A significant milestone in satellite communication has been achieved with the successful connection of a laser communications terminal mounted on a De Havilland Twin Otter aircraft to a Kepler Communications satellite in low Earth orbit. This demonstration, announced September 2nd, involved an optical terminal from General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) communicating with a Tesat-Spacecom optical terminal aboard the Kepler satellite.

The July test proved the interoperability of optical terminals built to the Space Development Agency's (SDA) Optical Communications Terminal (OCT) standard across different vendors. This is crucial for the SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a planned network of hundreds of satellites providing global communications and missile tracking. The use of laser, or optical, links offers significant advantages over traditional radio-frequency communications, providing higher data rates and increased security against jamming or interception. However, interoperability between various vendors' systems has historically been a challenge.

“This successful space-airborne communication demonstration represents a breakthrough improvement in building a resilient space architecture. Achieving multi-vendor interoperability validates SDA’s leadership in the optical communication arena,” stated Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, SDA’s deputy director. Gregg Burgess, GA-EMS vice president for space systems, added, “The 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’s built by two different companies.”

This success builds upon previous attempts, overcoming challenges faced in earlier tests. Kepler deployed its first pair of SDA-compatible relay satellites last November, equipped with Tesat-Spacecom’s Scot 80 terminals. “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.

GA-EMS is further developing this technology, with plans to integrate two optical terminals into its GA-75 spacecraft, launching in 2026, expanding interoperability demonstrations to space-based assets.