NEC Corporation and Skyloom Global Corporation have embarked on a pioneering venture to revolutionise space communications, focusing on the development of advanced optical communication equipment for multi-orbit satellite networks. Their collaboration aims to bring to the market one of the fastest space optical terminals, capable of achieving speeds exceeding 100 Gbps, thus heralding a new era of connectivity within the space industry.Eric Moltzau, Chief Commercial Officer at Skyloom, remarked on the significance of this development for global internet and space communications.
He outlined the commitment between NEC and Skyloom to jointly develop, test, and manufacture the innovative 100 Gbps WARP Optical Communications Terminal (OCT), with a completion target by the end of 2025. The plan includes launching the product into space by 2026 and escalating production to cater to the growing demand from both domestic and international markets in the latter half of the decade.Traditionally, space communications have utilised wireless technologies that employ radio waves. However, this partnership between NEC and Skyloom signifies a notable transition towards optical communication in space, echoing the advancements seen in terrestrial fibre networks from the mid-1980s onwards. Motomitsu Shimizu, Managing Director of the NEC Aerospace Business Division, highlighted that this breakthrough will facilitate high-speed, high-capacity communication in space, fundamentally transforming data transmission between broadband and Earth Observation satellites.Shimizu stressed the project’s focus on tangible outcomes, revealing plans to launch several test satellites in 2026 equipped with the jointly developed 100 Gbps WARP OCT.
As satellite constellation deployments intensify, leading to a network of interconnected satellites in low-earth orbit, the necessity for high-speed communication links becomes increasingly crucial. NEC and Skyloom are leading the development of technology to achieve optical communication speeds of 100 Gbps and beyond.Moltzau drew parallels with the emergence of economies centred around Transit Oriented Developments, indicating the transformative potential of Extremely High-Throughput satellite communication speeds. The partnership is set to inaugurate a new era of connectivity, enabling artificial intelligence networks in space to handle vast data volumes and communications at unprecedented speeds.Shimizu noted that the satellite constellation network, which links each satellite through optical communication, offers liberation from the geographical and temporal constraints of traditional standalone satellites.
He emphasised that the diversification of services allows for smooth data sharing between satellites, while the advancement of services supports the implementation of data processing capabilities based on artificial intelligence in orbit. The performance of optical communication is key to the quality and quantity of space-utilising services.Yasushi Yokoyama, Chief of Satellite Constellation Business at NEC, reflected on NEC’s long history of valuing space utilisation for addressing social issues and its involvement in space optical communication since the 1990s. The collaboration with Skyloom is expected to enhance space utilisation in the networked satellite constellation era.Santiago Tempone, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Skyloom, expressed enthusiasm for partnering with NEC to overcome barriers to commercialising low-latency, extremely high-throughput space internetworking and communications. The 100 Gbps WARP OCT integrates the latest advancements in space-based optical communications and networking, aiming to reduce the cost per bit of free-space optical communications and facilitate large-scale production and utilisation.
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