and Mars missions, and exploring optical communication networks beyond Earth.
The timing is ideal – Magister’s simulation tools meet the demands of today’s dynamic orbital environment.
In the past, space was largely shaped by nations managing individual GEO satellites. Now the landscape is far more dynamic, with independent companies deploying large LEO constellations consisting of hundreds or even thousands of satellites. This shift has made advanced planning tools and simulations not just beneficial, but essential.
With over 20 years of experience in telecom simulations and 13 years in satellite constellation modeling, Magister’s system-level digital twins are uniquely positioned to support the design, optimization, and maintenance of modern LEO satellite constellations in all their complexity.
There are different methods for testing satellite constellations before launching, ranging from physical test satellites to link-level emulators. Link-level emulators are useful for modeling individual point-to-point connections, such as the links between satellites and ground stations. However, they don’t offer a view into full system performance.
In contrast, system-level digital twins – such as ours – offer a more comprehensive picture of constellation behavior.
“Our tools provide valuable information about complex systems at multiple levels – including broader analysis of the whole system and more detailed technical insights”, explains Verneri Rönty, Researcher at Magister.
This helps users model and optimize key aspects such as capacity, signal interference, number of satellites, and coverage. The specific simulation needs vary depending on the type of service the constellation is designed to support. Potential use cases include, for example, telecommunications, Earth observation, and IoT connectivity.
“As constellations grow in scale and complexity, analyzing just two-point connections is no longer sufficient. It’s also not feasible to launch thousands of test satellites due to cost, time, and sustainability reasons”, comments Kaario.
System-level simulation enables teams to design constellations that meet performance goals, deliver the intended services, include the right protocols and instruments, and avoid unnecessary overdesign.
As the space landscape continues to scale up, the more demand there is expected for intelligent system design and orchestration tools.
We always strive to keep up with the latest space developments and bring new relevant features into our simulators as needed. In the next chapter of Magister Solutions, we plan to apply our services across a wide range of critical sectors, such as defence, automotive, railway, and aviation.
In practice, this means expanding the modeling capabilities of our tools to accommodate a variety of dynamic, moving platforms across land, sea, sky, and space. These can include, for example, ships, satellites, cars, aircraft, and different user devices.
Beyond satellite and terrestrial connectivity, simulation capabilities for these platforms may encompass coverage analysis, geospatial dynamics, situational awareness, mobility, and signal disruption scenarios – for example.
Our simulation tools are versatile at their core, essentially able to model all kinds of moving devices and their connections. When creating simulation campaigns using the Magister SimLab platform, users can choose to simulate exactly the kinds of services they’re planning to deploy.
“Expanding into new industries means integrating a wider variety of instruments, such as sensors, antennas, and radars, into our simulators. However, the basic functionality of the simulators won’t require many adjustments to support these new scenarios”, notes Kaario.
Beyond system planning, we’re also exploring ways to extend the use of these tools to the orchestration of operational systems – for example, in optimizing resource usage. This involves running alternative scenarios and implementing changes to the existing system based on simulation outcomes.
For 20 years now, we’ve delivered deep insights into complex system behavior through our simulation tools. We’re proud to be operating at the global forefront of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and satellite systems.
Moving forward, we’ll continue to help our customers stay ahead in the fast-evolving space and connectivity landscape, enhancing our tools to support an ever-wider range of scenarios.
Accelerating the future of wireless system development today with system-level digital twins and detailed simulations.
Sepänkatu 14 C 16 FIN-40720 Jyväskylä, Finland
Business ID: 1998796-8
VAT number: FI19987968
info(at)magister.fi
