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SINGAPORE—Transcelestial is branching out with its space-based laser links to provide intra-satellite connectivity, while the communications company also explores ways to beam data to moving platforms within the atmosphere.
The Singapore-based company will provide Indian satellite startup HEX20 an intra-satellite link payload for a microsatellite due for launch next year, Transcelestial Chief Technology Officer Mohammad Danesh says in an interview. The technology is supposed to be part of a constellation of satellites, with the laser link assuring faster imagery delivery.
The partnership supports an initiative between Singapore and India to bolster space cooperation.
The intra-satellite will be installed on HEX20’s 50-kg (110-lb.) spacecraft that has a 30-kg payload mass. The link will be compatible with U.S. Space Development Agency standards, and also capable of its own protocols to deliver higher performance, Danesh said.
Transcelestial is also busy fully activating the space-to-ground satellite link on Barcelona, Spain-based i2CAT’s 6GStarLab satellite in low Earth orbit. The company hopes to start sending data in late March or soon after, Danesh said.
The satellite payload is undergoing on-orbit calibration, the Singapore ground terminal has been completed and a second, near Barcelona, is almost complete. The system should be able to send and receive 1 gigabit per second.
“We have multiple other missions coming,” Danesh said, with three planned this year. Two of those should launch soon, he said, without identifying the spacecraft.
Danesh said the company also is working on ways to connect satellites with other platforms, noting it has already demonstrated technology at a higher readiness level.
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