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A General Atomics optical communications terminal mounted on an aircraft successfully communicated with a satellite in orbit Credit: General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems<\/p>\nWASHINGTON \u2014 A laser communications terminal mounted on a twin-engine aircraft successfully connected with a satellite orbiting overhead.<\/p>\n
In the demonstration, announced Sept. 2, an optical terminal made by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems was mounted on a 12-inch turret aboard a De Havilland Twin Otter aircraft. While in flight, it pointed toward a Kepler Communications satellite in low Earth orbit equipped with a Tesat-Spacecom optical terminal. The airborne terminal acquired the satellite\u2019s laser signal, locked onto it and maintained that connection long enough to exchange data packets in both directions, the companies said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This trial which took place in July was designed to prove that optical terminals built to the Space Development Agency\u2019s (SDA) Optical Communications Terminal (OCT) standard could communicate across vendors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SDA, a U.S. Space Force agency, is building the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a planned network of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit that will provide global communications, missile warning and missile tracking for U.S. and allied forces. A critical part of this architecture is the ability for satellites \u2014 and airborne platforms \u2014 to exchange data quickly and securely over optical links.<\/p>\n
Unlike traditional radio-frequency communications, laser (or optical) links offer high data rates and are more difficult to jam or intercept. But interoperability has been a longstanding challenge. Different vendors have developed their own laser communications terminals, often with proprietary implementations, which can prevent seamless connectivity. SDA\u2019s OCT standard is meant to fix that by enforcing common specifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis successful space-airborne communication demonstration represents a breakthrough improvement in building a resilient space architecture. Achieving multi-vendor interoperability validates SDA\u2019s leadership in the optical communication arena,\u201d Gurpartap \u201cGP\u201d Sandhoo, SDA\u2019s deputy director, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
A General Atomics optical communications terminal mounted on an aircraft successfully communicated with a satellite in orbit Credit: General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems<\/p>\n
\u201cThe demonstration achieved the milestone for SDA-compatible communications across the air and space domains, but very importantly proved the robustness of the SDA standard for communications between OCT\u2019s built by two different companies,\u201d said Gregg Burgess, GA-EMS vice president for space systems.<\/p>\n
This was not the first attempt. General Atomics previously tried an airborne-to-space laser communications test, but it failed due to deployment issues<\/a> with the satellite involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n