Focus: Optical Communications

Sidus Space and Warpspace signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a joint venture aimed at advancing satellite communications and mission operations, Sidus Space announced on March 12. Warpspace...

Spire has demonstrated optical communications between two satellites in orbit in its constellation for the first time, Spire reported on March 3.  The demonstration took place between two satellites equipped...

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japanese IT and technology company NEC have demonstrated optical inter-satellite data relay between the Daichi-4 Earth observation satellite in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and a...

Airbus and the French Space Agency CNES have completed the TELEO mission demonstrating very high throughput laser communications between Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Earth. TELEO is an optical communications payload...

Lockheed Martin has selected Tesat optical communication terminals (OCT) for a demonstration on a future GPS III spacecraft. Tesat announced the agreement on Tuesday for its SCOT80 OCTs.  Tesat Managing...

As satellite operators raise concerns about radio frequency (RF) congestion, greater use of laser communications in response could have unintended consequences. SpaceX, for example, has warned that its cellular Starlink...

Kepler Communications petitioned the FCC this week to adjust its satellite constellation plans for the company’s updated optical data relay infrastructure.  Instead of a network of 360 linked, radio frequency...

While NASA’s TBIRD lasercom payload completed its mission in September, NASA is still sharing milestones it reached. Before the mission ended, a NASA optical ground station transmitted its first laser...

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The Space Development Agency (SDA) continues to advance the communications capabilities of its first batch of satellites on orbit as part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA),...

Xenesis has won a new Phase 2 contract from the Space Development Agency (SDA) for optical communications terminals. This effort kicked off in December 2023 and is a follow-on effort...