Interoperability demonstrated for optical communications terminals
TESAT says it has been selected to supply optical communications terminals (OCT) to Lockheed Martin, which will be integrated into the company's 42 SDA Tranche 1 "Transport Layer" satellites. TESAT's OCTs are also used for commercial constellations, such as Kepler's ÆTHER LEO constellation network. Based on laser beams, OCTs ensure communication between distant locations such as between satellites and ground stations or between high-bandwidth satellites.
Before integration into satellites, the OCTs must demonstrate their interoperability with the rest of the satellite's devices. According to TESAT, during the ground test, the OCT successfully established a consistent data communication connection first with a reference modem and then with a laser terminal from another provider. This performance demonstrated that the TESAT terminals meet the technical specifications and standards of the Space Development Agency (SDA) and are interoperable with products from other providers.
„Der erfolgreiche Abschluss dieses wichtigen Tests zeigt, dass unsere OCTs die SDA-Standards erfüllen und stellt einen großen Schritt für die Laserkommunikationstechnologie dar, da Interoperabilität von entscheidender Bedeutung ist“, sagte Thomas Reinartz, CEO von TESAT.
According to TESAT, the OCT is part of the company's laser communications portfolio and was developed specifically for operation in LEO broadband constellations (LEO stands for Low Earth Orbit). It corresponds to the SDA standard v3. To date, 46 OCTs are already in orbit, 12 additional terminals have been delivered to customers and 180 terminals are currently in production. In anticipation of future growth in laser communications, TESAT has a new manufacturing facility under construction in Merritt Island, Florida, providing 2,200 m² of additional cleanroom capacity.
Editorial staff / gwh