Milestone as UWA's TeraNet captures laser signals from satellite

The University of Western Australia’s (UWA) network of optical ground stations specialising in high-speed space communications, dubbed ‘TeraNet’, has successfully received laser signals from a German satellite in low Earth orbit, paving the way for a 1000-fold increase in communication bandwidth between space and Earth. The TeraNet ground stations use lasers, instead of traditional wireless radio signals, 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 the first satellite nearly 70 years ago — so as the number of satellites in space has grown, with each new satellite capable of generating more data, there is now a critical space bottleneck in getting data back to Earth. Laser communication is well suited to solving this problem as lasers operate at much higher frequencies than radio, so much more data (thousands of gigabits) can be packed into every second — but the downside is that 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 — one at UWA, one at the Mingenew Space Precinct and one mobile ground station at the European Space Agency’s New Norcia facility — which means that if it’s cloudy at one ground station site, the satellite can download its data to another site with clear skies. In addition, the mobile ground station is built on the back of a custom-built Jeep truck. This means it can be rapidly deployed to sites that need ultrafast space communications, such as remote communities where traditional communications links have been cut off due to natural disasters.

The TeraNet team has now successfully received laser signals from OSIRISv1, a laser communication payload from the German Aerospace Center that is installed on the Flying Laptop satellite. The signals were detected by two of the TeraNet ground stations during flybys of the satellite on 11 July.

“This demonstration is the critical first step in establishing a next-generation space communications network across Western Australia,” said TeraNet team leader Associate Professor Sascha Schediwy, from the UWA node at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). “The next steps include joining this network to other optical ground stations currently being developed in Australia and across the world.”

TeraNet will support multiple international space missions operating between low Earth orbit and the Moon, using both conventional optical communications standards and more advanced optical technologies, including deep-space communication, ultrahigh-speed coherent communications, quantum-secured communications, and optical positioning and timing. High-speed laser communication from space is meanwhile expected to revolutionise data transfer for Earth observation satellites, enhance and secure military communication networks, and bolster secure remote operations for sectors such as autonomous mining operations and disaster response.

Image caption: TeraNet ground stations use lasers, rather than radio waves, to move data. Image credit: Danail Obreschkow, International Space Centre.