UltraAir’s success is a breakthrough in optical satellite communication
The Netherlands recently took a significant step forward in the development of optical communication technology. Airbus Defence and Space and TNO demonstrated that stable laser communication is possible between an aircraft in flight and a geostationary satellite.
For six years, Airbus Defence and Space and TNO invested in the development of an experimental mobile communications terminal called UltraAir. The goal of this innovation: to establish an optical link between a jet aircraft in flight and the geostationary satellite Alphasat and instrument TDP-1. Late last year, this was achieved during a series of test flights over the Mediterranean Sea. UltraAir established a stable, secure data connection of 2.6 gigabits per second. The connection lasted for several minutes.
Currently, aircraft, ships, and other vehicles communicate with satellites in space via radio frequencies. UltraAir demonstrates that there is a future for communication via laser light. This offers many advantages. Optical communication is more energy-efficient, less easily intercepted, harder to disrupt, and the bandwidth of light is significantly greater than that of radio frequencies. Applications range from secure communication between military personnel on missions to high-quality internet on board passenger aircraft.
High risk, high reward
The greatest challenge TNO has ever faced. That’s what Kees Buijsrogge, director of TNO Space, calls the development of UltraAir: “You have to keep a narrow laser beam precisely aimed from a moving platform at a satellite 36,000 kilometers above the Earth. This was achieved thanks to highly advanced optics, mechanics, and control technology, which only the Netherlands has been able to develop thus far.”
UltraAir was co-funded by the Netherlands Space Agency with funds from ESA’s ScyLight program (Secure and Laser communication technology). Funding was also available from the NXTGEN Hightech Growth Fund program. Buijsrogge calls these contributions crucial: “UltraAir is what you call high risk, high reward. It was a bold move for the Netherlands to invest in this innovative technology.”
According to Buijsrogge, the success of UltraAir makes the Netherlands an interesting partner for collaboration in laser satellite communication. It could potentially create a significant export position for our space industry. Bert Meijvogel of the Netherlands Space Agency agrees: “In the Netherlands, we have the knowledge and expertise to develop technology for optical communication in space. This is thanks to our extensive experience with atmospheric satellite instruments, such as OMI, Sciamachy, and Tropomi. The market for optical satellite communication is developing rapidly. With the right supply chain and modern production facilities, the Netherlands creates excellent opportunities in the international space market.”
5 x optical communication in the Netherlands
The space industry in the Netherlands is further expanding its optical satellite communications capabilities through various projects. “We’re really gaining momentum,” says Bert Meijvogel, describing the current phase in which companies and knowledge institutions find themselves. Here are five recent developments.
- TNO and other Dutch parties, led by SES, are working on a ground station for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in Noordwijk. The ground station is needed for a demonstration and is being built at the NL Space Campus. After the demonstration, the ground station will be used to test other QKD developments.
- For successful optical satellite communication, satellites must be connected to each other and to the ground. Airbus Netherlands is working on the design of optical ground station feeder links, which will allow a large amount of data to be sent simultaneously to space in a single beam.
- A relatively large consortium, including TNO, Airbus Netherlands, Celestia STS, LioniX, VTEC, and FSO, is building an instrument for a laser link between an aircraft and satellites in low Earth orbit. This will utilize technology and hardware previously developed in the Netherlands as much as possible. The instrument will be tested using an NLR aircraft.
- FSO is qualifying an instrument for optical communication between future satellites of the European IRIS2 constellation. The technology is based on proven, successful hardware that the Netherlands built for the Norwegian satellite NorSat-TD.
- TNO previously built the terminal for NorSat-TD, with contributions from AAC Hyperion, which enables optical communication from space. The company is further developing this terminal, enabling Earth observation satellites, for example, to send collected data back to Earth at a speed of 10 gigabits per second.
