SatLight™ Series

Modular, reconfigurable optical communication terminals and satellite platforms for LEO, MEO, and GEO constellations. From compact 25 mm aperture terminals to full disk-satellite systems with integrated crosslinks — designed for SDA 4.0 interoperability at DARPA Space-BACN cost targets.

SatLight Terminal Hardware

SatLight™ OCT — Optical Communication Terminal

The SatLight™ OCT is a family of modular, reconfigurable optical communication terminals spanning compact to medium form factors. SatLight 1 delivers 1W transmit power through a 25 mm aperture (114 dBm gain), while SatLight 2 scales to 3.2W through a 127 mm aperture (163 dBm gain) for longer-range LEO-to-GEO links.

With 26+ space-qualified SKUs and flight-proven heritage on JAXA's LEO-to-GEO optical link (3+ years operational, beacon-less acquisition in under 60 seconds), the OCT supports both SDA 2.5G and high-speed 100G/200G configurations using separate Tx/Rx beam paths.

  • SatLight 1: 25 mm aperture, 1W Tx, 114 dBm gain
  • SatLight 2: 127 mm aperture, 3.2W Tx, 163 dBm gain
  • 26+ space-qualified component SKUs
  • JAXA LEO-to-GEO: 3+ years on-orbit, <60 sec acquisition
  • Modular: SDA 2.5G (FPGA) and 100G/200G (proprietary)
  • Separate Tx/Rx optical paths — no beam splitter loss
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SatLight™ DISK — LEO Constellation

SatLight™ DISK is a disk-shaped satellite platform with 5 integrated OCTs in a gimbal-less, flush-window design optimized for VLEO compatibility. At 1.2 m diameter and just 0.18 m thick, DISK provides near-full 360° in-plane crosslink coverage through four quadrant OCTs, plus a nadir-facing fifth OCT for ground station links.

The platform generates 288 W from its 1.2 m solar disk, scaling to 1,442 W in deployed flower configuration with 4 additional panels. Stowed height of just 0.25 m enables dense launch stacking. Links close at 5,000 km with only 2–3W transmit power.

  • 1.2 m diameter, 0.18 m thick — 0.25 m stowed
  • 5 integrated OCTs: 4 crosslinks + 1 nadir ground link
  • Gimbal-less design (SDA 4.0 compliant)
  • 288 W single disk / 1,442 W flower configuration
  • Flush optical windows for low drag (VLEO compatible)
  • Link closure at 5,000 km with 2–3W Tx power
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SatLight™ TRACK — Pointing, Acquisition & Tracking

SatLight™ TRACK is the pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) subsystem that enables rapid link establishment between SatLight™ terminals. Using GPS/GNSS-synchronized ephemeris data, the system executes a spiral/raster scan at 50–200 Hz via a fast steering mirror (FSM), detecting the beacon on a coarse pointing sensor before handing off to fine tracking with ≤5 μrad RMS residual pointing.

The FSM operates at 300–500 Hz bandwidth with a Tx divergence of 20–30 μrad, searching a ±0.2–0.5 mrad box with 0.5–5 ms dwell per cell. The entire acquisition sequence completes in under 60 seconds without requiring a cooperative beacon.

  • FSM bandwidth: 300–500 Hz
  • Residual pointing: ≤5 μrad RMS
  • Tx divergence: 20–30 μrad
  • Spiral/raster scan: 50–200 Hz, ±0.5 mrad search box
  • Beacon-less acquisition in <60 seconds
  • CPS → FTS handoff with GPS/GNSS time sync
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SatLight™ GND — Ground Station

SatLight™ GND is a multi-domain ground station OCT providing the terrestrial endpoint for satellite-to-ground optical links. Supporting free-space optical communication at 10–50 km terrestrial range and LEO downlinks up to 6,000 km, GND bridges the SatLight™ DISK constellation to ground-based networks.

GND supports multi-layer connectivity — linking directly to DISK satellites, HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) relays, and terrestrial point-to-point paths. Compatible with SDA, OISL, CCSDS, and 3GPP fronthaul protocols, the ground station integrates into existing telecom ORAN architectures for seamless space-to-ground data transport.

  • Terrestrial FSO range: 10–50 km
  • LEO downlink support up to 6,000 km
  • Multi-domain: satellite, HAPS, terrestrial, underwater
  • SDA, OISL, CCSDS, and 3GPP protocol support
  • ORAN-compatible for telecom integration
  • Multi-layer: DISK ↔ HAPS ↔ Ground connectivity
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Interested in the SatLight™ Series?

From compact OCTs to full constellation platforms, SatLight™ delivers SDA-interoperable optical communication at DARPA Space-BACN cost targets with 100% US supply chain traceability.