Transcelestial, a Singapore-based technology firm, has launched Singapore’s first inter-satellite laser communications mission, supported by the country’s national space office Singapore Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn) and satellite downstream services provider ST Engineering Satellite Systems.
Transcelestial said in a statement on Wednesday that Singapore is taking a bold step to revolutionize space communications technology with the prototyping of Transcelestial’s laser communication terminals to enable high-speed low latency inter-satellite communications links.
“Establishing a scalable high bandwidth space network which extends Terabits of capabilities not only worldwide instantly but also to humanity’s march into deep space has been the core mission for the team from day 1,
“After years of testing behind the scenes, this is the first of many steps which takes us to that vision,” said Rohit Jha, Chief Executive Officer of Transcelestial.
“Singapore is home to Transcelestial and an important partner to nations worldwide. It has been a data and comms hub for the region for decades and now that role is expected to expand beyond the region,
“OSTIn as well as ST Engineering as partners are instrumental in making that happen with this mission,” he added.
It is noted that intersatellite laser communications address certain limitations of data exchange between satellites through traditional radio frequency (RF) means.
Laser communication terminals enable faster, interference-free data transfer and significantly improve scalability and bandwidth, unlocking possibilities across telecommunications, and beyond.
With this project, Singapore is poised to lead the wave of data-hungry, proliferated constellations, and be a leader in next-generation space communications.
With OSTIn’s support, Transcelestial said it is partnering ST Engineering Satellite Systems, a company of ST Engineering, to integrate and demonstrate Transcelestial’s in-space inter-satellite laser link capabilities with ST Engineering’s satellite bus products.
As the main contractor for this project, ST Engineering Satellite Systems will take the lead in satellite design and manufacturing while Transcelestial’s laser terminals will form the core of this ambitious project.
The project is scheduled to be tested in orbit by 2026, aiming to demonstrate data exchange via the laser communication inter-satellite terminals demonstrating various use cases and configurations in low earth orbit (LEO) between the satellites.
Transcelestial’s laser terminals are one of the most compact yet capable laser communications terminals in production and are slated to dramatically improve connectivity for the large LEO micro-satellite constellation market.
“Transcelestial’s efforts to advance intersatellite laser communications will strengthen Singapore’s growing space ecosystem and push boundaries for in-space connectivity,
“With Transcelestial’s expertise in advanced components and ST Engineering’s capabilities in satellite systems, this partnership will boost Singapore’s position as a connectivity hub across aviation, maritime and infocomm sectors,” said Jonathan Hung, Executive Director, OSTIn.
“We continue to welcome like-minded companies like Transcelestial to tap on the deep pools of talent and developed infrastructure available in Singapore to advance space communication technologies,” he added.
As Transcelestial works toward delivery, the company said ti envisions a future where Singapore continues to push the boundaries of space technology and innovation.
In the near term, Transcelestial noted it is opening up to provide a full range of laser communication services to space and telecom customers – space to ground terminals, space to space terminals, worldwide optical ground Station network (soon to be announced) and various cloud and data center capabilities to store, compute and analyze data and decisions directly in space or at low latency worldwide secure cloud points.
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