Astrolight has reached a key technology milestone as it looks to bring laser communications more into the satellite mainstream. For the first time, it established end-to-end optical communication links from its ATLAS-1 laser communication terminal in orbit to its OGS-2.5 optical ground station in Greece. Astrolight announced the demonstration on Oct. 8, in which the link moved from first light to routine operations at 1 Gbps within a week.
The company developed the terminal working with the European Space Agency and worked with the Department of Aerospace of the University of Athens, and the Department of Physics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki on this project.
In the demonstration, Astrolight’s ATLAS-1 laser communication terminal on the ERMIS-3 a nanosatellite connected with the with HolOGS-1 optical ground station in Holomondas, Greece. Astrolight upgraded the ground station to its OGS-2.5 model for the PeakSat mission. Astrolight’s team in Lithuania has operated both systems remotely.
The company reports that ATLAS-1 is currently transmitting data at 1 Gbps, while link budget margins indicate that the system could support rates of up to 10 Gbps. Both ATLAS-1 and OGS-2.5 achieved first light during the satellite’s first active pass over the ground station. The systems operated autonomously on a pre-scheduled basis at both ends of the link by the third pass.
“The next step for laser communications is making them routine for satellite operators, with high-capacity links that can be deployed and operated remotely with minimal operational oversight. Proving that our space and ground systems have this capability brings us closer to making optical connectivity practical for commercial missions at scale,” Dalius Petrulionis, CTO and co-founder of Astrolight, said in a statement.
