Focus: Optical Communications

Quantum company IonQ is making another acquisition in the space industry with a deal to acquire optical communications company Skyloom Global.  Optical communications will “form the backbone for quantum-secure communications...

Open Cosmos is working on a project with Japanese company Panasonic Operational Excellence Co. to advance optical inter-satellite communications.  The companies will focus on faster and more autonomous ways for...

A Japanese consortium of Softbank, ArkEdge Space, Kiyohara Optics, and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) are planning to demonstrate optical communications between space and the stratosphere....

Voyager Technologies said it has acquired proprietary technology in optical communications from BridgeComm, the company announced Monday. Voyager said this acquisition will allow the company to deliver optical communication solutions...

AeroVironment (AV) has won a contract worth around $240 million for its long-haul laser communications terminals. The terminals will be deployed in orbit by an unnamed customer. AV’s long-haul laser...

Aalyria reported two technical milestones with its atmospheric laser communications technology, Tightbeam. Aalyria reported demonstrating a 65-kilometer atmospheric optical link delivering sustained 100 Gbps speeds through real-world atmospheric conditions. The...

BlackSky Technology won the next phase of a competitive U.S. Navy research contract to continue developing optical inter-satellite link (OISL) terminal applications for its Gen-3 constellation. Future satellites in BlackSky’s...

The European Space Agency (ESA) recently demonstrated the first deep-space optical communication with a European ground segment, communicating with NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment onboard the Psyche mission. ...

Kepler Communications reports it has demonstrated space-to-ground optical data relay between its satellite in orbit and a Cailabs optical ground station.  Kepler’s two optical Pathfinder satellites, launched in 2023, are...

Space Systems Command selected CACI, General Atomics, and Viasat to continue development of space laser communication terminal prototypes .  The awards announced Thursday are for Phase 2 of the $100...