Australian and Japanese organizations join forces on optical communications

SYDNEY, Australia – The University of South Australia announced an agreement Sept. 29 with Australian start-up RapidBeam and Japanese startup Warpspace to develop laser communication systems.

Under the agreement, announced at the International Astronautical Congress here, Warpspace’s optical modem will be integrated with the Australasian Optical Ground Station Network (AOGSN) and demonstrated in space-to-space and satellite-to-ground testing. The University of South Australia leads the campaign to develop AOGSN, a network to provide high-bandwidth, secure satellite communications across Australia and New Zealand.

Through the partnership, Warpspace will accelerate development of its HOCSAI optical modem and expand work in Australia, where the space sector is growing rapidly, Hirokazu Mori, Warpspace chief strategy officer told SpaceNews.

“Free-space optical communications will be critical for future connectivity,” Craig Smith, University of South Australia SmartSat telecommunications chair, said in a statement. “By combining our research expertise with industry innovation, we are helping to build resilient, high-capacity networks that will support space missions from low Earth orbit right through to deep space.”

RapidBeam founder Adi Rajendran said in a statement, “Laser satellite communications will be the backbone of secure, high-capacity networks.” Rajendran added that Warpspace’s modem will be used in RapidBeam’s network to “connected on Earth and ultimately pave the way for interplanetary communications.”

SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre is a consortium with Australian government funding focused on technologies in advanced telecommunications, satellite systems and Earth observation data.