American defence and energy corporation, General Atomics, has successfully tested a prototype for in-flight laser communications with Canadian-based, Kepler Communications, as per New Atlas. Together they managed to transmit data at up to 1 Gbps between a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft and a satellite in low-Earth orbit, showing serious potential for future high-speed communication where traditional radio-based transmission may be inadequate or non-viable.
Optical data transmission is the backbone of modern fiber networks, but that uses wires to transmit the information. Doing so over the air is far more complex, though we've seen great advances in recent years in terrestrial, above-ground laser transmission technologies like Google's Taara project. There's also NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications system that can function across 10s of millions of miles in deep space.
Going from an in-atmosphere moving platform to an out of atmosphere high-speed, moving receiver, though, is a whole different challenge. But one General Atomics (GA) and Kepler Communications have proved is possible.
GA mounted its Optical Communication Terminal (OCT) to the roof of an aircraft and successfully communicated with a Kepler satellite that is compatible with the U.S. Space Development Agency's Tranche-0 satellite designs.
Designed as part of the SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture program, the OCT is built around a 10-watt laser which has a technical range of 3,417 miles (2,970 nautical miles, 5,500Km), and a maximum data rate of 2.5 Gbps. In this proof of concept test, however, the distance was far less than its capabilities, and the data transmission rate reached a peak of just 1 Gbps.
“The airborne OCT completed pointing, acquisition, tracking, and lock with the Tranche 0-compatible satellite, then transferred data packets to validate uplink and downlink capability," said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. "Our OCT is designed to close a communications gap, enabling secure, robust data transfers to support tactical and operational missions.”
A major component in this test, and a real success for those involved, was that it proved it was possible for devices from multiple vendors to communicate successfully using this new laser standard of data transmissions.
“By pairing Kepler’s on-orbit optical capabilities with GA-EMS’ OCT, we’ve shown what’s possible when space and aviation systems work seamlessly together,” said Robert Conrad, president of Kepler US. “This achievement builds on our milestone of establishing bi-directional space-to-ground communications with Kepler’s SDA Tranche 0-compatible satellites and reinforces how commercial space operators will be partners in delivering secure, high-throughput connectivity for the defense community and the broader commercial sector.”
For future demonstrations, GA has built a pair of new OCT systems that will fly on GA-75 spacecraft platforms in 2026, showcasing laser communications with the SDA's Tranche-1 compatible satellites.
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