The Journal of Space Commerce

The Journal of Space Commerce

Air-to-Space Optical Communications Capability Demonstrated

Experiment Conducted by General Atomics and Kepler Communications

Tom Patton's avatar
Tom Patton
Sep 05, 2025
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A successful demonstration of bi-directional air-to-space optical communications has been conducted by General Atomics and Kepler Communications. A signal was transmitted between the GA-EMS Optical Communication Terminal (OCT) mounted on an aircraft and a Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 0-compatible Kepler satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO).

“This…

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