9 Oct 2023
Sending vast quantities of data between satellites speedily and securely means using light to communicate. Now a group of space companies, research centres and universities working with ESA has established a series of specifications on how exactly satellites should use light to talk to one another – and to link to their ground stations.
A consortium of European industry, led by Dutch firm TNO and backed by the European Space Agency (ESA), has successfully established the world’s first robust optical datalink using real-world conditions in field tests held in the Netherlands.
More than 150 attendees including national delegations, industrial representatives of ESA member states, ESA staff members and academic researchers met in Bonn this week for the 5th ScyLight Workshop. This was the first time the event was able to take place in person since 2019, after last year’s event was held online due to COVID restrictions.
The “Fourth Industrial Revolution” comes with an increasing pace of development and digitalisation, driven - and enabled by vast amounts of data. Already today, the limitations of conventional networks impact the deployment and end user service capacity, and today’s Satellite Communication Market must innovate in an ever more digital and connected global market.
A team of experts from the European Space Agency (ESA) and Oxford University are working to deliver a 3 half day course in May, giving an introduction to satellite optical communications.
Two consortia led by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space respectively, recently kicked-off two projects related to HydRON, both which are being funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). The parallel contracts will allow the primes and their partners to develop their own vision demonstrating the potential for laser-communication.
The European Space Agency (ESA), RHEA System Luxembourg, LuxSpace Sarl, Aurora Insight and the European Business Reliance Centre (EBRC) are joining forces for the development and deployment of a European Spectrum Monitoring System leveraging their respective core capabilities. A Memorandum of Intent (MoI) was signed last week in Luxembourg by Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications at ESA, together with industry representatives.
The GREECONNECT Virtual Day is an online event bringing together industrial and research actors with an interest in small satellites to receive information on current and future opportunities though the Greek National Space Project. The event is supporting the European Space Agency (ESA) Agenda 2025, set out to foster the growth and collaboration of the European space sector by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
