Ibadan, 12 April 2024. – Kepler Communications, Inc. has entered into an agreement with TESAT-Spacecom and Airbus Defence and Space to develop a high bandwidth optical communications network in low Earth orbit (LEO) to address emerging opportunities such as the European Space Agency’s (ESA) High Throughput Optical Network (HydRON) program.
The Companies are consequently collaborating to deliver real-time optical communications to the market, leveraging the strengths of each entity to provide an innovative solution for key opportunities such as HydRON. Furthermore, the project aims to demonstrate an operational optical multi-orbit transport network, enhancing the capabilities of spaceborne and terrestrial networks.
Under the agreement, Kepler is spearheading the effort, delivering expertise in spacecraft constellation design, manufacturing, and operation, building on the technologies within its commercial space segment and existing ground segment. Likewise, TESAT is contributing expertise in space optical and network payload development, while Airbus is leveraging its expertise in optical communication by contributing operational and system engineering know-how as well as access to optical ground stations to the project.
“Kepler’s mission to build the Internet for Space is in a good position to support HydRON’s objective to demonstrate ‘Fibre in the sky,’ extending Internet connectivity to space,” said Mina Mitry, chief executive officer and co-founder of Kepler. “This collaboration enables the development of terabit-per-second data relay in space, with a state-of-the-art optical network architecture that gives European and Canadian forces secure access to spacecraft data with sub-second latency.”
Similarly, Philippe Pham, Senior Vice President of Telecoms & Navigation Systems at Airbus, added, “Our collaboration with Kepler and TESAT on the HydRON opportunity exemplifies our commitment to innovation and our role in shaping the future of European and global telecommunications. Our team is proud to develop a new generation of optical communications technology in space.”
