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Standard plane uses laser to communicate with satellite

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) and Kepler Communications US recently completed the successful demonstration of bi-directional air-to-space optical communications 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).

The demonstration marks a milestone in advancing SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, proving the ability to establish secure, high-data-rate connectivity between airborne and space-based assets in challenging operational environments.

The Optical Communication Terminal was mounted on a 12-in. Laser Airborne Communication turret (LAC-12) for the test. [Credit: Photo courtesy of General Atomics]

 

 

"Our team achieved a proof-of-concept milestone," said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. "The airborne OCT completed pointing, acquisition, tracking, and lock with the Tranche 0-compatible satellite, then transferred data packets to validate uplink and downlink capability. Our OCT is designed to close a communications gap, enabling secure, robust data transfers to support tactical and operational missions."

GA-EMS designed its Optical Communication Terminals to scale and adapt for multi-domain communications across space, air, land, and sea platforms, as well as across various orbital regimes. GA-EMS mounted its OCT on a 12-in. Laser Airborne Communication turret (LAC-12) developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) Precision Pointing Group for the test.

"This demonstration not just achieved the milestone for SDA-compatible communications across the air and space domains, but, very importantly, proved the robustness of the SDA standard for communications between OCTs built by two different companies," said Gregg Burgess, vice president of GA-EMS' Space Systems division. "Under a separate SDA contract, GA-EMS designed and built two OCT systems that will fly on two GA-75 spacecraft to support future LEO airborne-to-space demonstrations for Tranche 1. Those spacecraft launch in 2026."

As part of the company's expanding SDA-compatible LEO constellation, Kepler's Pathfinder satellites are designed to demonstrate high-capacity data services and validate advanced communication technologies under mission-critical conditions -- bridging the gap between space, air, and ground networks for defense and commercial applications.

"By pairing Kepler's on-orbit optical capabilities with GA-EMS' OCT, we've shown what's possible when space and aviation systems work seamlessly together," said Robert Conrad, president of Kepler US. "This achievement builds on our milestone of establishing bi-directional space-to-ground communications with Kepler's SDA Tranche 0-compatible satellites and reinforces how commercial space operators will be partners in delivering secure, high-throughput connectivity for the defense community and the broader commercial sector."

Source: General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems

Published September 2025

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