StarCom Optical Inter-Satellite Link.

Project Information

StarCom OISL

Grant agreement ID: 101166493

DOI

10.3030/101166493

Project closed

EC signature date 7 June 2024

Start date 1 May 2024

End date 30 April 2026

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 3 714 062,50

EU contribution

€ 2 499 999,00

Coordinated by

MBRYONICS LIMITED
Ireland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - StarCom OISL (StarCom Optical Inter-Satellite Link.)

Reporting period: 2024-05-01 to 2025-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The specific objectives of the EIC Accelerator Challenge: Customer-driven, innovative space technologies and services include, “To scale up disruptive innovations for space situational awareness (SSA), in-space logistics, Earth observation, navigation, satellite communications (SATCOM), and others.” The expected outcomes this Challenge aims to develop include: “Innovative technologies for space transportation, Earth observation, navigation, satellite communications, space science, space situational awareness.” The increased performance and efficiency enabled by MBRYONICS’ optical communication system allows for significant improvements in multi-protocol optical intersatellite links, data rates, bandwidth, cost-per-bit and end-to-end satellite-based data transport to all space-based communications as well as Earth Observation, navigation (PNT), space science, and space situational awareness. These benefits will also have an indirect positive impact on the speed and efficacy of Space Traffic Management, collision detection and avoidance systems that use our system.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The product. We have developed hardware ready for an end-to-end fibre-coupled Tbps system architecture for the complete optical satcom backbone network, encompassing both space and ground segments. Creating a high-throughput Satcom network of Tbps-ready optical inter-satellite links and optical ground stations enabled by adaptive optic atmospheric mitigated feeder links, which can be mass-produced with a SWaP-C suitable for the LEO constellation market. The Satcom industry is transitioning to smaller satellite platforms such as Small Sats (<100kg) with a lifetime of 5-10 years, in mega constellations, creating an unprecedented demand for space lasers. Benefits. The three pillars of our innovation that make our space laser product so disruptive are TeraBIX, our co-packaged silicon transceiver in a ‘chiplet form factor’; StarCom, our multi-protocol optical terminal; and our proprietary manufacturing technologies, particularly in mirror fabrication, PIC packaging and integration, metal 3D printing, gimbals, and AIT. StarCom and TeraBIX are unrivalled in the marketplace in terms of SWaP, operational data rates and unit economics for industrial volume manufacturing, positioning StarCom to massively disrupt the
emerging market for OISLs and emerging mega-constellations. The key technologies that Mbryonics are developing include:
1. Photonic Integrated circuits in condensed packaging to enable PIC chiplet co-integration with electronics (ASICs/FPGAs) known as co-packaged optics or in-package optics.
2. Freeform Optical telescope – an industry leading low mass providing the lowest SWAP (Size, weight and Power) with the largest unobscured aperture.
3. Targeted Scale-up and Advanced Manufacturing Objectives, with disruptive Design for Manufacture (DFM) and Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and Test, (MAIT) processes, advanced material applications and in-line metrology.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Today’s state of the art space lasers, that are still only in the demonstration phase lack standardisation/interoperability and are currently only capable of a maximum data rate of approx. 2Gbps. While this is still 80x more bandwidth than a Ka band RF terminal, it is not enough to power a global broadband system, >100Gbps solutions are needed. Today’s space lasers are data-rate-limited as they are not fibre-coupled systems and rely on optical detectors and traditional Newtonian or refracting optical telescopes. A fibre-coupled system is imperative to achieve the era of Tbps space lasers and to support multiple protocols for seamless interoperability BETWEEN disparate networks.

MBRYONICS STARCOM Optical Communications Terminal and TERABIX Transceiver