The Ground Layer

A second connection creates an alternative. Continuity depends on whether that alternative can support the mission when the first path is lost.

Look beneath the connections.

Paths that appear separate can depend on the same power supply, physical corridor, facility, or management system. Understanding those dependencies is part of designing a resilient service. Counting providers alone does not describe how a system behaves under stress.

Define responsibility across boundaries.

Essential operations often depend on several independently operated networks. LEO X is developing a neutral ground layer to coordinate agreed functions across those networks and provide independent service assurance.

The practical boundary matters. Operators retain control of their networks. Shared sites, power, transport, interconnection, and measurement must be assessed on their technical and commercial merits.

Make the outcome measurable.

The starting point is an operational requirement: what must stay connected, which interruptions are acceptable, and how recovery should be verified. Only then can an architecture be evaluated against the mission it is intended to support.

The GS-IRN architecture.

The Ground-Segment Infrastructure & Resilience Network combines hardened ground infrastructure, diverse transport, bounded interconnection, continuity intelligence, and institutional governance. It is an architecture under development, with both physical and software elements that require validation.

Principles for delivery.

1. Operators can define useful, bounded interfaces for participation.
2. Critical users value the outcome enough to purchase it.
3. Performance can be measured independently across providers.
4. Neutrality can remain credible over the life of the system.
5. Physical infrastructure has meaningful power and transport diversity.
6. Jurisdictional and data-sovereignty requirements shape the design.
7. A capable workforce can build, maintain, and restore the system.

From design to delivery.

LEO X’s development program brings operator requirements, institutional priorities, and independent evaluation into the engineering process. Focused demonstrations will inform the path to deployment.

Adapted from The Ground Layer, LEO X, September 2026.