Hellas Sat and Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture of Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint development of an optical communications payload to be installed on the Hellas Sat 5 satellite under construction.

The collaboration between Hellas Sat and Thales Alenia Space aims to provide state-of-the-art communication services with very high data transmission rates from geostationary orbit.

The aim is for this innovative payload to connect to the optical ground station of the National Observatory of Athens in Greece, the optical ground stations in France, the European Space Agency (ESA) optical ground stations, and Thales Alenia Space’s LEO HydRON telecommunications satellite.

Following the Vertigo H2020 program, Thales Alenia Space is promoting the development of very high data rate transmission technologies of up to 1 terabit/s, capable of traveling long distances from the ground to geostationary orbit and interstellar atmospheric turbulence, with the support of France Relance (CO-OP), CNES (DYSCO) and ESA (HydRON).

According to a statement, the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding took place at Hellas Sat headquarters in Athens, with the participation of representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister of Greece, the French Embassy in Greece, the European Space Agency (ESA), CNES, Thales Alenia Space France, Italy and Switzerland, the National Observatory of Athens and various Greek Ministries and local authorities.

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Free Space Optical Communications

Free Space Laser Optical Communications are emerging as a space standard, offering significantly greater capacities compared to current satellite communication systems (terabit/sec vs. gigabit/sec). This technology is poised to revolutionize space telecommunications infrastructure, similar to the impact of optical fiber on the ground.

ESA HydRON and CNES Dysco aim at high-performance optical satellite links, research and development, and demonstration, addressing the challenges of providing connectivity to multiple users in different orbits, ground media, and applications. The system showcases the capabilities of optical communications technology in integrated system implementations.

Various use cases include universal internet access, instant transmission of data from observation satellites at any time, private data center connections, and optical fiber redundancy on the ground in case of crises.

The introduction of optical fiber into space is expected to reduce the need for large numbers of satellites in orbit, contributing to the sustainability of the space infrastructure and minimizing sky pollution.

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