This breakthrough is said to pave the way for a 1,000-fold increase in communication bandwidth between space and Earth.
The TeraNet team, led by Associate Professor Sascha Schediwy from the University of Western Australia (UWA) node at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), received laser signals from OSIRISv1, a laser communication payload from the Institute of Communications and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
OSIRISv1 is installed on University of Stuttgart’s Flying Laptop satellite and the signals were detected using two of the TeraNet optical ground stations during flybys of the satellite on July 11, 2024.
“This demonstration is the critical first step in establishing a next-generation space communications network across Western Australia. The next steps include joining this network to other optical ground stations currently being developed in Australia and across the world,” Associate Professor Schediwy said in a statement.
The TeraNet ground stations use lasers to transfer data between satellites in space and users on Earth.
Wireless radio technology has been used to communicate from space since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, and the technology has remained relatively unchanged since then. As the number of satellites in space has grown, with each new satellite capable of generating more data, there is now a bottleneck in getting data back to Earth.
According to AWA, laser communication is suited to solving this problem, but laser signals can be interrupted by clouds and rain. The TeraNet team is mitigating this downside, by establishing a network of three ground stations spread across Western Australia. If it’s cloudy at one ground station site, the satellite can download its data to another site with clear skies.
In addition, one of the two TeraNet ground stations that received the satellite laser signal is built on the back of a custom-built vehicle that can be rapidly deployed to sites that need ultra-fast space communications.
UWA added that high-speed laser communication from space will revolutionise data transfer for Earth observation satellites, significantly enhance and secure military communication networks, and bolster secure remote operations for sectors such as autonomous mining operations, plus national disaster planning and responses.
The ICRAR-based TeraNet team received funding from the Australian Government, the Western Australian Government, and UWA in 2023 as part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Demonstrator Mission grant program.
The $6.3m project supports the construction of the three TeraNet optical ground stations in Western Australia, with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) providing in-kind access to their laser communications-equipped on-orbit satellites.
TeraNet will support multiple international space missions operating between low Earth orbit and the Moon, using conventional optical communications standards, and more advanced optical technologies including deep-space communication, ultra-high-speed coherent communications, quantum-secured communications, and optical positioning and timing.
The network comprises a ground station at UWA, a second ground station at the Mingenew Space precinct 300km north of Perth, and a mobile ground station that is being commissioned at the European Space Agency’s New Norcia facility.
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