Visualization of NanoAvionics satellites in the Kepler optical network. Photo: NanoAvionics

A new partnership between NanoAvionics and Kepler Communications will give NanoAvionics’ customers easier access to Kepler’s optical relay network. Canada-based Kepler has selected NanoAvionics as the preferred European satellite bus provider for its hosted payload initiatives, in a non-exclusive agreement. 

In addition, NanoAvionics has signed a capacity agreement for Kepler’s service and will offer its own customers access to Kepler’s network and on-orbit compute services as an optional feature within its portfolio of inter-satellite link solutions. These capabilities will be offered first on NanoAvionics MP42 microsatellite and followed by its cubesat platforms, using different optical inter-satellite links (OISL). NanoAvionics will also receive priority consideration as Kepler scales the capacity on its network. 

The companies said they aim to offer simple and risk-free adoption of optical communications. This comes after Kepler recently deployed the first tranche of its optical satellite constellation in a January launch. Kepler’s network is designed to provide real-time connectivity, on-orbit compute, and hosted payload services for government and commercial customers.

“By integrating our optical network and on-orbit compute services with NanoAvionics’ platforms, we are enabling the transformation of space from a store-and-forward model to a responsive environment that supports time-critical, dynamically tasked missions,” commented Kepler CEO Mina Mitry.