Luxembourg satellite giant SES is testing systems shooting lasers thousands of kilometres into space, in an early sign it is following through with promises to invest in new technologies with savings from taking over rival Intelsat.
SES will test laser light ground stations built by a French company for space-to-ground communications with the intent of integrating them into commercial services, the company said in a press release on Monday.
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If the Cailabs ground stations prove to have overcome technical issues that until now prevented the use of light beams to transmit data, the technology would have the advantage of carrying far more data than current radio-wave communications and would be much harder to intercept or jam.
That would make light-based optical data communication superior for secure government and business communications, SES said.
However, “it is not a technology widely used right now,” Eva Lagunas, a University of Luxembourg assistant professor in space communication systems, told the Luxembourg Times.
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Elon Musk’s Starlink and China’s Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co, which owns the Jilin-1 satellite constellation, have been pushing toward using lasers to link the ground with their low-orbit satellites to offer internet services.
Last year, Luxembourg firm Odysseus Space started deploying its ground stations to reach satellites in low-earth orbits, meaning it was able to enter Starlink’s neighbourhood from about 160 to 2,000 kilometres above Earth’s surface. That region of space is much closer than SES’s network.
Lasers have become almost common for communications links between satellites, where Earth’s atmosphere does not distort or obstruct the beam.
If SES proves light beams carrying data between space and Earth prove technically and commercially viable, it would be a big leap forward for the Luxembourg space giant, said Andreas Hein, a University of Luxembourg associate professor in space systems engineering.
“Basically, this is where the future is in satellite communications,” Hein said.
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Monday’s announcement comes two months after SES finalised its takeover of former Luxembourg-domiciled, US-operated rival Intelsat.
The combined company operates about 90 satellites in geostationary orbits more than 35,000 km above the Earth, and nearly 30 others in closer, medium-earth orbits starting from 2,000 km above the ground.
Integrating the two organisations is expected to deliver about €2.4 billion in savings, the company said. SES said it expects to spend €425 million to €475 million in capital investments this year, followed by an average of €325 million a year for 2026-2029.
In addition to that, SES’s expects that from 2027 its capital expenditures will include up to €1.8 billion relating to IRIS2, the EU’s own communications and surveillance satellite constellation.
Luxembourg taxpayers own one-sixth of SES but wield a third of the voting power after underwriting its creation four decades ago.
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