Focus: Optical Communications

MDA Space selected Tesat to provide the optical communication terminals (OCT) for Telesat’s Lightspeed Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation.  Tesat announced Tuesday that MDA Space selected its SCOT80 optical communications terminal […]

NASA set a new optical data transmission distance record using technology from CACI International, the company announced Thursday. CACI said that NASA transmitted optical data over a distance of more […]

Mynaric hit a product maturity milestone by starting volume production for the CONDOR Mk3, its flagship optical communications terminal, Mynaric announced on April 3. The laser communication company began production […]

Dutch research firm TNO and AAC ClydeSpace have successfully transferred data from a laser satellite communications terminal in space down to Earth in a recent demonstration. The laser communication system […]

Axiom Space is partnering with Kepler Communications US and Skyloom Global to integrate and demonstrate optical inter-satellite links (OISLs) on the first module of the company’s commercial space station. The […]

Amazon’s prototype Kuiper satellites are equipped with optical inter-satellite links, Amazon revealed Dec. 14, along with the news the links have been successfully tested in space.  Amazon shared that its […]

Tesat delivered the first optical communications terminals to Lockheed Martin for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer, the company announced Dec. 1. Lockheed will integrate the Tesat terminals […]

Mynaric secured a new contract from an existing customer worth $6 million for its Condor Mk3 optical terminals. The deal announced Wednesday is with an undisclosed, U.S.-based customer. Mynaric expects payment […]

Lockheed Martin selected Tesat’s optical communications terminals for its Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites, Tesat announced Oct. 26.  Tesat also announced it completed ground interoperability tests […]

Aalyria Technologies has a new MoU with HICO Investment Group with a plan to deploy up to 200 of its optical communications platforms on commercial ships worldwide. HICO Investment Group invests […]

Cailabs will host Astrolight’s laser communications terminal on an upcoming satellite mission, the companies announced June 28. Astrolight’s lasercom terminal ATLAS-1 will demonstrate pointing, acquisition, and tracking capabilities at gigabit […]

Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has won a new 2.26 million euros ($2.46 million) contract from the European Space Agency (ESA), the company announced May 15. This contract is for the […]

NASA’s TBIRD mission recently broke its own record for optical communications in space, demonstrating 200 gigabits per second in a space-to-ground optical link from a satellite in orbit to Earth. […]

A trio of Dutch organizations are working together to target the laser communications market in the satellite industry. Technology developers Demcon and VDL Group formed a joint venture this month […]

A research organization in the Netherlands reached a deal to deploy its laser communications technology on a future Sidus Space satellite for a tech demonstration mission.  The Netherlands Organization for […]

Mynaric has delivered multiple lasercom terminals to Telesat for the operators’ satellites involved in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Blackjack Track B program. The company announced Wednesday that […]

Japanese space startup Warpspace has signed an order for a small number of Mynaric Condor Mk3 terminals. Warpspace plans to use the terminals to establish a commercial optical data relay […]

Airbus and VDL Group are partnering to develop and manufacture a laser communication terminal for aircraft, to exchange data between aircraft, satellites, and ground terminals. The companies announced the UltraAir […]

NASA’s TBIRD mission recently achieved a record for optical communications in space. The satellite downlinked 1.4 terabytes of data over laser communications links in a single pass that lasted about […]

SpaceX is venturing into Earth observation (EO) and hosted payloads for national security use, with a new business line called Starshield. The company added a section to its website for […]

NASA has awarded Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) and SpaceLink separate contracts to study near-space communications that would support future Artemis missions to the Moon.   NASA Goddard Space Flight Center announced the […]

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on Wednesday selected 11 teams to advance development of low-power, low-weight, low-cost and interoperable technologies to create new datalinks to allow for seamless […]

Kepler Communications has selected Tesat-Spacecom optical inter-satellite links for its next generation of satellites. The Tesat constellation laser communication terminals, ConLCT80, will be installed on Kepler’s first tranche of Aether […]

Sony Group Corporation announced Friday that it is launching a new company focused on optical communications in space. The new venture, Sony Space Communications Corporation (SSC), is a subsidiary of […]

Airbus Americas Vice President of Research and Technology Amanda Simpson confirmed Friday that the manufacturer is conducting research on inter- and intra-satellite optical link technology with universities in California. During […]

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced the development of what it says is the first optical receiver for laser communication terminals that integrates spatial laser acquisition in the photodetector.  The company said […]

CACI International Inc demonstrated space-to-space optical communications links in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) as part of the Mandrake II mission. CACI announced the tests Tuesday, in partnership with the Defense Advanced […]

A new deal between Mynaric and Airbus U.S. Space & Defense will test Mynaric’s laser communication terminal on the International Space Station.  Mynaric will be a customer on the Airbus-operated […]

The Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded Space Micro a 24-month development contract for one-to-many optical communications technology to support Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations. Space Micro announced the award on […]

German optical communication technologies company Tesat-Spacecom (Tesat) is expanding its footprint into the United States to provide optical communications terminals (OCTs) to U.S. government and commercial customers. Tesat announced Tuesday […]